For those who frequent this site, you are well aware that I try to refrain from ‘I / me’ articles, but sometimes there is no way around it in order to share a story. This is one of those times and I hope that you find it enjoyable.

As I have done for the past eight years, I flew from Los Angeles to New York for two very important reasons: 1) To visit and spend time with my daughter Christina, who moved to the Big Apple in 2010 to pursue her career; and 2) To watch the Dodgers play the Mets (and every three years the Yankees) with her. It is always my favorite road trip of the year, bar none.

Christina recently celebrated her 33rd birthday and, as you would expect, she grew up a huge Dodger fan, as did her 24-year-old younger brother Tim. In fact, as luck (or divine intervention) would have it, on June 18, 2014 while on a short visit home, Christina and Tim were at the game at Dodger Stadium against the Colorado Rockies while I was working in the Vin Scully Press Box for ThinkBlue LA.

If that date sounds familiar to you, it well should. It was the night that Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw threw his no-hitter and was a Hanley Ramirez throwing error away from what should have been a perfect game. As a father, there are no words to describe what it meant to me to have both of my kids there with me during such a memorable and historic baseball event.

With the Dodgers currently on the road to play the Cubs and Mets, I again made my annual trip to New York to once again spend time with my daughter and take in the Dodgers / Mets series with her. At Friday night’s series opener, it didn’t take long to realize that this was going to be a very special night when, during batting practice, Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling tossed a ball up to Christina.

Special indeed.

Ross Stripling tossing a ball up to Christina during batting practice pretty much set the tone for the night.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Once the game began – a game that pitted Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood against Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler – it became evident rather quickly that this was going to be a good one, with both pitchers doing exceptionally well through the first five innings and neither allowing a run to that point.

As the game was progressing, rather rapidly, I might add, I had an opportunity to share some facts about the current Mets team with Christina; most notably that although the enemy, I had always been quite fond of Mets right fielder Jose Bautista who, even in the twilight of his major league career, is still very dangerous with a bat – hence his nickname ‘Joey Bats’.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the top half of the sixth inning, Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger stepping up to the plate, I turned to Christina and said “Wouldn’t this be something?” In fact, as Belly stepped into the batters box, I even took a wide-angle photograph of the bases loaded because of my premonition.

There is no logical reason why I took this photo of the bases loaded with Cody Bellinger at the plate other than I had a premonition that he was going to hit a grand slam. (Click on image to enlarge)

For reasons that we will probably never know, Wheeler decided to throw Bellinger a fastball right down Broadway (no pun intended) on an 0-2 count. I mean, every one of the 32,565 in the house fully expected the 23-year-old / four-year MLB veteran to waste one (as they say) with a ball in the dirt – or wherever – and most certainly not feed the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year a cookie right down the middle.

But Wheeler did and Bellinger did not miss it. Instead, he launched an absolutely towering grand slam home run 401 feet into the upper deck of the right field bleachers. It was a mammoth shot and the second grand slam of Bellinger’s young career.

Why Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler threw an 0-2 fastball right over the middle of the plate to Cody Bellinger will forever remain a mystery. Bellinger promptly deposited into the top deck of the right field bleachers at Citi Field. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

In the bottom half of the sixth inning, Jose Bautista furthered my premonition (remember what I had said to my daughter earlier?) by crushing Alex Wood’s second pitch – a 94-MPH change-up – into the left field bleachers with a man aboard to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

Moments later, a member of my Dodgers twitter family asked if I was having fun at the game, to which I answered with a bit of a premonition twist.

It wasn’t quite two, but close.

With one out in the top of the ninth inning and the score still sitting at 4-2, Dodgers right-fielder Yasiel Puig stepped into the batter’s box. As he did so, I once again turned to my daughter and said “We sure could use a home run here.”

Boom.

On the second pitch, Puig reached out and lifted a hanging slider off of Mets right-hander Chris Beck into the left field seats to make it a 5-2 game.

Puig actually reached out and got Beck’s slider and somehow managed to hit it out to straightaway left field – yet again another testament to his incredible strength. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

As he usually does, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen sealed the deal in the bottom of the ninth to earn his 19th save of the season and secure the 5-2 win for Alex Wood, his third of the season.

Although anything can happen in the game of baseball, it’s safe to say that Dodger fans feel pretty confident whenever Kenley Jansen enters the game. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although the premonition thing is certainly nothing more than wishful thinking coming true, I fully believe in that divine intervention thing. Fortunately, God appears to be a Dodger fan … at least when they are in New York, where their very roots lie.

There is one other possibility, of course; one that far exceeds any premonitions on my part. It is entirely possible – probable, in fact – that my daughter Christina is simply a good luck charm for the Dodgers.

…and she’s going to the next two games with me!

Play Ball!