Chronology of a Trevor Bauer start

Trevor Bauer woke up in a hotel bed around 10 o’ clock Sunday morning.
After partaking of a piece of little sister Gracie’s cherry pie (sweetened with
honey, not sugar, he’d later clarify), he packed his things and headed for
Chase Field, where he was slated to make the third start of his
major-league career.

(A note on Gracie’s pie: Bauer told me having a piece is a pre-start
ritual for him that started back at UCLA. In fact, the one time he didn’t
eat a piece of his sister’s baked goodness, the Bruins were no-hit —
eliciting a vow from Bauer that he’d never again go without a piece.)

The 21-year-old Bauer arrived at Chase Field around 10:40 AM and the rest
of his day went as follows.

12:12 PM – Bauer emerges from Diamondbacks clubhouse with shoulder
tube (long black pole/ wand) in hand, and a duffel bag of other warm-up
apparatuses around his shoulder. Walks down left field line toward bullpen
to the applause of fans.

12:13 PM – Begins shoulder tube routine in bullpen. Twirls baton around
like a color guard performer, swiveling it through his fingers, before
beginning quicker, karate-like revolutions.

12:16 PM – Picks up miniature purple medicine ball, chucks it against
bullpen wall 10 or so times.

12:18 PM – Gathers two baseballs from equipment bag, heads back toward
Diamondbacks dugout to get long toss partner.

12:20 PM – Exits Diamondbacks dugout with long toss partner — Triple-A
Reno catcher Mark Reed. Heads for left field and begins long toss.

12:28 PM – Charles Nagy, Reed’s cutoff man for return tosses to Bauer,
emerges from Diamondbacks dugout with a red mini-glove (the type that
Gerardo Parra has popularized among the team) on left hand.

12:30 PM – Nagy is first employed as cutoff man in long toss routine. Bauer
now by freecreditscore.com sign in left-center field, tossing to left field line
and gradually making his way toward right field corner.

12:34 PM – Miguel Montero and Glenn Sherlock begin making their way to
bullpen.

(12:37 PM – Chris Capuano begins pre-game routine.)

12:43 PM – Bauer — now inching closer to left field line, standing about
70-80 feet away — fires an errant fastball over Reed’s head, which hits a
woman seated in section 134 in her right knee.

12:50 PM – Completes outfield warmup tosses, takes bullpen mound and
begins running through pitches with Reed, who’s now in a catcher’s squat.

12:56 PM – Montero replaces Reed, begins catching final warm-up pitches.
Nagy and Sherlock look on, standing on second bullpen mound.

1:00 PM – Relief staff enters bullpen, watches final warm-up tosses.

1:01 PM – Montero gets up out of squat, walks toward Bauer, shakes his
hand, and gives an affirming squeeze of his shoulder. Relievers line up and
shake hands with Bauer and Montero, wishing them luck.

1:02 PM – Bauer, Montero, and Nagy exit bullpen, walk toward
Diamondbacks dugout as fans along left field line clap, whistle, and shout
out well wishes.

1:05 PM – Takes field, stands on mound for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

1:08 PM – With ball in hand, walks behind pitcher’s mound, runs up the
back of the hill, plants feet just behind rubber, and fires first of eight
pre-inning warm-up tosses.

1:10 PM – Throws first pitch, a four-seamer for a ball, to Dodgers leadoff
man Tony Gwynn Jr.

1:16 PM – Strikes out 38-year-old Bobby Abreu with a 86 mph
slider to complete a 1-2-3 first inning.

1:23 PM – Gets first career run of run support on a Justin Upton triple to
deep right field, which plated Willie Bloomquist.

1:36 PM – Gives up the first Dodgers hit of the game, a double down the
left field line to Juan Rivera.

1:43 PM – Walks Luis Cruz. Dodgers have men on first and second base
with two outs.

1:45 PM – After 77 and 78 mph curveballs, strikes out Dodgers
catcher Matt Treanor with a 95 mph over the outside
corner of the plate to finish the top of the second inning.

1:49 PM – With Roberts on first base, walks up to plate to Amon Amarth’s
“Twilight of the Thunder God,” as chosen by his Twitter followers.

1:50 PM – Lays down a near-perfect sacrifice bunt.

1:57 PM – Gives up his second and final hit of the game — a double down
the right field line — to opposing pitcher Capuano.

2:01 PM – Gets a flyout from Gwynn Jr. to end an 11-pitch at-bat.

2:05 PM – Walks off pitcher’s mound toward Diamondbacks dugout after
getting an inning-ending out from Abreu for the second time of the game.
This one, an easy grounder to Diamondbacks first baseman Paul
Goldschmidt. Pitch count at 55 after three innings pitched.

2:18 PM – Strikes out Dodgers starting right fielder Elian Herrera to end the
fourth inning, recording his third strikeout of the game. Herrera was the
eighth consecutive Dodgers batter to see a first-pitch strike from Bauer.

2:39 PM – Tallies his fourth inning-ending strikeout of the game to end the
top of the fifth inning against Capuano, who slams his bat into the ground
in anger, breaking it in half.

3:00 PM – Throws pitch number 96 to Abreu, inducing another slow
groundball to first base while getting the Dodgers left fielder to end an
inning for the third time of the game. Retreats to Diamondbacks dugout
with a 5-0 lead after throwing six innings, giving up two hits and one walk
while striking out six.

3:01 PM – In the dugout, Kirk Gibson motions for Nagy to come and speak
with him. Nagy leaves conversation and walks toward Bauer, who is
standing by the water cooler. The two shake hands and pat each other on
the back, indicating that Bauer’s day is done. After exchange, Gibson rises
from seat and approaches Bauer, shakes his hand, and pats his back. The
rest of the Diamondbacks players begin to follow suit.

3:04 PM – Geoff Blum announced as pinch hitter for Bauer.

4:07 PM – Officially wins first major-league game, as the Diamondbacks
beat the Dodgers 7-1.