Game 166 - New York Yankees at Houston Astros

June 27 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX
YES Network

The win is all that matters in sports. If your team goes up 6-0, blows the entire lead, but is still victorious, barring some terrible injury, the victory is all you remember/care about. The Yankees built a 6-0 cushion through an inning and a half on Saturday, thanks to no-doubt home runs by Brian McCann (grand slam in the first) and Chris Young (two-run shot in the second) before the Astros came back.

It was 6-6 after Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve homered off an ineffective Masahiro Tanaka (5 IP, career-high 6 ER, 3 HR) in the fifth, but after being held scoreless for five innings, Mark Teixeira ripped a two-run double in the eighth and Chase Headley hit a ninth-inning solo home run that landed in nearby Galveston and New York escaped with a 9-6 win.

The Yankees got a huge break in that eighth when Young grounded to third and Altuve, making the pivot at second for a double play, looked to have gotten the force at second by touching the bag with his right foot before dropping the ball on the exchange, but umpire Joe West called Brett Gardner safe. After a Houston challenge was unsuccessful, two were on and with one out, Teixeira ran the count full before doubling off Pat Neshek to what I guess is the left-center field corner (?) for the go-ahead runs.

This is definitely the smallest I've ever seen Joe West (top right)

Game 165 - Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies

June 25 at Coors Field in Denver, CO
Fox Sports Arizona

If you didn't know Paul Goldschmidt's nickname was "Goldy" just listen to broadcasters Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly for nine innings. They'll let you know...over and over and over again.

Let's take a look at tonight's Goldy Count:

Total: 38

By-inning:

1st - 8
2nd - 0
3rd - 0
4th - 2
5th - 2
6th - 17, including two 'Goldys' in 17 seconds by Berthiaume
7th - 4
8th - 1
9th - 4

Some Goldys:

"Just get to Goldy"
"Here comes Goldy"
"The throw high and Goldy's in there"
"The way Goldy can"
"It just looks like it might be becoming a habit with Goldy"
"...and knocks it to Goldy"
"...and Goldy's charging into third!"
"Goldy comin' home"
"Goldy at some point completely lost sight of the baseball"/"Somehow Goldy still makes the play"
"I can't remember the last time we saw Goldy hit a ball in the left field corner"
"...and great baserunning once again by Goldy"
"I love to watch Goldy when he's the trail runner on first base"
"I just think De La Rosa doesn't want to throw a pitch to Goldy!"

Oliver Perez?

Coming into pitch for the Diamondbacks in the eighth......Oliver Perez.

OLIVER PEREZ?!

Leftover Nonsense

Let's not let Berthiaume and Brenly get away with Goldschmidt-only activity.

"D-Backs riding the NL West rapids" (Berthiaume)
"Tsunami them in the first inning" (Brenly)
"CarGo a no-go" (SB)
"Your hands and your fingers - if you don't have 'em, you can't play!" (SB)

One more time:

"Your hands and your fingers - if you don't have 'em, you can't play!"

And finally.....

(Berthiaume, speaking about an upcoming Welington Castillo at bat) "Beef Welington, coming up!"

Game 163 & 164 - Virginia vs. Vanderbilt

June 22 & 24 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, NE
ESPN

Let's start with a quick interview during game 1 of the College World Series championship series, which defending champion Vanderbilt won 5-1.

The ESPN reporter was in the stands talking to UVA coach Brian O'Connor's father, "Mr. O'Connor", and the first question was 'why do you think he (Brian O'Connor) is so much more relaxed in his second year at the CWS'?

Mr. O'Connor's first two words: "Who, Brian?"

Yeah, Brian!!

Boone Phrases

Another big night for Aaron Boone in the booth:

"North-south action"
"Push the envelope"
"A chance for Jones to wiggle out"
"Climb the ladder"
"Hit a couple balls on the screws"
"That's when Connor Jones...became a dude"
"Little blown tire there"

National champions

In the deciding game of the series, freshman Pavin Smith hit a tying, two-run home run in the fourth, then drove in a go-ahead single to the opposite field in the fifth as the Cavaliers won 4-2 and captured the school's first-ever national title.

* UVA used two southpaw pitchers and both were excellent. Brandon Waddell started on three-days rest and allowed two runs in seven innings, retiring the final 11 batters he faced. Blessed with a two-run lead, Nathan Kirby pitched the final two frames, striking out five with a filthy slider, while giving up just a single.

* It's the first national baseball title for the Atlantic Coast Conference since Wake Forest in 1955. That might as well be 1855. It had been a LONG TIME since the ACC won a national championship in baseball.

Game 162 - Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees

June 22 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

I'd have to check my manual, "What Not To Do Against The Phillies", but I don't think allowing eight earned runs in 3 1/3 innings is considered a good thing. That's what happened to Michael Pineda Monday as last-place Philadelphia won 11-8 in the opener of a three-game series that has "Yankees Get Swept by a 47-loss Team At Home" thrown up all over it.

New York is about as streaky as any team in 2015. Here's how the season has gone so far:

* Started 1-4
* Went 20-8
* Lost 10 of 11
* Won 11 of 14
* Lost 5 of 6
* Won four straight before losing Sunday and Monday

Maikel Franco, who went 4-for-5 and hit a pair of home runs, is from the Dominican Republic and according to Baseball Reference he pronounces his name MIY-kehl. I'd rather think of him as a kid from somewhere in the United States and his parents named him Michael, but spelled it Maikel because that's what parents in the United States do now. I call it keeping up with the Jo'nes.

