Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 2:30 a.m. in "The City."

Yesterday's rains came @ just the right time in the morning. They were steady rains without T-storms and soaked things nicely. They ended in time for me to take the morning safari with STWD and then get back in time for Adam and me to do a few errands and have lunch while we were out. All in all, a pleasant day.

The current temperature is 66° under partly cloudy skies. The NWS has forecast T-storms for later this evening, so I forecast that the annual Coat Guard Festival Car Show should go on with no interruptions. I'm expecting a good turnout. I'll take the appropriate amount of pictures and share them in a future blog.

Speaking of that car show, Adam and I plan to get to the show early and then get back to the PE for lunch. Mary has plans to go to the 1st annual Flea Market on 7th St. in GH. That sounds fancier than it is, but the beauty for us is that it will be within two blocks of the PE. I think I can walk that far after walking the length of Washington for the car show.

We didn't make it to the Waterfront Stadium last night for the Sounds of Summer, the Beach Boys tribute band. Instead, we chose to use the grill to make zucchini and bratwursts. Before you ask, Mary and I had vegan brats, and Steph and Adam had full on 100% meat from Frank's Market here in GH. The meal was accompanied by a delicious cucumber salad created from fresh from the garden cucumbers by Stephany earlier in the day. This was a vinegar based salad, not one based on sour cream or another cream style sauce. It was good enough to earn the Mary Seal of Approval and to cause her to ask Steph for the recipe. I agree on this one.

The homegrown cucumbers were combined with onions, garlic, rice vinegar, pepper flakes and ?. The  homegrown zucchini we grilled was also fresh from the gardens of the PE. I should note that Adam was once again the grill master for this meal and he knocked it out of the park.

My teams had a mixed day yesterday. The Cubs' starting pitcher, Jake Arrieta, was brilliant. He was sailing along with a 1 - 0 lead until he was relieved by manager Joe Maddon. His replacement, Aroldis Chapman, was finally tapped for a run and then another en-route to a 1 - 4 loss to the Mariners. That loss leaves the Cubs @ 62 - 41, solidly in 1st place in the N. L. Central, 6.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Cardinals who also lost. The Mariners and the Cubs play tonight @ 8:05 p.m. EDT in the "Friendly Confines."

The Tigers eked out another win over the Astros, 3 - 2, to stay firmly in 2nd place in the A. L. Central, with a record of 56 - 48. Justin Verlander tried to go for a complete game, but manager Brad Ausmus left JV in just a bit too long and he surrendered two runs in the top of the 9th to allow the game to become tied @ 2 - 2.

With runners in scoring position and two outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Tigers Jose Iglesias hit a sharp grounder that looked to be the final out, sending the game into extra innings. But Iglesias was running hard and beat out the throw to first, allowing the winning run to score and give the Tigers the win, 3 - 2 in regulation time. A thriller in Comerica Park for sure. The Tigers are still in 2nd place in the A. L. Central, 4.5 games behind the Indians who also won. The Tigers and the Astros play again today @ 1:10 p.m. EDT @ Comerica Park in Detroit.

My beloved Red Sox fell to the Angels, returning to their losing ways on their West Coast road trip. The lost to the Angels in Anaheim by a final score of 2 - 5. The Sox are still in 3rd place in the A. L. East, 2.0 games behind the Orioles who won. The Sox and the Angels play in Anaheim later today @ 3:35 p.m., PDT.

The Caps had a good day, defeating the Lake County Captains of Eastlake, OH, by a final score of 5 - 2. Sadly, the Caps are still in 5th place in the Midwest League East, with a record of 15 - 17. The Caps and the Captains play @ 5th Third Ballpark in GR later this afternoon @ 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Adam and Steph will be heading home later today following another successful visit to the PE. I'll get back to highlighting after the car show and their departure. I'll probably do some additional highlighting this morning since I am awake.

Otherwise, not much is on tap after the morning safari with the intrepid one. We'll go in the opposite direction from downtown and away from 7th. Mary may opt to take Sugar on a solo safari, as Adam and I will be otherwise occupied. Then Mary can return to indexing.

That should make for a full day.  I can get back to my regular chores on Monday. The sun will rise @ 6:34 a.m. and set @ 9:06 p.m. Ciao.