Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 3: Lamb Slam, thank you ma’am

Record: 64-48. Pace: 93-69. Change on 2016: +18.

Life, work, badass girlfriend; all these factors combine to make for a drastic lack of beercaps. So lets go get this train back on track!!!

Beer 1: The Return of Dankenstein IPA by Dark Sky Brewing

• An appropriate beer to start this series, especially since one can legally enjoy the stickiest of the ickiest in all of CA nowadays, and this beer is certainly very very dank.
• Honestly, been traveling all over God’s green earth these past two months that I can’t remember the last time I did one of these goofy carefree articles. Would love a W, but would accept at least a competative game at this point. For as much as my soul yearns for the torment of Dogder fans, I have to respect the team they’ve put together.
• Godley, though very much still cutting his teeth in the majors, worries not about the top of the LA lineup as he cruises through the 1st and Peralta helps keep the good feelings going with a lead-off double.
• Lead off double is followed by a AJ walk, and then, with one out, Lord Goldy commeth. His every breath stills the wind. The very beat of his heart jars the souls of his enemies. Maeda know his time is nigh, Meada knows his doom is come. Meada knows.....
• ....Goldy will fly out. Not quite how I pictured that to turn out, and JD strikes out to bring a rather disapointing bottom of the 1st to a close. 0-0

Beer 2: K-Lax Hazy IPA by 12 West Brewing Co

• Hazy IPA’s are a thing now, verily. It’s still an IPA, but it’s unfiltered and typically so juicy in flavor you’d swear the bartender accidentally poured you a glass of grapefruit juice with a smidge of dankness added.
• Godley, like hazy IPAs, is also a thing as he once again goes through the LA lineup. I know it’s been written quite a bit on this blog, but Godley is very much the real deal. Is he an ace? Too soon to tell, but he sure as shit has a spot in this rotation, both now and going forward.
• Another uneventful inning for our heroes and (blessedly) our villains we well. Godley still looking great after 3 frames. Still 0-0 though......
• And so the hapless offense continues on. That’s a rough statement to make I know, but when playing in Chase you generally expect run production to go up in impressive form as well. No so thus far
• Turner just seems to relish any and all D-backs pitching. It’s really quite unnerving and frustrating. 0-1 Doyers as Turner crushes a HR into left-center. Ugggghhhh
• Godley is human after all, giving up a second run in the 4th making it 0-2, and making me need another ale.....

Beer 3: July 11th Dragonfruit IPA colab beer by Wilderness & Cylce

• I don’t know what dragonfruit is, but I need it in my life. This is amazing and a vibrant pink in color. Perhaps this will presage a good inning for our offense? Buddha willing.....
• Nope, no dice. 0-2 going in to the 5th.
• Leave it to our catchers to once again do a thing. Iannetta crushes a solo shot in to center field getting us on the board and making this a 1run game. 1-2 Doyers
• Maeda must truly be merciful, for he either just wanted to make the game interesting or just threw the worst 1st base pick-off attempt in baseball history. I’m gonna go with the later. Now it’s Marte on 3rd with one out (after Godley wiffs).
• Nothing much comes of that though, but Turner once again thrives and after another solo shot it’s 1-3 Dodgers. Looks like I picked the wrong night to get back into the beercap
• Lamb answers my prayers in the 6th with a solo shot of his own bringing the deficit back to 1. Praise be to Goldy’s only begotten son Lamb......2-3 Dodgers

Beer 4: Blood of my Enemies unfiltered IPA by Dark Sky

• Bottom of the 7th and it’s time to see what’s what. GF is here at the bar playing Disney’s Aladdin and killing it on the Super Nintendo, with her fearsome puppy Banana. Such a badass.
• On that note the D-backs get a man on 2nd after a wild pitch and my GF invited me tog play Mario Kart. This is truly a glorious night.
• Won the first race, got owned the 2nd. And got owned the 3rd race......
• Bases loaded and another race on. My god...and I won on the lava castle level.

• Grand Slam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6-3 Dbacks as Lamb comes through. Truly the combination of the GF and Mario Kart is a good thing! Praise be to Nintendo!
• GF loses in Battle Mode, our relationship has reached a new level of passion. She has finally recognized me as a worthy opponent. Still 6-3 D-backs btw.
• Rodney is in and ready to put my heart in serious danger, which he initiates in great gusto allowing the first batter on.
• Luckily we win, just as I win at video games. Yay!

Bells and whistles

The Gameday Thread ended happier than it seemed it might be, as the prospect of yet another one-run defeat to Los Angeles loomed! Present were: Anisha0913, Canadia, Cumulus Choir, DORRITO, DeadManG, Gilbertsportsfan, GuruB, Jackwriter, Jim McLennan, JoeCB1991, LamparT, Makakilo, Michael McDermott, MrMrrbi, Oscar Goldman, PaulGoldsmith, Sprankton, TylerO, Xerostomia, coldblueAZ, gamepass, hotclaws, megnetic, onedotfive, piratedan7, since_98, smartplays and tommyt_16. Comment of the night, in an entirely ironic fashion, to Sprankton.

Said all the Dodgers fans. :) Everyone else in the top six of the National League lost today, so this was a significant night. We leapfrog the Rockies and go back into second-place, and are now 6.5 games clear of the Brewers. Preliminary estimates put our playoff odds, per Fangraphs, as back to 89.8%. Tomorrow should be a little cracker as well, with Zack Greinke going for the D-backs, going up against Alex Wood, who blanked us for seven innings last time.