Baseball Phrases

Couple quick ones from Michael Kay:

"Heat-seeking missile"
"Grind"

and Paul O'Neill:

"Catch 22"

Game 161 - Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees

June 20 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

This was perhaps the Yankees' finest game of the season, a 14-3 romp that included five home runs.

Two of those home runs came from Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez, fresh off reaching the 3,000-hit mark on Friday with a first-inning home run, collected hit No. 3,001 also with the long ball. It was a three-run shot in the third off German punk band Ian Krol that made it 8-0.

* Josh Wilson, normally an infielder, gave up the final long ball, to Chris Young leading off the eighth. It was that kind of evening for the Tigers, who lost their fourth straight.

* Pitching on three days rest (though after just throwing just 36 pitches in 2/3 of a horrifying inning in Miami), Nathan Eovaldi was sharp. The right-hander allowed just three hits in six innings and the two earned runs he was charged with scored after he had departed.

Game 160 - Miami Marlins at New York Yankees

June 18 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

It may only be Yankee Stadium crowds and assorted Yankees fans at road ballparks that are going to be happy about it, but Alex Rodriguez is now one hit from 3,000 in his career.

Rodriguez got to 2,999 with a pair of hits on Thursday, one of which being an RBI-single, part of a 9-4 Yankees' win.

In the eighth, Rodriguez was up with a chance for the milestone hit, but Miami reliever Sam Dyson threw him four straight balls, two of which nearly hit the Yankee DH. The fans weren't happy, booing Dyson and repeatedly calling him a mustard breath. It sounded as loud and energetic as it has been at the new Yankee Stadium since probably Derek Jeter's 3,000th-hit game in 2011, or maybe since all the way back to the 2009 postseason.

One more Alex thing: I'd like to revise Michael Kay's pronunciation of Rodriguez's full name. It's not "Alex ROGG-REE-GIS", it's actually "Alex ROGER-REEGIS". There's a Roger in there.

* Kay also said this during a Mason Williams at bat: "I wonder if there will ever be a time when the players are 'mic'd up'. I mean where you can actually talk to them...'Mason, what are you thinking?'"

Good heavens Doris Blevins, what an idiot.

* Let's not forget John Flaherty, who is here to tell us things:

1. Flaherty on how Mat Latos hides the ball when he pitches: "He hides the ball so well".

John, he had a 5.44 era coming into the night, the hiding doesn't seem to be going very well.

2. Flaherty during a fifth-inning at bat by Jeff Mathis: "Mathis more of a defensive guy, hitting .143".

MORE of a defensive guy? He's a .143 hitter, how much more defense do you want?

Game 159 - Florida vs. Miami (FL)

June 17 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, NE
ESPN

The Gators eliminated their in-state rivals with the long ball and some solid pitching from freshman Alex Faedo. While four players hit home runs - including Harrison Bader (solo) and Buddy Reid (two-run HR) in the top of the first - Faedo allowed just one earned run in five innings and struck out seven as Florida moved on with a 10-3 victory.

We're down to five teams in the CWS and Florida tries again to stay alive when it plays Virginia Friday.

Meanwhile, Miami lost twice in Omaha, both times against the Gators. The Gainesville school scored 25 runs in the two contests and are averaging an incredible 9.7 runs in eight NCAA Tournament games.

If you show him cue cards, he will mumble nonsense

Kevin Costner says things before each of the College World Series games, which ESPN likes to refer to as "narration", and what I like to refer to as "reading off a piece of paper while eating at a barbecue restaurant".


"There's a reason why they make movies about it.

A reason why we watch.

There's a reason why for every 20 year old ballplayer doing this, there's thousands of people of any age who would trade places with him in a heartbeat.

Because in our hearts is where the game lives and we never stop loving the game."


Wow! Now THAT was impressive.

It reminded me of the final scene in Field of Dreams, only if instead of having a catch with his father, Ray Kinsella was picking up turtle poop with two pieces of a cardboard box.

Baseball Phrases

Some good ones from Jon Sciambi & Kyle Peterson this evening.

"Money"
"The flavors of Omaha"
"Gators and Canes, oh my"
"Happy zone"
"Difference maker with the bat"
"His stuff just jumps off the page"
"Little oppo flash"

Game 158 - New York Yankees at Miami Marlins

June 15 at Marlins Park in Miami, FL
Fox Sports Florida

Some nights your favorite team's ace (Masahiro Tanaka) allows two earned runs in seven innings and the offense manages three hits against the geologist currently known as Tom Koehler. On those occasions, you simply forget about writing anything about two hours, 41 minutes of baseball-horror (BH) and instead post a poem.


Hosticle Fifer

There was a joe
in the Summer of Snow
who would watch pig chair shows
with his toes.

His name was Hosticle Fifer.

Hosticle lived
with nurses Liv and Viv
but he never had time for a wifer.

He found a lady once,
Abelia,
but Hosticle sent her packin’ -

she had too many warts on her heels
and her hears
and twice many hairs on her backin!

Games 157 - TCU vs. LSU

June 14 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, NE
ESPN

TCU is back in the College World Series for a second consecutive season for a reason: the Horned Frogs are good. TCU got seven innings of one-run ball from Preston Morrison (who won for the first time in nine postseason starts) and rolled to a 10-3 win in the series opener for both teams.

But that's enough of that, let's get to the nonsense.

First some more Baseball Phrases/regular nonsense phrases from Aaron Boone:

"Baseball acumen"
"He was totin' around second base"
"Bucket list item"
"Just kind of gooses it over there"
"He was mowing"
"Cruise control"

Other assorted silliness:

* "Umpire cam" & "ump cam" were said once each

* Jon Sciambi to Boone, top 9: "I know you're a big gum guy."

