[jg2977]

Good Grief, What a Game
(By Charlie Brown)
I don’t even know where to start. The Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks 16–7 last night, and I think I’m still trying to figure out how they scored that many runs. I mean… sixteen? In a playoff game? If my team ever scored that much, I’d probably faint.

It all started okay for Chicago — they were only down 2–1 after the first inning. I thought, “Maybe this will be close.” But then came the fourth inning. No one out, and here comes Julio Mercado. He smacks a three-run homer off Jim Gould, and suddenly it’s 8–5. I’d say that was the turning point, but honestly, the turning point was probably when the Flames got off the bus.

Mercado didn’t stop there. He hit another homer in the fifth. Two in one game! Five RBIs! I can’t even get one hit in a whole season, and this guy’s knocking baseballs into orbit.

N. Kadri and M. Grubin were hitting everything, V. Gutierrez joined in, and even L. Bautista hit one out. The Flames just kept piling it on — three runs here, two runs there, and before you knew it, the scoreboard looked like a pinball machine.

Chicago had their moments — C. Bedard hit two home runs and R. Hextall and N. Foligno added one each — but it just wasn’t enough. The Blackhawks pitchers looked about as comfortable as I do trying to kick a football when Lucy’s holding it.

The series is tied 1–1 now, with Game 3 in Calgary on Wednesday. If Chicago wants to win, they’re going to need to figure out how to stop Mercado. Or maybe bribe him with a Snoopy snow cone machine or something.

Final score: Calgary 16, Chicago 7.
Good grief.