Game 8: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL
Miami Marlins vs Chicago White Sox- Saturday, May 25, 2o13
We arrived in Chicago around 11 am after a short flight from Detroit. It was too early to check into our hotel so we worked on the blog for a while, checked in, worked some more on the blog, got a quick lunch at the hotel restaurant (we already did the Hard Rock Café here on our last trip), and headed to the Art Institute of Chicago. We got there just before they were about to close and spent about a half hour admiring their contemporary collections. We then walked to the station to take a subway to the ballpark.
As it turned out, we were a bit late arriving at U.S. Cellular Field. We got off at the wrong subway stop and by the time we realized that, turned around, and got to the game, the first inning was underway. We collected the free 1983 White Sox caps that were being given away at the game and slowly made our way to our seats, which were way up in the 500-level right behind home plate. This was our first time sitting that high up at a game. The weather was great and the view was fantastic! We could see the entire field, and accurately tell balls from strikes. We were also directly across from the giant scoreboard and could see all the cool messages and video clips that were posted on it. We walked around during the middle innings to see the action from different angles and take pictures of the many beautiful murals depicting White Sox history that were all around the concourse.
This, too, was one heck of a ballgame! A really exciting pitcher’s duel that came down to the wire! Pitching for the White Sox was “Joliet Jake” Peavy, a four-time all-star who won a Cy Young Award in 2007 and a Golden Glove last year. Matching him pitch for pitch was Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco. The South Siders eked out a run in the third when Alejandro de Aza (he should have been an organic chemist!) singled and Alexei “The Cuban Missile” Ramirez brought him home with an RBI double to left. Peavy, tossing a beauty, made that 1-0 lead stand into the ninth inning. And then he made one costly mistake. At the top of the ninth inning, he sent a slider into the nitro zone of Marlins second baseman Derek Dietrich who promptly deposited it into the right field stands for a game-tying homer. Later in the same inning, Peavy walked the designated hitter Chris Coghlan on four pitches and incredibly balked him to second! How often do you see a balk in a major league game, especially by someone with Peavy’s credentials? Fortunately, he was able to work out of trouble without any further damage. In the bottom of the ninth, Peavy’s teammates came through for him. Dewayne Wise opened the frame with a double to left field. Next up was Conor Gillaspie’s who lined a walk-off single, also to left, that scored Wise and lifted Chicago! This was the first time that we have seen a walk-off win. And it was way more exciting that watching one on TV!
This Chicago team, despite some early season troubles, is now near the .500 mark and just four games off the pace. Along with Detroit and Cleveland, they look to turn the AL Central into a real dogfight this year.
After the game, we took the subway back to the hotel and turned in for the night. We are off to another game soon and will see you at the next stop!