Aaron Boone: a big gum guy.

Game 156 - New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

June 13 at Camden Yards in Balimore, MD
Fox

I don't watch many games on national TV FOX (this was I think game No. 2), but Tom Verducci is a solid commentator. I'd much rather hear him than someone like Tim McCarver or Harold Reynolds.

That's actually unfair to Tim McCarver. I'd rather hear a lawnmower running over another lawnmower on a continuous loop for an hour than Harold Reynolds.

Anyway, I like Verducci, but he did say "that's right in his nitro zone", so we can't just skip ahead in the buffet line, take the last four chicken fingers and pretend as if that didn't happen.

Boo?

Baltimore fans still boo when Mark Teixeira comes to the plate. I don't understand why Orioles' fans ever started doing that in the first place, nor why they continue to. Teixeria is a Maryland native and after the 2008 season he didn't sign with Baltimore. He signed with the Yankees.

1. it's been seven years
2. HE WASN'T OFFERED A CONTRACT BY THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES.

Boo!!!!!!

You stink Texsharia!

Players eating bananas

Stephen Drew

Game 155 - Arkansas vs. Virginia

June 13 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, NE
ESPN

Virginia got its College World Series started with a 5-3 victory, thanks to a pair of late runs and dominant work from the bullpen.

Kenny Towns ripped a go-ahead double in the top of the eighth and a two-out single from Ernie Clement in the ninth made it a two-run game. Any lead was safe with Josh Sborz pitching. The right-hander was outstanding in five one-hit innings of relief, striking out five.

Daniel Pinero was also great, picking up three hits and three stolen bases for a Virginia team that was national runner-up a year ago.

Baseball Phrases

Play-by-play man Jon Sciambi

"He's the quarterback out there on defense"
"Quasi-closer"

Commentator Aaron Boone

"You sell out for the fast ball"
"Sandwich pick"
"Side-to-side action"
"Playing with house money" (said twice)
"It might've been a skosh off the outside edge"

Game 154 - New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

June 12 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD
MASN

Like every major league game I've seen either in person or on television, there were several people in the stands with gloves.

Hang on, let me just revise that a bit: there were several GROWN ADULTS in the stands with gloves.

This topic has been discussed thousands of times, but I feel like there haven't been enough solutions, until now. 

I'd like to propose a glove bonfire be placed at the gates of every major league stadium. Call it the only phase of my Too Old For A Glove At The Park plan. If you bring a glove to the game, you simply have to provide identification with your ticket. And let's go ahead and set the age limit at 12-years old.

[Ticket taker] "Welcome to (stadium name). I see you have a glove there, OK, let's see some ID, son......looks like you're....nine. OK, come on through."

(Next person with a glove)

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on there buddy. Let's see some identification..........no, 47-years old. Give me the glove....enjoy the game." [glove tossed on nearby bonfire].

The bonfire being nearby is an important part of this. The fans need to see the bonfire; it's the only way they're going to learn.

I wonder if a glove detector is going too far? If people begin attempting to sneak gloves into the stadium if might be necessary. If no detectors, then ushers are going to have to start getting involved.

"You wanna hand me that glove, sir?"

"What glove?"

"The glove you used to try and catch that foul ball and then shoved underneath your jacket. Let's have it."

(starts to take off jacket) "The jacket?"

(hands jacket over)

(not accepting jacket/pointing) "The glove, sir."


Ubaldo

The announcers - Gary Thorne and Mike Bordick - referred to Baltimore's starting pitcher, Ubaldo Jiminez as "Ubaldo" nearly the entire time he was in the game, an 11-3 Orioles win.

I really do enjoy counting Ubaldos. It's a lot more enjoyable/popular than Let's Tally Up The Weak Groundouts By Yankee Middle Infielders.

* Thorne: said 'Ubaldo' six times
* Bordick: 15 times

By inning:
1st - 7
2nd - 2
3rd - 4
4th - 4
5th - 1
6th (after he had left the game) - 3

Notable Ubaldos:

Bordick

"Ubaldo double plays"
"Ubaldo's fast ball"
(What other Orioles' players are thinking when Jiminez falls behind in the count) "Come on, Ubaldo"
"Nice start for Ubaldo"

Thorne

"Ubaldo watching"

My 'Ubaldo(s)' count in this post: 14

* Also, Bordick said "extendoglove", and he wasn't going to get away with that.

Game 153 - Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs

June 11 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL
Comcast Sportsnet

I pick on a lot of broadcasters. In fact, this site is about 74% pickonbroadcaster (up from 68% in May), but the Cubs announcers produced a solid bit of work in the first & second innings. Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies were talking about how good of a hitter Michael Lorenzen was in college and that he wasn't necessarily a normal, weak-hitting pitcher. Lorenzen came to bat in the second inning and ripped a two-run triple that got the Reds to within 3-2.

Lorenzen wasn't as good on the mound, though (4 1/3 IP, 5 ER) as the Cubs used Miguel Montero's three-run home run in the first to take the lead and tacked on runs in the third and fifth to win 6-3.

Deshaies

We still heard plenty of nonsense from Deshaies. Here's his top 5:

"Weathered the storm"
"Lively heater"
"He's a youngin', as we like to say...out on the prairie"
"Self-fulfilling prophecy"
"Tightrope framing"

Webb Bobo All Stars

Chicago right fielder Junior Lake, welcome to the squad.

