Like a Soundtrack to a July Saturday Night

07/21/2012

Cubs 0 Cardinals 12

Dear Cardinals,

Cardinal's baseball is the soundtrack to my summer. My nights are empty, so empty, on days when the team doesn't play.  I love that there's always a game to keep me company, to occupy those hot idle, afternoon and evening minutes.

Seeing as the Cardinals are a constant  presence in my life, I always check in on the games.  Saturday night, I went to watch Nelly perform at Soldier's memorial for Fair St. Louis. (It was free and so much fun! My sister and I arrived early and got a spot about six rows from the stage. I'm on ear-rest right now, because it was LOUD and I forgot to buy earplugs.)  Before Nelly took the stage, I called my dad to see what was going on at the game.  (I don't have internet on my phone, people!)  He says, "It's nothing-nothing. Sixth inning."  I hang up the phone thinking, oh, it's going to be one of those nights, isn't?

While on the Metrolink after a spectacular show, I called my dad to check up on the game. Nelly had mentioned that the Cardinals had won but he didn't say the score. Here's the transcript:

ME: Hey dad, what did the Cardinals do?

DAD: They won, 12 nothing.

ME: THEY SCORED TWELVE RUNS! How did that happen? How did they do that, it was nothing-nothing in the sixth!

DAD: Yup, they scored twelve runs in the seventh inning.

ME: They scored twelve runs in the seventh! IN ONE INNING!

I watched the replay of the game.  The bottom half of the seventh went on for ages.  When dad saw me watching the game he says, "I feel asleep three times and every time I woke up it was still the seventh inning."

Many amazing things happen in that inning.  Many record setting things happened in that inning. They tied a record for the most doubles in one inning with seven.  They had eight extra base hits, thanks to a Skip Schumaker triple.  They tied the franchise record set in 1926 for most runs in a inning. 

However, the craziest thing to me about that inning is the fact that EIGHT of the twelve runs scored after there were two outs.  Insane.

Til Later.