I'm going to start this game thread on a serious note. Tonight is cancer awareness night at Target Field. I don't think anyone, anywhere hasn't been touched by cancer in some way or another. For myself ... my Mom and sister both had breast cancer, my Dad had prostate cancer, my grandfather died from colon cancer, my aunt had uterine cancer, my uncle died from an an acute form of leukemia, and the latest, a very dear friend of mine diagnosed recently with melanoma. It's everywhere in one form or another, so take care, get check ups, offer help where you can to someone in need, donate, volunteer ... nothing is too small or too great.
That said ... onto baseball. Wow! Four in a row!!!!! I can't believe how exciting that is ... and I also can't believe that the reason for such excitement is because of a season of such despair. But ... I'll take what I can get ... in this season, nothing is too great, or too small. Okay ... well ... yeah, we could debate the specifics of that, but generally speaking. So, tonight ... we have J.A. Happ vs Tyler Mahle. I really don't want to say it, but, we may be reminded of our despair with this match up. Mahle is on a roll and Happ is rolling down the hill. I don't know how else to say it, but there it is. But, I'm liking the roster ... any roster is so much better looking with Buxton in it. And, I hate to say it, no Sano. If Happ can hang in there, I think we just might have ourselves a ball game.
And since I'm into brevity ... play ball! Go Twins!
REDS
1. Jonathan India (R ) 2B
2. Jesse Winker (L) DH
3. Nick Castellanos (R ) RF
4. Tyler Stephenson (R ) C
5. Joey Votto (L) 1B
6. Eugenio Suarez (R ) 3B
7. Aristides Aquino (R ) LF
8. Kyle Farmer (R ) SS
9. Scott Heineman (R ) CF
Tyler Mahle, RHP, 7-2, 3.39 era, 90 SO, IP 74.1, WHIP 1.09
TWINS
1. Luis Arraez (L) 3B
2. Byron Buxton (R ) CF
3. Trevor Larnach (L) LF
4. Nelson Cruz (R ) DH
5. Max Kepler (L) RF
6. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B
7. Alex Kirilloff (L) 1B
8. Ryan Jeffers (R ) C
9. Andrelton Simmons (R ) SS
J.A. Happ, 3-3, 6.12 era, 44 SO, IP 60.1, WHIP 1.44