Game 152 - Rockdale Post 77 (GA) at Loganville Post 233 (GA)

June 11 at Bobby Boss Stadium in Loganville, GA

A trio of left-handers out of the Rockdale bullpen were the main story in this early-season contest in American Legion play, but unfortunately for Post 77 it was for all the wrong reasons.

Those three - Matthew Hammers, Christian Young and Yorel James - combined to walk 10 batters in just 1 2/3 innings of combined work, turning a scoreless game into a 7-0 Loganville victory. Sometimes you just lose the strike zone, and for Conyers, GA-based Post 77, three people lost the strike zone and it meant a shut out loss.

Post 233 didn't pick up a single hit while those three were in the game during the sixth and seventh innings, but they scored six times, and it took right-hander Nathan Greene coming into the game before Loganville got a line drive, RBI-single from Bailey Dutton to make it 7-0.

To be truthful, the actual main story was Brantley Frost, but the Loganville right-hander was somehow over-shadowed by the wildness of the Post 77 hurlers. I'm sure Frost has no problem with that because he tossed a complete game, five-hit shut out and struck out nine. All five of those hits were singles in Frost's 120-pitch gem.

* Before the meltdown on the mound, the first two Post 77 pitchers were quite good. Starter Chris Simonds, who is headed to LaGrange College in middle Georgia in the fall, didn't allow a hit in three excellent innings. He was followed by his former Salem High School teammate and Maryville College (Maryville, TN) signee Rocky Mauriello, who gave up four hits, but kept Loganville off the scoreboard.

Game 151 - Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics

June 10 at O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, CA
Comcast Sportsnet

Oakland came into the night on a four-game losing streak, but rallied from three runs down to win 5-4 on a walk-off fielder's choice.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Athletics got a run on an error, then Billy Butler's chopper found a hole between third and shortstop and the game was tied at 4-4. The ninth-inning rally against rookie Keone Kela included three balls in play, only one of which left the infield, starting with a one-out Sam Fuld single. Fuld then stole second and Billy Burns reached on a single to put runners at first and third. Josh Reddick hit a sharp ground ball that Adam Rosales dove for and caught at second base, but his throw wasn't close to get a sliding Fuld at the plate and Oakland evened the three-game series at one game apiece.

Ray Fosse, Part 1

In the top of the second, Fosse was talking about base stealers and the topic of Rickey Henderson came up. Here's Fosse: "Rickey probably could still steal a base."

No, Ray. No he probably couldn't.

First of all, Rickey Henderson is 56 years old. And secondly, stop it. Because if Rickey was watching the broadcast and heard what you said he might try and make a comeback.

Ray Fosse, Part 2

Fuld was up with two on in the bottom of the fourth. Fosse: "...and everybody else respecting the possible power from Fuld."

Ray: Sam Fuld hasn't yet hit a home run in 155 plate appearances after Wednesday's game and has 10 home runs in over 1,300 career plate appearances. His slugging percentage this season is .281.

"Everybody else" seems like an awful lot of people respecting Sam Fuld's power.

Webb Bobo All Stars

Please help me in welcoming Texas pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez to the team.

Game 150 - Midway point

Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates
June 10 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA
ROOT Sports

We celebrated the halfway point of our 300-game journey with a gem from Charlie Morton.

Morton had surgery performed on his right hip last September and he didn't make his first appearance of 2015 until late-May, but after four starts, the hip seems just fine.

THE HIP SEEMS JUST FINE
The Charlie Morton Story

Morton tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings, scattering four singles as the Pirates won 2-0 to salvage the third game of the series. Morton (4-0), who struck out six and didn't allow a hit until Aramis Ramirez led off the fifth with a single, lowered his ERA to 2.05.

Pittsburgh got the only run it would need in the first - Gregory Polanco led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Starling Marte's infield single - and Pedro Alvarez launched a solo home run in the second that just landed a few seconds ago.

Tough-luck loss for Kyle Loshe, who allowed 10 hits, but just two earned runs, which lowered his ERA to 6.27.

* Nice night of Baseball Phrases/complete nonsense for commentator Steve Blass:

"He's been a breath of fresh air"
"Business as usual"
"Tape measure job"
"Managers wear it, don't they? they wear it on their face"/"pitching coaches wear that six-month season on their face too"
"The buffet is set"
"Be fair by a nat's eyelash"
"Mucho Morton"
"This is what's called 'riding the dragon'"

Game 149 - Washington Nationals at New York Yankees

June 10 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

I think my least favorite type of Yankee game is the home day game during the week. It just always seems like first pitch was supposed to be at 7 p.m., but they decided at the last minute to start in the early afternoon.

And when those weekday games go into extra innings? That's the worst possible scenario for me as a Yankees fan. Things never seem to end well (though there have been plenty of day games that have ended well, I just seem to remember the excruciating day losses much more). Just like many games in the past, Wednesday's get-this-horrible-stuff-away-from-my-computer-screen-day contest ended with the Nationals scoring a run on an infield single in the top of the 11th and winning 5-4.

The best part about day games: they end. I can now go through the rest of the late-afternoon, evening and night in peace.

* New York got a pretty good start from Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 3 ER, 4 K, 1 BB), yet instead of going to set up man Dellin Betances in the eighth inning, manager Joe Girardi turned to rookie Jacob Lindgren and the southpaw served up Michael Taylor's game-tying, two-run home run with two outs. Chris Capuano, not closer Andrew Miller, pitched the 10th and 11th and Denard Span's slow roller up the middle was enough to score the eventual winning run.

