One of the deep philosophical questions of the modern age, or, at the least, a dandy one for baseball teams, is, "Do you have a rally in you?"

It could be called a "defining question." Then again, it could not. Philosophers are a funny bunch.

Turns out on Monday last ( the 15th) both the Americans and the Pirates had rallies in their bats.

The final one belonged to the Americans, who came back from three runs down in the last two innings to score five runs and earn
an 8-5 win on a comfortable, sunny night at the A diamond.

Both clubs featured sharp pitching to start (Rick Knipper for the Pirates and Scott Ross for the Americans) and the score
was 3-2, Americans, through four.

That's when the Pirates pulled out their rally scabbards, and posted two innings of run-scoring to take a 5-3 lead.

The prettiest hit of the night belonged to the Pirates' second baseman Jim Denny, who launched a high, arcing shot to
the wall in left near the corner for a double. It cut a white line through sky and memory.

In the sixth, though, the top of the Americans' lineup of Ross, Mike Aiello, Vinny Koster, Ralph Caputo and Rich Garbarino slammed
the ball around the diamond for hits or earned walks and stole bases, leading to a 7-5 lead for the blues-and-the-grays. The Americans
added one more run in the seventh on a mix of errors, hits and walks for the 8-5 victory.

Once again, Pirates manager Jim Dalton, who came on in relief, bumfuzzled Americans' hitters for a few innings,
showing that his several stories high floater is an exceedingly tempting pitch, drawing too eager swings, and poor contact. (To
which your scribe attests.) The Americans' Ed Rogers tried a new tack: patience. He and those after him waited for strikes,
setting off a series of hits, walks, stolen bases (Anthony Torre's was especially quick) and runs.

The Americans kept their edge over the last two innings when battery mates, lefty pitcher Scott Ross and catcher Mike LaBarge,
switched roles. Both handled their new jobs well, and Scott in particular entertained.

That's because it's always a treat to see a lefty catcher. Ask any philosopher. Or comic.

The victory gives the Americans a 2-2 record. The Pirates fell to 0-2.

-Mike




-- Edited by mikehart on Monday 22nd of May 2023 07:03:30 PM