It’s impossible to do justice to last night’s Diamond Dawg win. Down 4-0 after 1, down 8-2 soon after. Perno was ejected. Down 9-4 in the 7th. Looks like the streak was over, and there would be no shame in losing to a good Kentucky team that hammered Mickey Westphal. I should have known better. Josh Morris erupted for two home runs and a game-changing grand slam in the 7th. Bobby Felmy, for the second consecutive Thursday, drove in the winning run. Joshua Fields left no doubt and mowed down the Cats in order in the 9th. This isn’t even remotely the same team that we saw in April.

There were a couple of questionable late decisions from the Kentucky dugout that helped:

• Morris had a great day, and so Kentucky elected to intentionally walk him in the bottom of the eighth. By doing so, they loaded the bases and put the potential go-ahead run on second base. Sure enough, that runner on second scored the winning run on Bobby Felmy’s hit. Morris, even on his best days, is as likely to strike out as he is to hit one to Anderson, SC. Felmy is a steadier hitter and has a hitting streak of at least 11 games. While Kentucky might not have wanted to pitch to Morris, they could have at least made him look at some pitches to earn the walk – he doesn’t walk very often.
• In the 9th, Kentucky pinch-hitted for a player who had gone 2-3 with 3 RBI. The pinch-hitter struck out.

Had this happened earlier in the season, this game might be remembered as a turning point. Now, this weekend, it’s a huge blow in a season-ending fight for the division title. Yankees-Red Sox stuff. Incredibly fun.

Perno discussing the Will & Grace finale with an umpire