Not sure why neither Betances and Miller didn't get into a two-run game with an off day coming on Thursday, but the Yankees certainly paid for it.

* New York erased a 2-0 deficit with a big 7th inning, highlighted by Brendan Ryan's RBI-triple, a run-scoring double by Brett Gardner and a go-ahead double to dead center field by Alex Rodriguez. After Gardner's hit tied the game, commentator Al Leiter said: "huge hit in this game."

Thanks, Al!

More from Al Leiter

Al wasn't just in the broadcast booth to tell you a hit that brought home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning was a "huge hit". He had other things to say:

"A true 12 to 6"
"A lot of things in the hopper"
"Hot button"
"He has some clunkers in there"
"Barreled it up"
"Heavy fast ball"

And I know what he meant, but this was still funny to hear:

"He's seeing more plates per plate appearance"

Non-baseball related spelling issues

During the game I was talking to someone about a salad I had and it took six tries to get it right:

cesar
casear
ceesar
caeesar
cesare
CAESAR.

It was a caesar salad.

Game 148 - Texas A&M vs. TCU

June 8 at Luptin Stadium in Fort Worth, TX
ESPN

What a way to close out the Super Regionals.

The two in-state rivals played for six hours, four minutes and finally, in the bottom of the 16th inning, TCU walked off on a throwing error and won 5-4, becoming the 8th and final team to advance to the College World Series.

The Horned Frogs, who return to the World Series for the second consecutive season, had a number of chances to win, but left two runners on in the 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th. In the 14th, Ryan Hendrix, who didn't allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Aggies, was hit in the forearm by a scorching line drive off the bat of Evan Skoug. The ball ricocheted right to first baseman G.R. Hinsley, who completed the 1-3-2 out at the plate.

It was that kind of night.

  

12th inning rally cap(s) in the TCU dugout


Hendrix and the visitors from College Station ran out of luck in the 16th. Garrett Crain and Connor Wanhanen drew walks and later, Skoug hit a ground ball to third base and Ronnie Gideon's throw home was in the dirt, scoring Crain with the winning run.

* There were plenty of outstanding pitching performances, though none stood out more than Mitchell Traver. The TCU right-hander came on in relief in the 13th and didn't allow a base-runner until issuing two walks (one intentional) in the top of the 16th. Traver struck out six in four hitless innings to pick up the win.

TCU starter Alex Young struck out a career-high 10 in 6 2/3 innings, helping the host Horned Frogs build a 4-1 lead going into the eighth, but A&M rallied. To open that eighth, Nick Banks ripped a solo home run to make it a two-run game, and down to their final three outs in the ninth the Aggies didn't hit a ball out of the infield, but still scored twice to pull even at 4-4.

Mark Ecker kept it a 4-4 game with four shut out innings out of the A&M bullpen. The Aggies best chance to score in extra innings came in the 11th when a Brian Howard wild pitch chased runners to second and third. Howard struck out Hunter Melton to end A&M's final threat of the season.

* TCU scored its first four runs on RBI hits by Derek Odell and Keaton Jones in the fifth and a two-run home run from Wanhanen in the sixth.

* A&M batters struck out 25 times, which is an unbelievable number even for a 16-inning game.

16 full innings of nonsense

Now that we have the actual details of this thriller out of the way, let's get to all the silliness from the broadcast booth.

* What Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson call fellow broadcaster Chris Burke: "Burkey" (said 14 times)
* What Neal and Burke call Peterson: "K-P" (15)
* Burke said "dude points" three times, which is 11 times too many.
* Peterson said this about TCU center fielder Cody Jones: "this kid's just a baseball player".

And here's the Baseball Phrase top 8:

8. "Wipe-out pitch" (KP)
7. "So often the bat will out-race the body" (CB)
6. "A thick lineup" (KP)
5. "He just rolls out of bed and hits" (KP)
4. "It's a bulldog on the mound" (KP)
3. "Put the program on the map" (DN)
2. "Aggieland" (DN)
1. "Good old country fast ball" (KP)

Game 147 - Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees

June 7 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
YES Network

CC Sabathia allowed back-to-back home runs in the top of the first to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols - the Trout home run was just the case of a really good hitter hitting a pretty good pitch out of the park; on Pujols' hit, Sabathia threw an actual meat ball (turkey) - and the Angels had a quick, 2-0 lead.

  

We've got a dropped hat


The southpaw then allowed a double to David Freese, but avoided any further damage, going six innings as the Yankees won 6-2 to sweep the weekend series.

Sabathia probably would've been able to start the seventh (he was only at 87 pitches), but after getting his third double play of the day off the bat of Kole Calhoun to close the sixth, he was ejected by home plate umpire Dan Bellino for arguing balls and strikes. Sabathia was upset about a 1-1 pitch to Calhoun that was called a ball. He yelled at Bellino all the way back to the dugout, never actually reached the dugout, and after manager Joe Girardi was also ejected, Sabtahia came back to home plate and got real close to Bellino while screaming what I assume was a recipe for a delightful spinach dip.

Home runs are good

It's really quite simple with the Yankees (and I guess with most teams): when they hit home runs, they are usually pretty successful. Sunday was no different as Chris Young pulled New York even with a lead off home run in the third, then a few batters later, Brett Gardner took an inside pitch that was probably going to be a ball and yanked a three-run home run down the right field line to put the Yankees up for good at 5-2.

Jose Pirela completed an excellent day with his first career home run, a solo blast in the sixth, and the third long ball off C.J. Wilson, to make it a 6-2 game. Pirela also doubled and started two of the double plays.

