Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

I was outside with the fur-children around 2:30 a.m., one at a time, and the current temperature is a muggy 63° under partly cloudy skies. I could see some stars, but many more were obscured. Both fur-children did their duty, but Ginger barked at someone who was in the driveway and on our neighbor's deck for a brief period. I probably should have called Public Safety, but I really didn't want to cause a further disturbance nor stay outside explaining what I had seen. Probably my bad, but there you have it.

Let's get on to what is really important. My beloved, 1st place in the AL East, Red Sox, defeated the 2nd place in the NL Central, St. Louis Cardinals, 10 - 4. A highlight of the game was a rare 5-4-3 Triple Play that started at the "Hot Corner" with rookie third-baseman, Rafael Devers. I decided that I just had to share the video courtesy of MLB™. 2016 Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, has too often looked like the Rick Porcello that I remember from the Tigers. However, last night, he was solid and supported by that triple-play as seen in the link below.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/248592892/red-sox-turn-5-4-3-triple-play-vs-cardinals/

In any event, that win keeps the Sox 4.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Yankees. The Sox play the Cardinals tonight @ 7:10 p.m.

The Cubs, well, they are still the mysterious Cubs, at least to me. Starting pitcher, Kyle Hendricks, was solid through six innings, recording six strikeouts and yielding no earned runs. Once again, the chance to gain ground in the NL Central over the 2nd place Cardinals, who were soundly defeated by the Red Sox, was lost. The Cubs' bats are once again in the deep-freeze as they fell to the Reds, 1 - 2. The Reds are @ the bottom of the NL Central with a record of 50 - 70. As I've often noted, the Cubs find a way to lose to teams that they should and must defeat. Sigh. The Cubs and the Reds meet again tonight @ 8:05 p.m.

The Tigers are still a bad baseball team that in all likelihood will cost their manager, Brad Ausmus, his job at season's end. The Tigers fell to the TX Rangers, 4 - 10 to stay solidly in 4th place in the AL Central with a record of 53 - 66. Tigers starting pitcher, Justin, "JV" Verlander, fell victim to the heat in Arlington, TX, and says that the possibility of being traded is always on his mind. There is one rumor that he may OK a trade to the Houston Astros. Verlander would have to approve that trade, but he does want to play for a winner, which the Astros are, with their 1st place 73 - 46 record in the AL West. The Tigers continue their futile quest for a victory tonight in Arlington against the Rangers @ 8:05 p.m.

I got on my bicycle yesterday and rode for about 10 minutes. I didn't feel any pain in my hip, but when I got up earlier this morning, I felt like I'd ridden 10 miles. Sigh. At any rate, I will continue my efforts today.

The appliance repairman came with the new parts for the clothes dryer yesterday and had the machine up and running within about 45 minutes. As he said when he supplied the original diagnosis, "I've been doing this for a long-time."

I discovered a flaw in the recently installed carpet in my office/music room/weather center/blog-central. We'll have to call the carpet store for a return visit as it appears to be more than a minor snag.

I made it to my final drawing class last night and worked with colored chalk for the first time. I like my results.

I finished that novel that Mary had recommended to me, My Italian Bulldozer, by Alexander McCall Smith. I enjoyed the book immensely. What's not to like about a writer, a bulldozer, fine wines, and Tuscany? I highly recommend this book to my loyal readers.

I did take the time to make those vegan sausages yesterday. We had some for lunch and they were excellent. Mary used one of our numerous cucumbers to make a tasty salad as a side.

Today, we plan to take the morning safari with the fur-children and then return to the manse so that Mary can work and I can do as little as possible. I will once again try my bike for exercise.

We expect a high today in the lower 80s, according to WOOD TV/Radio Chief Meteorologist, Bill Steffen, along the shores of the "Big Lake." It will be warmer inland a forecast 85°, around GR. The chance for precipitation/scattered T-storms on Thursday is still 90%. If I can avoid watering until then, I should be good to go until the weekend. Our gardens are still producing and the fruits of our labors, so to speak, are just great. The sun will rise @ 6:51 a.m. and set @ 8:45 p.m. Ciao.