August 26, 2006: Indianapolis Indians 9, Columbus Clippers 5
The Clippers were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with this loss. Not that anyone really thought they had a chance, anyway.
Bad night for the Clippers, but a pretty good night for Bubba. He scored the Clippers' first two runs. He had some nice plays on defense, too, including a leaping grab in the third.
Leading off in the first, he did a great job working the count, finally getting on with a single to left. As usual, he drove them to distraction once on base. Despite their best efforts to hold him on, he stole 2B. Again. And he cashed in the stolen base when Sardinha hit a single, scoring from 2B.
Leading off in the 3rd, he drew a walk. He scored again after a ground rule double and an error.
With two outs in the 4th, Bubba battled, got the count full, then hit a single to left. Once again, he stole second. He's now 7 for 7 in stolen bases for the Clippers. Alas, he was stranded when Mitch Jones flied out.
The Tribe finally succeeded in keeping Bubba off the bases in the 6th, when he popped out to 3rd.
In the bottom of the 9th, Cosme pinch-hit for Bubba. That seemed a little odd. Bubba was 2 for 3, with 2 runs scored, a walk, and two stolen bases. Perhaps it was a lefty-righty matchup thing. The pitcher was a lefty, and Cosme's a righty. Still, the Clippers were down 3-9, with only three outs left in the game. It was pretty much over.
I wonder if he's hurt? After sliding in to 2B on his second steal, he came up holding his knee. He stayed in the game and continued to play CF, though.
FWIW, Bubba is not in the lineup today. Perhaps they're just resting him, it being a day game after a night game. CF is a lot of ground to cover, and they've got a lot of outfielders. Still...I gotta wonder.
The Indianapolis radio announcers think Bubba will be a September callup. They said they weren't expecting him to be with Columbus for much longer. I hope so...for the Yankees' sake as well as Bubba's.
