This marks the final Thursday of the first half of the season. We’ve had an incredible run thus far, with wacky things happening each and every week. May our second half Thursdays continue to be as wild as the first half! Next Thursday, the only game on the entire slate will be Yankees/Red Sox.
Yesterday, we had some fun fashion, a home run from a surprising source, and some defensive wizardry! Let’s dive in.
Bamboo Brad’s Impeccable Headwear
The Phillies have homer hats! Unfortunately, “Bamboo” Brad Miller had to have himself a heck of a night, blasting three home runs against the hapless Cubs pitchers. So, with each home run earning a homer hat — and Miller hitting three absurd ones — the Phillies were in a bit of a pickle!
We’re gonna bring more homer hats next time. pic.twitter.com/4lV4qoebDe
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 9, 2021
I guess the Phillies missed the memo from the Boy Scouts and Scar about being prepared. Next time Bamboo Brad hits three dingers in a single game, they’ll be ready.
Grand Salami from an Unlikely Source
The Padres sent Yu Darvish to the mound yesterday, hoping to get an ace-like performance from a bonafide ace. Darvish dueled with fellow ace Max Scherzer. Unfortunately, Darvish was less than ace-like, giving up 6 ER in 3 IP. Daniel Camarena came in for mop-up duty and gave up two more runs in the top of the 4th, putting the Padres in an 8-0 hole heading into the bottom of the 4th inning. A Fernando Tatis Jr. home run made it 8-1. A bases-loaded walk from Wil Myers made it 8-2. That set up a bases-loaded opportunity for the mop-up relief pitcher himself, Daniel Camarena.
SLAM DIEGO‼️
It's the first career hit for Padres pitcher Daniel Camarena 👏
(via @Padres)pic.twitter.com/hpZ2EAyoSZ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 9, 2021
It sounds even cooler in Spanish.
https://twitter.com/FoolishBB/status/1413342733050187776
The very first home run that Max Scherzer has ever allowed to a fellow pitcher came off a 96 mph fastball beneath the zone. And, he gave up that grand slam to a relief pitcher! His first career hit!
Andrelton Simmons is Pretty Good at Defense
Yeah, the title says it all:
Watching this on repeat.@Jorge_Polanco1 | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/weT76nFU1D
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) July 9, 2021
Wow. Just wow. And kudos to Polanco for being ready for Simmons to make any sort of play on that ball.
Who’s in Charge of These Things?
Minor League Baseball operates on a different level of craziness than Major League Baseball. The uniform nights alone would fill up this column each week. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a MiLB team is trying something a little different for a uniform promotion.
The Tulsa Drillers, the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, decided to pay homage to Tulsa’s “noodling” roots by changing up their uniforms and hats. And man, they are incredible.
You wanted to see more of our new Tulsa Noodlers uniform – here you go
& yes, the pants are green 🟢#BiteBack pic.twitter.com/o46ermpLF6
— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) July 8, 2021
The tradition of “noodling” can be explained here. I was very disappointed to find out that noodling is not a way to make pasta.
George Springer, Onion Cutter
I am tearing up a little.
George Springer made a fan for LIFE 💙 pic.twitter.com/zqJmPWyMwt
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 8, 2021
This moment didn’t take place yesterday, but the video came out yesterday, so who’s really keeping score?
Enjoy your Friday, enjoy your weekend, and enjoy your All-Star break!
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)