Carlos Beltran: valuable fielder

The other double play turned out to be a pretty underrated/key moment. Los Angeles had runners at first and third with one out in the third and Freese's fly ball was caught by Carlos Beltran in fairly deep right. Rather then try and get Erick Aybar at the plate, which would've been almost impossible, he threw to second and with the help of a nice tag by Didi Gregorius, Mike Trout was out by a half-step. Aybar didn't score in time and the Angels went scoreless.

* Couple quick Baseball Phrases from commentators Ken Singleton and David Cone.

Singleton - "that's his happy zone"

Cone - "thread the needle"

Games 145 & 146 - Plenty of offense

Morgan County at Rockdale Post 77
June 7 at Henson-Carr Legion Field in Conyers, GA

Thirty-two hits is a lot for an offense to accumulate in 18 innings of a doubleheader. Rockdale Post 77 had that many hits in EIGHT offensive innings on Sunday as they opened their American Legion season with 20-2 and 6-2 victories over the Morgan County High School summer travel team.

Each game ended after visiting Morgan County had batted in the top of the fifth inning - game one by-run rule and the teams played just five innings in the nightcap.

Quite a day for Rockdale:

* They batted around in three of their four offensive innings in game one, sending 10 to the plate in the first, 13 in the second and 12 more in the fourth. In 41 plate appearances, Post 77 batters reached base 30 times.

* In that opener, Morehouse College's Cole Gibson, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup, went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs, No. 7 hitter Barrett Burdett had three hits and five RBIs & clean up hitter Jason Howell (Clark Atlanta signee) went 4-for-4 with a walk. Every starter had at least one RBI, except for lead off man Yorel James, who was 3-for-4 and drew a walk.

* Matthew Hammers hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first for the big hit of game two. Post 77 reached base in 12-of-23 plate appearances and its on-base percentage for the day was .650, or 41 points higher than 2004 Barry Bonds.

Game 144 - Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees

June 6 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY
Fox

Angels' starter Garrett Richards hadn't given up any runs in the first inning of any of his first nine starts coming into Saturday evening.

The 2015 Yankees had been a strong offensive club in the first inning coming into the night (51 runs in 55 games), though, and it continued against Richards. Brian McCann clubbed a two-run shot and in Brett Gardner's second at bat of the first he took a fast ball right over the middle of the plate and ripped a two-run single and the hosts led 6-0, chasing Richards from the game before he got out No. 3.

Adam Warren did the rest, limiting the Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels Baseball Club of a Part of California to just four hits and two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings as the Yankees won their fifth straight, 8-2.

Warren, back in the rotation after a very good season out of the bullpen in 2014, has allowed three runs or less in eight of his 11 starts. Behind Michael Pineda and what the Yankees hope is a healthy Masahiro Tanaka, Warren has so far become the team's No. 3 starter.

Nicknames that aren't really nicknames

What Tom Verducci calls fellow color commentator Harold Reynolds: "H"

Game 143 - Cal State Fullerton vs. Louisville

June 6 at Jim Patterson Stadium in Lexington, KY
ESPNU

We spend a lot of time at this site documenting the nonsense said by baseball broadcasters, and Saturday's opener of the Louisville Super Regional was no different.

One day I'll open up my own Silly Baseball Hall of Fame (ridiculous phrases, the sound of Michael Kay's voice saying "Alex ROGG-REE-GIS" heard on loud speakers at all times, absurd nicknames, framed photographs of Sikes Orvis, etc..) and ESPN's Randy Flores will have his own wing. It'll be right up at the front door of the building and when visitors walk through that door and into his wing, they'll be sprayed with applesauce. 

The day didn't start well for Flores. Here's the tail end of a cough before his first pre-game comment:

Then he started speaking.

Flores would start a number of thoughts with a "come on!", as if play-by-play man Roxy Bernstein and the viewers had provided an opposing viewpoint, which they hadn't. I counted six come ons by Flores, including:

#1 right after the cough
#3 before talking about how "hot" were the St. Louis Cardinals
#4 before talking about how "important" was the win for Cal State Fullerton against Arizona State in last weekend's regionals
#6 talking about the University of Louisville's athletic facilities

If you've ever visited this site, you know that Flores wasn't nearly finished making a name for himself. Here's his greatest hits from Saturday's game:

"He's not even a pitcher, he's a surgeon" (said twice)
"And maybe we'll see if his legs start doing more talking"
"Baseball royalty"
"Changing the eye level" (said twice)
"He jolted it" (said twice)
"Solo jack"
"Solo bombs" (said twice)
"That bruise tomorrow could be the mark of a victory"
"Small ball's two outs away from a victory"

One more time:

(when describing a diving catch by the right fielder) "look at that little crocodile squirrel right here"

Titans win

Plenty of complete nonsense from the broadcast booth, but a huge game one victory for Cal State Fullerton. It came on a Timmy Richards' bases loaded, hit by pitch in the 10th inning and the Titans won 3-2.

Fullerton, which shook off a pair of tying solo home runs from the host Cardinals (Brendan McKay in the sixth and Mike White in the ninth), will try and advance to the College World Series with a win in game two on Sunday.

Game 142 - VCU vs. Miami (Fla.)

June 5 at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, FL
ESPNU

VCU was appearing in its first Super Regional, but the host Hurricanes used a three-run second inning and had just enough to hold off the Rams 3-2 in game one of the best-of-3 series.

