I finally got to see by beloved Pittsburgh Pirates this week so hooray. Of course this is right after one of their best players breaks his hand and is out for 6 weeks and just when I’m starting to move from pessimist to optimist.  At least there was not a lot of rain.

Without further ado this week’s baseball games attended:

Game #11 Reading at Harrisburg. Well spent this Monday night game with about 100 of my closest friends. I had my first rain delay of the year but it was for 15 minutes so it was not too bad. I just did an extra lap around the park. The paid attendance was a patriotic 1,776 but I counted much fewer than that. Ranger Suarez started for Reading and dominated, striking out 10 Senators through 8 innings and Reading won 6-0. Wirkin Estevez went for Harrisburg and was not quite so good. Damek Tomscha hit a two run double and Kyle Martin had the big hit with a grand slam that chased Estevez. Cornelius Randolph made a highlight reel catch in the 4th that saved a run and is in the running for my catch of the year. It was 43 degrees for most of the game but the grandstand blocked most of the wind making this a more pleasant experience then most of the other games. With a sparse crowd I was expecting a good fans-getting-goodies to goodies-tossed-into-the-stands ratio and I walked out with a T-shirt from the T-shirt toss. It doesn’t fit but it will get me free parking for a Thursday home game there so it’s worth at least $5 to me. Didn’t get a foul ball or win the lucky number (missed that by one!). Very few foul balls that night which was disappointing but then I’ve already got a ball this year.

Game #12 Carolina at Wilmington. The first foray into Delaware for the year. The weather was cold and I drove through a snow squall on the way and hopefully this is the last time I see those flakes until well after baseball season. Stopped at the Victory location in Parkesburg on the way down to get some beer so I can get the Untappd badge, quite nice there. One benefit of showing up on a cold winter’s (oh wait spring) day is that not a lot of people come. Paid attendance was over 2,000 but I counted about 300 people in the stands. The ushers let people upgrade their seats and I moved 6 rows from the field and later upgraded further to the front row right behind the plate. The team also allowed me to exchange my ticket for a future game but since I didn’t know the next time I would be there I held on to it. This game was over early. Wilmington’s Jace Vines was lousy and spotted Carolina a 7-0 lead after 3. Carolina’s Trey Supak, a former Pirate farmhand, was good and outside of a spirited comeback in the 9th Wilmington was dead in the water. Carolina won 7-4. Did get to see Royals top prospect Khalil Lee and Brewers top prospect Keston Hiura.

Game #13 Delmarva at Hagerstown. It was a bit chilly for a 10:30 AM start but the sun made it feel much better. After the past two days this was quite nice.  Jackson Tetreault was shaky for Hagerstown and did not fool anyone spotting Delmarva a 4-0 lead. Hagerstown fought back off Shorebird starter Michael Baumann and capping the comeback with a massive home run from Kameron Esthay in the 7th. Delmarva was not down long and scored 4 in the top of the ninth to win the game 8-4. Hagerstown loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth but couldn’t get a run across. I spun Big Tony’s prize wheel and walked away with a replica statue of Washington County’s Washington Monument, hooray! I missed that game a few years ago. Got to see Nationals #2 prospect Juan Soto and #6 prospect Luis Garcia. Had a delicious late lunch at Benny’s Pub, always like going there when I’m in Hagerstown.

Game #14 Pittsburgh at Philadelphia. Changed it up and took Amtrak to Philly. Got into town around 3 and went to 2nd Story Brewing and had a few beers before heading down to the park. This was the first time that I had ridden the subway in Philly since I was in 6th grade but with only two lines it’s not hard to figure out. If this were any other team besides my beloved Pirates I would have stayed home. It was cold and windy and by the time I left my teeth were chattering. I was wearing four layers and stood behind home plate to help keep the blood flowing but that did not help much. Pirates’ starter Jameson Taillon could do nothing right in the second and was yanked without completing the inning and down 5-0. Tyler Glasnow came in and was good until the 5th when he lost command and gave up two more before giving way to Richard Rodriguez who finished up the game. I was gone by then but I had no idea who Rodriguez was when I saw his name in the box score. Jake Arrieta for Philly was his usual dominant self against the Pirates striking out 10 over 7 innings while only giving up a Francisco Cervelli single that barely left the infield. Rhys Hoskins hooked a home run into the left field corner and Cesar Hernandez plated 3 with a single. J.P. Crawford caught Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier napping and came home to clear the bases. In the 5th Odubel Hererra caught Pirates left fielder Corey Dickerson napping on a shallow single and got another run. I did not like what I saw out of my team tonight at all. The worst part about riding Amtrak is that I had to wait until 11:00 to get a train back and I didn’t walk into my house until about 1 AM. It is much more relaxing but with the price increase I’m not going to use this every time.

Game #15 Pittsburgh at Philadelphia. Another cold one in Philly. Ivan Nova for the Pirates and Ben Lively for the Phillies. This one was a pitcher’s duel with the Pirates finally scoring a run in the 5th to get on the board. The lead did not last and the Phillies came right back tying the game and then getting the winning run in the 8th. The Pirates just cannot drive runners in. They had their chances that’s for sure. Final was 2-1.

Game #16 Richmond at Altoona Stopped at my aunt’s house for some computer repair and killed a bit of time hiking the Abandoned Turnpike. I noticed that there was a path that went up to the top of the tunnel and I followed that up to check it out. Neat. Then it was on to Altoona to get an Andrew McCutchen mini bobblehead. Mitch Keller, the Pirates’ top prospect, pitched for Altoona and was not particularly sharp but was effective. Altoona built a 7-3 lead during his 7 innings highlighted by Jason Martin’s monster home run to the roller coaster in right. Flying Squirrel starter Cory Taylor was lousy and was yanked in the second. Richmond scored 3 runs in the 8th on a (former Pirates prospect) Jerry Sands homerun but it was not enough and Altoona held on 7-6. It was also nice to be able to watch the game with only a T-shirt on.

Game #17 Pittsburgh at Philadelphia Back to Philly hoping that the Pirates could avoid a sweep. Their starter Trevor Williams was effectively wild for the first four innings and was given a 2-0 lead thanks to Elias Diaz’s homerun of Phils starter Nick Pivetta. Williams gave the lead right back with Pivetta himself getting the first hit of the game for the Phillies. The score remained that way into extra innings and the Phillies won in 11 3-2. Oh the Pirates again had their chances but didn’t capitalize. At least the Penguins won. And it was sunny and warm.

On the docket for next week (weather permitting)

April 23 Cleveland at Baltimore
April 24 Tampa at Baltimore
April 25 Arizona at Philadelphia
April 26 Lancaster at York
April 27 Altoona at Harrisburg
April 28 SWB at Lehigh Valley for a Scott Kingery bobblehed
April 29 Detroit at Baltimore