Last Friday, I threw the first complete game shutout of my professional career. The game came on the 20 year anniversary of the Diablos and close to 9 thousand fans came into the gates. It was one of those days where everything came together and will be a night I remember for the rest of my life. I was on short rest because I threw in Monday night's game against Grand Prairie but it did not affect me. I rolled zeros all across the board but had eclipsed 100 pitches at the end of the seventh inning. 100 pitches usually means giving way to the bullpen but since I had the shutout intact, Butch left me in. I did not dissapoint as I capped the CG shutout with a strikeout on the leagues best hitter, Pat O'Sullivan, as he looked at a fastball on the outerhalf for strike three. All in all, I ended up striking out eight Ft. Worth batters which warranted a hat pass. This was done immediately following the game and I collected $157 in cash.
Coming off the field after finishing off the shutout was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. It was a moment that I wanted to live in forever and in the hours following the shutout, I just played out that final pitch time and time again in my head. The team saluted me for my performance that night and we celebrated with a couple beers.
I picked up my second win of the season three nights before in Grand Prairie with as I threw into the six inning and allowed four runs. I had good stuff but a two-run homer in the second inning and a couple timely hits in the sixth inning would run me off. The bullpen did an outstanding job in preserving my win. Our closer at the time, Chris Thompson, nailed the door shut. He has thus been traded to Lincoln as the team acquired the rights of Mike Cervera. Cervera played in EP last year and is not only a great guy/team player but was lights last season.
Currently, we are in Lincoln, NE after a 19 hour bus ride. The team left El Paso at 11 pm MDT and got into Nebraska last night at about 8 pm CDT. The first nine hours were great because we were on a sleeper bus with flat screen tv's and full air conditioning. I had the top bunk so the cold AC coming from the floor wasn't that bad for me. At about 10 am, the AC stopped working. The bus soon turned into a sauna and probably was about 120 degrees inside. The bus driver pulled over time after time to fix it but to no avail. It was about 100 degrees outside so imagine being in a closed area during that time. Also, I had a top bunk so all the heat rose upwards. A couple of the guys did not look so well but made it off the bus ok. The team spent a total of nine hours on that bus without air conditioning...a unforgettable and scorching hot experience.
The team has really come on lately and we are playing much better. Aside from missing a couple bunts in crucial situations, we are doing everything that we need to in picking up victories. We took the first two games against Ft. Worth by combining good pitching with solid defense and timely hitting. We have also picked up a couple solid players in Mike Provencher, Justin Mallet, and Cardoza Tucker. They have all done well so far and will help us in the long run.
Tonight is the first game of three-game series against Lincoln. The Saltdogs are struggling but that is no reason to look past them. Nick Martin will be taking the hill for us tonight and looks to continue his streak of good starting outings. Nick is a good guy with good stuff and has settled in real nice for the team. He has had alot of success with his change up so I had him show me his grip the other night. I plan on using this in my next bullpen session.
I am not scheduled to start again until Friday night. It will be first game of the Sioux Falls series. Sioux Falls is in South Dakota so following the series, we will look forward to a 20 + hour ride to the Sun City.
