A night at the ballpark

My mom runs a senior citizen program in Lowell, MA. Once per season they have a trip out to see the Lowell Spinners, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox in the NY-Penn League (A). Every summer she invites the fam out to join her group for a night at the ballpark. Last season when we went, the Spinners won. This year not so lucky. However, the night is always off on a high note as our admission price allows us an all you can eat buffet two hours before gametime. We're tallking about lots of chicken wings, ribs, steaktips, hot dogs and sausages cooked on the grill plus corn on the cob, pasta salad, regular salad and fruit salad. Throw in a Pepsi or two to boot and you're all set for the night.

The weather was great until about the 5th inning when the wind started howling and the temperature dropped rapidly. Fortunately it didn't rain.

Here's the official press release from tonight's ballgame with some pictures that I'll add, when blogger lets me.

(Lowell) Spinners Erased by (Brooklyn) Cyclones
Strong pitching keeps Spinner hitters at bay, 4-1


Lowell, MA – The Brooklyn Cyclones rode a strong pitching performance by starter Eric Brown and combined it with some clutch hitting to defeat the Lowell Spinners 4-1 in front of 5030 fans on Notebook Giveaway Night, sponsored by Staples, Courier, Pepsi, Hood and Lowell Co-Operative Bank.

Brooklyn (30-20) jumped on top early, scoring a run in the top of the 1st with two outs on an RBI single by first baseman Jeremy Hambrice. They added two more in the 5th inning on RBI singles by catcher Jason Jacobs and right fielder Jonathan Sanchez. Lowell (24-25) was able to scratch together a run in the bottom of the 8th inning as Jorge Jimenez singled and advanced to 2nd when Jeff Vincent walked. Mike Chambers hit a fly ball to left that got caught up in the wind and dropped for a base hit to score Jimenez and the Spinners had cut the deficit to two.

However, the Cyclones added an insurance run in the 9th on an RBI double and the Spinners could not muster any late-inning magic tonight, as they had done the previous night.

Kris Johnson (0-2) picked up the loss although he allowed just his second earned run in 10 starts this season. Ryne Lawson was solid in long relief, hanging in for five and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out two. Jean Guillen’s nine-game scoreless streak ended tonight as he allowed one run on just one hit and two walks in an inning and a third.

Lowell did not have many scoring opportunities tonight as they put just seven runners on base via five hits, a hit batter and one walk. Vincent, Chambers, Jimenez, Zach Daeges and Reid Engel had the hits for the Spinners as Vincent extended his hitting streak to eight games.

The homestand ends tomorrow night as the Spinners look to take the rubber game of their 3-game series with the Cyclones. It’s Revenge of the Nerds Night sponsored by Pepsi and Bank of America with our special guest Myron Noodleman performing during the game! Brian Steinocher (0-1, 2.79) looks for his first victory as gates open at 5:30 p.m. and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.