Once in a Blue Moon

 The White Sox went into extra innings against the Mets Wednesday afternoon in New York, so when the 13^th inning rolled around, Sox reliever Matt Albers ambled to the plate.  One pitch, one called strike on the left-hand “hitting” Albers, who in another time would  be called “husky” on account of his 6’1”, 225-pound (and more, I’m sure) frame.  Another pitch, a second strike, all with Albers watching.  Then two balls, Albers still a statue.  And then on a 2-2 pitch, Albers suddenly came to life and lined a ball splitting the gap, with centerfielder Juan Lagares looking way out of place, though understandably shallow.

It was Albers’ first hit in nine years, now making him 3 for 35 lifetime.  Oh, and he really didn’t know how to slide, so he trundled into second base instead.  And trundled into third on a wild pitch.  And tagged up on a fly ball to centerfield.  And pitched the bottom of the 13^th for the win.

Now, Albers has something to tell the grandkids.  If it makes the Mets feel any better, I’d rather get beat by a DH any day than by a guy—and we all know girls couldn’t touch Albers’ hitting stats—with a lifetime batting average of .086.