CLINCH WATCH 2021 – This Fuggin Game – 9/29/2021

Dodgers Come From WAY Behind

This game. This [every swear word] game.

Scherzer didn’t have his best stuff, giving up eleven hits and six runs, five of them earned.  Graterol couldn’t find the zone or an out.  And the Dodgers made two major fielding errors. Lux was injured, possibly quite badly.  Even home plate umpire Tripp Gibson had his bell rung by a ball straight to the head.  The game felt deeply cursed.

Yet the Dodgers dug deep and came back, tenacious and unrelenting.  Turner knocked a clutch pinch hit double.  Pollock, Betts, Muncy, Bellinger, and Seager all homered tonight.  (And I don’t think I need to tell you the importance of a clutch Cody Bellinger home run.)  David Price put up a quick 1-2-3 inning.  And Kenley [more swears] Jansen struck out all three of the batters he faced in the ninth.

From roughly the seventh inning on, the Dodgers…they looked like the Dodgers.

And the Padres?  Well. MLB seems to have dropped that plot line like a molten potato.  Tatís Jr. is still very much in the conversation re:MVP, but not many in the brown and gold have risen to the occasion.  Except Jake Cronenworth.  That guy is pretty good at baseball, too.

Dodgers improve to 102-56.  Padres move to 78-80 and are very much in danger of not finishing over .500 this season.

On the First All-Female Booth

I came in to the night with excitement for a different reason other than hurray there’s a baseball game.  For the first time in MLB history, an all-female booth will call the game for ESPN.  I know there are so many women and girls out there that are so excited to watch just for them.  That is unless you live in the Dodgers or Padres viewing area, then it’s blacked out.  

That’s right.  Because of bullshit territorial rights, the fans of the teams playing this historic game can’t watch it.  We’re stuck with Tim and Nomar’s gloom parade instead.  What an utter disappointment, MLB.

Hot damn, get better Joe Davis.

Diamondbacks Still A Team (Who Lost Again To The Giants)

The only run of the game came from a Kris Bryant sac fly to score Steven Duggar.  And it was all that was needed.

Former Dodger (LIKE AS IN LAST YEAR, ALEX, YOU WON A RING WITH US), Alex Wood put in a great performance that definitely made the end of the Dodger season harder.  Wood spent time on the COVID IL recently and was hit hard by the virus.  It’s good to see him recovering, even if he is wearing orange right now.  An outing against the team that’s currently tied for second worst run differential in MLB is probably exactly what Woody needed.

Dalton Varsho continues to shine, tonight in left field after catching last night.  He made a fantastic leap to rob Steven Duggar of a home run and keep the score tight.  Alas, the Diamondbacks were unable to push a run across, but holding this team to one run is nothing to turn your nose up at.

Giants improve to 104-54, the Diamondbacks move to 50-106,  And while the Diamondbacks did relatively well today, I get the feeling the series result will be exactly what you’d expect when the best team in baseball plays the worst team in baseball.

Rockies Win over DC

And rather handily, too.  But the real story here is Trevor Story, who took the field alone at the start of the game, giving him time to acknowledge the crowd and take in his last home game in Rockies purple.  Which is a shame, because thanks to a two hour delay in the third, the stadium was nearly empty for Story’s last at-bat.

It was a walk.  That’s Coors Field devil magic for you.

Story went 4-for-4 at the plate before that, crossing the plate three times to add to the Colorado lead.  

The next time he hits while a mile above sea level, he’ll almost certainly be in another team’s colors.  Good luck, Trevor Story, wherever you land.

Rockies improve to 73-85 and have an off day tomorrow before facing the Diamondbacks. I still maintain that Arizona’s wretched DJ, organist, and sound system are responsible for at least part of their terrible record.  And considering the dismal attendance at Chase Field, let’s just pray for quick games and that everyone ends the series healthy, eh?