Scott Baker's near-perfect game, as reported by Kinsella

Kinsella and friends were in the Metrodome last night and nearly witnessed history. As he tells it...

giancarlo izzi walks into the metrodome on a clear, sunny friday night. though once he entered the doors, it could've been 25 and blizzarding out in the minneapolis night. the sterile hubert h humphrey metrodome keeps baseball on and the weather out, but this was a night for outdoor baseball. in two years, minnesota fans will have this luxury. regardless, they saw something magical.

"i'd go for a perfect game tonight," GC said to cohort Kyle Peter as they found their seats in the left field upper deck. for a grand total of 28 dollars (less than a movie!), GC, Kyle, Mike Kinsella, and Matt Archibald were able to almost witness history.

scott baker was awesome. he did not go to 2 balls on anyone until the 9th inning, i don't think. i had to piss since the 3rd, but did not go because the game did not yield a hit yet. as a impartial viewer, you always root for good baseball, and this was it. last twins game I went to, i saw joe mauer hit an inside-the-park home run against the angels, and this was better.

baker started out by striking out five in the first two innings. at the bottom of the eighth, when baker recorded his 24th consecutive out, the place was electric. we stood up and looked at each other, house holding his brewers hat, me my cubs hat, in our hands in disbelief like we just won the lottery. we were on the verge of history. the twins at the time were up 3-0 and cruising. they scored two runs in the top of the ninth, but about 7 twins came up to bat. too long for baker to sit on the bench, we thought. someone just ground into a fucking double play so this kid can complete his destiny. finally, the twins go down, and we go to the bottom of the ninth, 5-0 twins, with scott baker on the cusp of history.

joe buck, the effing 7th hitter in the royals lineup, leads off. the 25k at the met are on their feet. ball 1. hmmm... they are screaming "scotty!!" ball 2. FUCK. the crowd boos. ball 3. NO WAY! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BLOW THIS. 3-0 meatball and buck is taking all the way. strike. crowd goes wild. now i'm up in left field so i have no idea how this is going. ball four. mixture of disappointment, then cheering, then realizing that the no-no is still intact. german i think is up. he grounds to 2nd for a fielder's choice. german on 1st, mike sweeney comes up and breaks the hearts of baseball fans across the country. single to shallow left. a legitimate hit, no bloop. he hit it solid, right between white and torii. baker struggles, joe nathan is getting up in the bullpen, but scotty too hotty gets it together to finish off the one hit shutout.

great game, great night.