A Great Day At PNC Park...
The Pirates lost today, but you know what? I had fun anyways. My friend Nate and I traveled down to PNC Park this afternoon to watch the Pirates take on the Mets. The game was a 12:35 start and the traffic was backed up so we got there late, however that didn't matter because the game got postponed til 1:05. Since we were late, we knew about the delay before we got to the park, so we waited to go in. After driving all over Pittsburgh trying to find cheap parking before finally giving in to the $12 garage across the street from PNC, we began looking for a sweet deal on some tickets from some scalpers. After a couple of failed tries (probably because we were offering $5 for $30 seats), we finally came across a guy trying to give away his tickets because he didn't want to sit in the rain. The scalpers were on him quick, but Nate ran over and grabbed 2 tickets from him and we ran away from the scalpers. By this time the game had started. I was hungry and didn't feel like paying a ridiculous price for food inside, so I went over to the Pizza place outside of PNC and got a $3 slice of pizza. After all this was done and we talked to one of the scalpers about his very... interesting life... the game was delayed again (after 3 batters). So, being the very smart and cunning individuals we are, we headed in to the Hall Of Fame Club (an indoor restaurant/bar in left field, for all you non-Pittsburghers) to sit down and eat some more. Nate didn't take advantage of the pizza outside so he bought a burger (for $9.50), and I just got some chips and dip ($4.50). After we were done eating, the rain stopped and the game was back underway. It was perfect timing. We headed down to our (very nice) free seats in section 124. We were really close to the field. Basically we got $24 seats for nothing. It was awesome. The rain held off for the rest of the game (expect a couple of light drizzles), and it was a great game.
The Pirates jumped out a 5-0 lead early but soon surrendered it and found themselves down 8-5. Garrett Jones then hit a home run (his 3rd extra base hit of the game) to make it 8-6 as they headed to the ninth. Francisco Rodriguez entered the game and quickly blew the save after a Freddy Sanchez pinch-hit hustle single and an Adam LaRoche bomb. Garrett Jones then came to the plate with a chance to finish off the cycle with a single, however he grounded out to Luis Castillo. The Pirates then got runners on the corners with 2 outs for Brandon Moss, who lined a ball hard but right at the aforementioned Luis Castillo. It was an incredibly exciting 9th inning and I couldn't help myself but run and give 3 middle-school aged kids high 5s across my section after the LaRoche bomb. However, Matt Capps blew the lead in the 10th after recording 2 quick outs. He hit a batter, gave up the steal of second, and then gave up a single up the middle in which Andrew McCutchen overthrew homeplate to allow the Mets to take the 9-8 lead. It was a strong throw that would've been there in time, but he just let it go an instant too early. The Pirates couldn't do anything more against K-Rod and he finished his 2nd inning off with 46 pitches, earning himself a victory. I was really hoping the Pirates could scratch another run across and give K-Rod his second blown save of the game. However it wasn't to be and the Pirates fall to 46-53 after a 5-5 homestand. We hit the road for 15 days and won't be back until July 17th when we take on the San Francisco Giants. Let's hope the roady doesn't get too ugly. Let's Go Bucs!
Sounds like it was a great day.
-Dillon
http://dillonm.mlblogs.com
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