It’s another long four-hour road trip, this time south of St. Louis to the town of Crystal City. The Hornets are currently 6-6 and are in fourth place in District 2. Doug Parlier is back on the hill for us, so I’m pretty confident about today’s game. We’re hitting well, and our best pitcher is starting. There are only 30 people in the stands. Pretty sad, if you ask me. The guys come out swinging, smacking three hits and scoring twice to give Parlier a 2-0 lead before he ever heads out to pitch. Doug looks good in the first inning. He gives up a hit, but no runs score and he gets a K. The 2nd inning, however, is another story. Parlier allows two base hits, then walks three straight batters!! With the score tied, he gives up another hit, which scores another run and puts us down 3-2. In the bottom of the 3rd, Doug’s control problems continue, as he gives up a hit and walks two more batters to load the bases with only one out. I head out to the mound, concerned that Doug is injured. He says to me, “I’ve got plenty of juice left.” My response to him? “Well Doug, your juice isn’t going over the plate.” Against my better judgment, I leave Parlier in the game. He gives up a deep fly ball which scores the runner from third, then gets a ground out. We’re now down 4-2 after three. We go down in order in the 4th and 5th, and Doug looks like his normal self, so I keep him in the game. I pull Parlier after five innings because his pitch count is getting too high and bring in Jim Gillespie for the 6th. He gives up a two-out triple, but he’s able to get us out of the inning without further damage. We break the game open in the 7th behind two walks, two hits, and a Crystal City error. Four runs cross the plate and we take back the lead, now up 6-4. Gillespie pitches us through the 7th inning and maintains our two run advantage. Danny Worley holds the 8th for us. In the 9th inning, with two outs, Chris Gause and John Graham hit back-to-back jacks to make it 8-4. Gause is only the second player on the team to hit a homer. The other is Graham, who hopefully is breaking out of his hitting slump. Darius Turner pitches the 9th for us, as we go on to win our fifth straight game!! Our record is now 9-4, and I learn after we return home that our rival, Pierce City, lost their game, making us tied with them for the district lead!!
In Major League news, Greg Maddux signed a seven-year, $52.8 million extension to stay with the Atlanta Braves through 2001, with an opt-out year in 1997. Based on what Maddux made in real life, which is over $11 million more over the same time span, I can only assume he'll opt out in 1997 and get a bigger contract.