This game did not count, yet it is one of the more memorable home openers for me. This would end up being a banner season for the Indians, but this was an inauspicious start. Former skipper Mike Hargrove brought his Mariners to Cleveland to face Paul Byrd, who set down the first twelve in order. The Indians took advantage of five Horacio Ramirez walks and three errors to build a 4-0 lead. All the while, snow was coming down and picking up in intensity. The game started at 5:01 and after Byrd’s first pitch in the second, just twenty-eight minutes in, there was a twenty-two minute delay. Ibanez fouled off a pitch and there was a second delay, this time for seventeen minutes.
In the top of the fifth, Byrd needed just three outs to make the game official and potentially give himself a shortened no-hitter. He battled both the Mariners and the elements, walking three but getting two outs and a 1-2 count on Jose Lopez before Hargrove’s pleas were finally heeded by the umpiring crew. The game once again went into delay, and this time it would not resume.
The entire series would be wiped out, leading to Seattle making multiple trips to Cleveland on what previously were off days (leading to Ichiro’s quip “If I ever saw myself saying I'm excited going to Cleveland, I'd punch myself in the face, because I'm lying”), and the Indians next series with the Angels being moved to a netural site at Miller Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment