Last night at the A-diamond in Schenectady, the Giants pounded out 19 hits against 3 Cubs pitchers, and beat the Cubbies 13-3.
Due to a perfect storm of work commitments, vacations, and illness/injury, the Cubs were short 6 players, including the 1,2,4,5 hitters in their line up. Even with that, they were able to manage 9 hits (4 were doubles) against the Giants top two pitchers (Massaroni and Bolt), and got through all 7 innings without falling victim to the 12-run rule. Rarely have I ever said that I am proud of my guys, when losing by 10 runs, but I was last night. Never an ounce of quit, and a ton of hustle throughout the game, even though they were "up against it from the opening pitch. PJ Martone, Jerry Rosen, and Al Williams led the way with 2 hits each. Williams had two RBIs, and Kevin Jackson drove in the other Cubs run.
That being said, these Giants are rounding into playoff shape nicely, which is bad news for all the teams left in the hunt for the championship. Mark Massaroni made it back from the DL, and led off the game with a booming double over the head of the right fielder (who was playing deep). Darrell Duncan, Ron Smaka, Pete Geanellis, Tony Nardacci, Bobby Bolt, Kevin Madden, and Fred Pigeon all had two hits each! With all that lumber, and Ronnie Massaroni looking like the true ace of the staff, the Giants will be tough to beat the rest of the way. Oh, did I mention that they play great defense behind their pitching staff. Watch out playoff teams, this is your fair warning!
I want to thank Jimmy K for loaning us Tom Maney for the game. It was a classy move, and the Cubbies enjoyed playing with their brother immensely! Thanks Jimmy and Tommy! I loved every minute of it . . . except my 0-4.
Next up: the Twins next Wednesday at 5:45 pm, at the C-Diamond, in the regular season finale.
Always fun Mike to face you guys. But it wasn't the kinda fun either of us wanted. We were geared up, then kinda lost the edge when we learned you were w/o your top players. I did enjoy seeing you in the lead-off spot. Actually, I thought it was a brilliant move! We know full well that the next time we see the Cubbies you will be extremely pumped up. That's the kind of intensity that's tough to match. Good luck Mike.
Looking forward to a real game on August 15th, to see which one of us stays in the winner's bracket. That will be a BIG GAME! Can't wait!
I know that we both have one playoff game each, before that meeting, but I'm thinking positively. Probably producing bulletin board material for our opponents.
