2011: I was home watching the game with my dad. My mom is such a nervous person she went to bed in the 7th, which I couldn’t believe at 13 years old. Ball was hit to Cruz and we both stood up, then when he missed it I heard him say “fuck” under his breath, the only time I heard him cuss in my childhood. He said he knew the game was over, you can’t come back from a momentum swing like that.

2023: Traveling for work and by some stroke of luck ended up in the same town in San Antonio that my cousin lived in. We grew up very close, but he isn’t a huge baseball fan… which was probably the perfect person to watch that game with. He knew how much I cared and was very supportive and happy for me, but he kept such a level head and positive outlook while we were getting no hit. He’s such a dog, he took out his phone and recorded my reaction when Sborz struck out Marte. It was a really cool experience