Miami has made 23 College World Series appearances in its history, which is second all-time (Texas has 35), yet hasn't been to Omaha since 2008. That probably feels like 1908 to the folks in Coral Gables, but the Hurricanes are one step closer and can wrap up the program's 24th berth Saturday at noon.

In that second, No. 9 hitter Jacob Heyward delivered the big hit, ripping a two-out, two-run single to put Miami up 2-0. Ricky Eusebio followed with a single and it was a 3-0 game.

There was a 90-minute weather delay after that, then VCU got within 3-2 with a run in the sixth. Michael Mediavilla and Bryan Garcia combined for three perfect innings to close out the game one victory.

Anish Shroff/Danny Kanell

The broadcast team had a fine day splashing around in the Baseball Phrases kiddie pool. Let's take a look at their top 7:

7. "A fixture on the postseason front" (Shroff)
6. "A scrappy bunch" (Kanell)
5. "Tweener" (Kanell)
4. "Nibble their way back into this game" (Kanell)

And our VCU Top 3

3. "Darkhorse" (Shroff)
2. "A true Cinderella" (Shroff)
1. "David against Goliath" (Shroff)

Webb Bobo All Stars

We'd like welcome VCU southpaw JoJo Howie to the team. Howie went 6 1/3 innings and allowed the three runs in that second, but none were earned as a normally-strong Rams' defense made three errors Friday.

Nicknames that aren't really nicknames

Mark Light Field - "The Light"

Why it isn't a nickname: Because you just took one of the words in the name of the park and added a "the" to it. Why not just call it The Mark or The Field?

What about just one of the words?

"Welcome to Mark"
"Welcome to Light"
"Welcome to Field"

Game 141 - Catch 42 (GA) vs. East Cobb Braves (GA)

June 4 at East Cobb Baseball Complex in Marietta, GA

Things were going just fine for Stockbridge, Georgia's Catch 42 until the bottom of the fourth inning.

Catch 42 led 3-1 heading into that frame before Jeffery Hutcheson lined a lead off double down the left field line against Lawrence Harvey. Harvey got an infield pop out, but he lost the strike zone shortly after that. Harvey threw just two strikes as East Cobb drew three consecutive walks, the last of which forced home a run to make it 3-2 and chased the right-hander from the game. Reliever Myles Smith didn't fare any better as the southpaw gave up a go-ahead, two-run single to Alan Carter, then walked four of his own as the Braves scored six times to take a 7-3 lead and win by that score.

Amazing what can happen in a baseball game in just one half-inning.

Before that, Mason Calloway had ignited a pair of run-scoring rallies. Calloway, who I cover at Newton High School, opened the game with an infield single, moved to second on an throwing error and eventually scored from second on a ground out to shortstop to make it 1-0. In the third, Austin Holm and Calloway each had one-out singles and the duo pulled off a double steal (Holm swiped home) before Calloway scored on a single by Smith to put Catch 42 up 3-1.

Excellent work by Carter, who not only delivered the go-ahead hit, but came on in relief of starter Chase Shell and tossed three scoreless innings, striking out five to pick up the win.

Nicknames that aren't really nicknames

Catch 42

Calloway - "Mase", "Maso"
Austin Jeter - "Jete"

East Cobb

Hampton Clark - "Hamp"
Jimmy Richardson - "Richie"

Other things heard

Catch 42 third baseman Dillon Withers shouting encouragement to Smith: "same thing, rinse and repeat".

East Cobb third base coach: "there's ducks out there".

Game 140 - Marquis Grissom Baseball (GA) vs. The Highlanders (TN)

June 3 at East Cobb Baseball Complex in Marietta, GA

The Knoxville-based Highlanders were no match for Anthony Nettles as the MGB starter tossed four perfect innings in a 5-1 victory in the opener of the 18-under division of the wood bat East Cobb Invitational.

Nettles, a rising senior at Morrow High School (Morrow, GA), struck out six, including the side in the second. Rafiel Cabral added a dominant inning of his own, striking out the side in the fifth and tossing all 11 of his pitches for strikes.

MGB scored twice in the first, then tacked on two in the fourth - one when Alabama State signee Eriq White was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a passed ball.

The Highlanders finally broke up the perfect game when Trevor Whitley singled to open the sixth against southpaw J.T. Thomas. Andrew Slyvester’s bloop single in the bottom of the seventh snapped MGB’s shut out bid.

Game 139 - Baltimore Orioles at Houston Astros

June 3 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX
ROOT Sports

In just his fourth big league start, Lance McCullers pitched a complete game, four-hitter in the Astros' 3-1 victory. McCullers struck out a career-high 11 and retired 15 consecutive batters at one point, leading Houston to its AL-leading 35th win.

Chris Carter crushed a pair of solo home runs and George Springer hit a line drive solo shot in the sixth for Houston's runs. Baltimore tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth on Delmon Young's RBI-single, then didn't get another hit until Adam Jones' opposite field single with two outs in ninth. Fantastic outing for the rookie McCullers.

The return of Alan Ashby

We haven't had the pleasure of listening to color commentator Alan Ashby since his intriguing evening in late-April, so it was nice to be re-acquainted with his unique brand of Baseball Phrases.

Ashby likes Lance McCullers, that was made abundantly clear:

"That's high cheese"
"He can still get into that gas tank"
"Did a little paint job"
"This arm is alive!"
"He's all the way back in the tank there, trying to get every last fume"

And a few non-McCullers-related items:

"The fruits of his labor"
"Majestic fly balls"
"Polish him off"
"The home run brigade"
"He can hit that fast ball atop he eight-foot ladder, I know that"

Game 138 - New York Yankees at Seattle Mariners

June 3 at Safeco Field in Seattle, WA
ROOT Sports - Seattle

Masahiro Tanaka is back.

