Ratters edge Aces in Super Senior matchup

The Tucson Aces battled it out with the Arizona Rattlers at Mission Manor Park this morning. It was my first start of of the year. When I've been healthy enough to take the mound this year, it has always been in relief. In six innings as a reliever, I've pretty much held my own. But starting, especially away from home -- away from the friendly confines of Udall Park, is a lot harder to do.

I couldn't get comfortable toeing the rubber at Mission Manor. My catcher, Chuck Sabalos, did his best "framing" my pitches and I did get a call or two in our favor, but I walked six in my four innings of work. Still, we had our chances to beat the Rattlers. Down 8-6, we picked up a run in the top of the fifth and another in the sixth to even the score, and, that of course, got me off the hook. The Rattlers strung together three hits in the bottom of the sixth and escaped with a hard-fought 10-8 win. My buddy, left-hander Ron Petersen pitched two innings in relief and was saddled with the loss. We'll get another shot at the Rattlers next Tuesday when they come to our place.

Super Senior footnote: Chuck Sabalos, 60, recently retired. We call him the "Judge".  He retired in January and is a former Tucson Superior Court Judge and back in the mid '60s was a catcher at Tucson Rincon High School. One of Chuck's high school teammates and battery mates was Pat Darcy, the former Cincinnati Reds pitcher. Darcy, a Tucson resident, gave up the memorable, clear-the-foul pole home run hit by Boston's Carlton Fisk in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Darcy is a 1993 inductee into the Tucson Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.