The first game was back and forth as we secured a one run lead in the 8th inning. Then I made one big mistake. Our starting pitcher, Auge (pronounced Aulga) was throwing well, but beginning to fatigue as his fastball was starting to vary speeds and stay up in the hitting zone. With the 9 hitter up, nobody on base, and me trying to be to technical, I called for a change-up to help him adjust down in the zone and throw the pitch out front to find his release point once again. I thought that would help him with his next pitch, but as it turns out, the 9 hole-hitters in Germany love the changeup because it goes right into their bat speed. WACK! The smallest guy on the field hit a hard fly ball to left and it left the yard. Tie game! Auge did not adjust down in the zone, instead, he left it up in the hitting zone like his fastball, and the slower speed of the changeup went right into the 9 hitters bat speed. I didn't feel too bad because I was leading off the top of the ninth and I knew that with the top of our order coming up we could get it back. However, I hit a hard grounder to second on a 1-0 slider and failed to get on. We did not score in the 9th, shut them down again, and went extras. "Great!" I thought to myself. It is hard knowing you have to catch a double header (at least 18 innings) and the first game goes extra innings which makes it a long tiresome day! I am definitely ok with it, I would rather play than not, but it wears you down.
Imagine squatting over 1,000 times a day, blocking over two dozen pitches, getting hit by fouls, bats, and runners, making sure every pitch is the right pitch to call, concerning yourself with fielding positions, opposing lineups and conversing with German umpires who speak little English (as I speak little German). I had an umpire tell me I was "getting in the way of his view" when I received a pitch right down the middle that was NOT called a strike. Like I said, every inning is a new game and you can get tired both physically and mentally while catching!
We failed to score again in the 1oth, and since Auge had already thrown about 140 pitches in 9 innings he was done. Auge was really upset about being taken out and swore he had more in the gas-tank. I honestly believed him because he seemed better as the day went on (minus the homer) and this guy is full of tenacity and competitiveness. We brought in our best German reliever and leading off the inning for Solingen was the American Auslander who had played with the Phillies Organization. He was a recent addition to the Alligators after they had released their previous American due to poor performance. We had talked very briefly during his at-bats but from what I gathered he was a good dude. He got ahead 1-0 and on the next pitch hit a slider that had just the right amount of backspin on the ball which sent it tailing into right-center. Our right-fielder took a terrible route and he was standing on second with a lead-off double. Their four hitter came up and just like he had been trying to do all day took a ferocious swing and pulled the ball down the 3rd base line. Run scored, game 1 over.
We didn't hang our heads as we knew we had game two with Danny on the mound. We were facing another left-handed pitcher from the States who had the most strikeouts in Germany, as well as the most walks. We knew it was going to be a good game.
The game was a total pitchers duel as both Americans went scoreless inning after scoreless inning. We finally broke a 0-0 tie in the 7th when our 7 hitter got a two out hit with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Two runs seemed to be enough as Danny continued to cruise on the mound and finished the game by not allowing any runs. 9 innings pitched, complete game and 0 runs. We won game two, 2-0. Pretty good day! Although we both hit the ball hard we did not help much offensively the second game. I lined out 3 times on the day and only managed 1 hit in 8 at-bats, while Danny had 3 hits on the day and pitched terrific!
The highlight of my day was in the 8th inning. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd base, Solingen had their cleanup hitter at the plate. The same hitter who had beat us in game one. After a first pitch strike our manager started yelling at me by my team nickname "Llyod" (From Dumb and Dumber. Apparently we look alike.) He also yelled at our first basemen by his nickname. He was looking for us to back pick the runner at first to avoid facing the 4 hitter with runners on base. At first I thought he wanted me to call a pick off from the pitcher to 1st which is really hard and the timing has to be perfect. I gave the pickoff sign to Danny followed by a fastball sign. I thought he would pick to first, but instead he went to the plate and threw me a pitch. As soon as he threw it I realized I could throw the baserunner out at first because he had taken such a big lead. The ball was up and away to the right handed hitter. It was a perfect pitch for the situation. I set my feet and threw to first where the baserunner was totally caught off guard. He had no reason to take a big lead, and nowhere to go considering there was a runner on second base already. He was so stunned he froze on his way back to first and attempted to get to second where a runner was already occupying the base. After one throw from our first basemen and a tag from our shortstop we were out of the inning scott free. Danny was pumped and I had a big grin on my face as I gave Red a big fist pump for calling the pick.
The best part was I didn't realize until after the game that I had picked off the American shortstop. He came up to me shook my hand and said, "Thanks a lot man, really? Back pick? I never saw that coming" He was smiling, but I could tell he was still pissed. I responded with a "Baseball is still Baseball, even in the Bundesliga." (Nickname for any first league professional team in German sports, including baseball) We had a good talk after the game and shared similar stories about our playing experiences so far.
With a split against Solingen we had a good ride home. Our manager was very happy with Danny's performance on the mound and we had a week to prepare for another good team, the Bonn Capitals, which after our split with Solingen put them in first place with a record of 9-1. Bonn also has one of the top rated pitchers in all of Europe and the true number 1 starter for their National team. Although we had 7 more days until we competed again, I was looking forward to the week ahead.
A changeup to a German 9-hole hitter? You're better than that.
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