Tanaka made his first start since April 23 and was outstanding, holding the Mariners to three hits in seven innings in a 3-1 Yankees' win. Tanaka struck out nine (seven looking) and retired the final 13 batters he faced as New York completed the three-game sweep. Only in the third, when Seattle scored its only run on Dustin Ackley's double, did the right-hander struggle at all. That inning ended with the Mariners tying the game at 1-1, but with the potential go-ahead run (Ackley) being thrown out at the plate by Ramon Flores.

Flores hasn't hit at all since being called up from Triple-A Scranton, but that was his second outfield assist in about a week.

Garrett Jones followed yesterday's dramatic, three-run home run in the 11th inning with a two-run shot in the fourth that ended up being the difference. Jones took an inside pitch from Taijuan Walker and hammered it to right-center field. He had just one home run coming into Tuesday night.

Nicknames that aren't really nicknames

Logan Morrison - "Lo Mo"

Why it isn't a nickname: because they just took the first two letters of his first and last name and combined them. That isn't a nickname.

Other examples:

Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod
Hanley Ramriez: Han-Ram
Bobby Bonilla: Bobby-Bo
Carlos Gonzalez: Car-Go
Herman Terwilliger: He-Te

Game 137 - New York Yankees at Seattle Mariners

June 1 at Safeco Field in Seattle, WA
YES

Over the last week and a half, the Yankees have been a difficult team to figure out. They allowed 30 runs in being swept in three games at home by Texas, then swept a three-game series from AL Central-leading Kansas City. Last weekend, New York lost 3-of-4 to Oakland, which came into the series with the AL's worst record.

So, naturally the visitors scored seven runs against Felix Hernandez on Monday and didn't let the right-hander get out of the fifth in a 7-2 victory.

Hernandez, who came into the night with a 1.91 ERA, looked like he was going to cruise to a complete game, shut out on about 80 pitches when he set down the first nine batters he faced on just 21 pitches. But something changed in the fourth. I don't know if it was his footing - he had to knock the dirt from his cleats on a couple of occasions, (apparently the roof was partially open even though it's SEATTLE and the Mariners' roof is retractable) and his control just evaporated.

After consecutive singles by Brett Gardner and Chase Headley opened the inning, Hernandez threw a wild pitch (catcher Mike Zunino probably should've blocked the breaking ball as the pitch went right through his legs), scoring Gardner for a 1-0 lead. Two of the three walks in the inning were followed by Brian McCann's bases loaded double play that scored Headley and the Yankees led 2-0.

The Yankees opened things up in the fifth. Hernandez issued a lead off walk to Stephen Drew, which under the most-recent collective barganing agreement is a $75 fine, and five batters later Mark Teixeira launched a grand slam to make it 7-0. It was the sixth career home run for Teixeira against Hernandez, whose seven earned runs were the most he's allowed in a game since Texas got him for eight in August, 2013.

Michael Pineda was excellent for six innings, got into some trouble and didn't get an out in the seventh, but ultimately allowed just two earned and struck out nine in his first start at Safeco since being traded to New York before the 2012 season.

Game 136 - Illinois vs. Wright State

June 1 at Illinois Field in Champaign, IL
ESPNU

Wright State came into the day as a pretty heavy underdog. Host Illinois is the No. 6 national seed and needed to win just once to advance to its first-ever Super Regional. Meanwhile, the third-seeded Raiders needed to win twice on Monday. So anytime this type of situation presents itself in sports, we'll hear how the underdog team is running out of time & it's almost midnight & various thoughts on glass slippers.

Play-by-play man Jim Barbar, though, was on his own level. I consider him the Cinderella of Talking About Cinderella Baseball Teams.

Barbar talked about Cinderella three times in the pre-game, then as the broadcast headed toward a commercial he said: "we're about to find out if the shoe fits for Wright State", so that's four pre-game mentions.

He continued throughout the game:

"Cinderella hanging tough" (5)
"C (Cinderella) trying to make that glass slipper fit tonight" (6)
"The C Raiders up 2-0" (7)
"C is right there for the taking" (8) - that's not the way you say that, Jim. that makes it sound like C is right there in front of you, ready to be kidnapped.
"Well, if there was any doubt that C came to the ball just to sit around and do nothing...that thought has been extinguished today because Wright State has come and come to win" (9)
"The clock is about to strike midnight on C" (10)

* Fantastic job out of the bullpen by Illini left-hander Tyler Jay, who relieved in the sixth and fired four scoreless innings. Jay, expected to be a high first-round draft pick later this month, continued his remarkable junior season as he picked up his 14th save and lowered his ERA to 0.60 in 60 1/3 innings. Jay fanned five Monday and has 70 strike outs and just seven walks.

"It's something that we've been building up my arm for throughout the season," Jay said to ESPN about the extended outing. "I really look forward to it."

Something tells me not many people look forward to facing Illini pitching. In the three regional wins against Ohio, Notre Dame and the Raiders, Illinois allowed five earned runs in 27 innings pitched (1.66 ERA) and pitched a pair of complete games.

* Lost in all the Barbar/Cinderella nonsense was a solid night of Baseball Phrases from Jerry Kindall:

"Slugfest"
"He's all business"
"A plethora, a cascade of runs"
"The rest is history"
"The obligatory bath"
"The super playoffs....what do you call it? The Super Regionals!"