Our class had originally planned a tour of the scenic Grand Canyon for one of our travel days on the trip. We made the executive decision to forego the detour to the Grand Canyon due to the amount of time it would add to our travels, so we found ourselves staying at the Saga Motel in Pasadena, CA for an extra night. Originally our plans were to lay low for the day, get some reading and writing done and maybe spend some time relaxing at the pool. However, at breakfast this morning we decided that there really was only one suitable option. If we have the time, why not take in another baseball game? So that's exactly what we did! We were headed to Dodger Stadium to see the Dodgers take on the Pirates in another evening game.
Our class met earlier in the day and we searched StubHub to find tickets for the game. We found an awesome deal on seats on the 1st base line! This would be our longest stand at a single stadium on the trip, tonight's game was our third game at Dodger Stadium. We sat in very different places at each game; I love seeing all the different perspectives of a stadium, but these seats were my favorite by far!
There was a few things we noticed about L.A. 1) Fans are highly elite... I'm talking high heels and nice dresses for a baseball game! 2) People don't show up for the game until the 2nd or 3rd inning and head out around the 8th inning, leaving the stands nearly empty for 1/3 of the game. 3) There's high security at these games, policemen are at every corner (we decided the increase in security is likely due to the high profile fan base that the stadium sees). 4) Dodger stadium utilizes celebrities in almost all of their advertising. We saw stars like Hilary Duff, Lupe Fiasco, and many others featured in the fan civility video played at the beginning of every game. Spending three consecutive days at one stadium allowed us to pick up on a lot of these details that we haven't been able to observe at the other ballparks.
Tonight's game was a low-scoring game. Josh Beckett was pitching for the Dodgers, his first game pitching since he pitched a shutout in Philadelphia on the 25th. Unfortunately, we did not get to see Beckett make history with two consecutive shutouts; he gave up the first hit of the game in the top of the second to Russell Martin. In the top of the third, Pirates scored on a single by Neil Walker. The fourth inning produced another run for the Pirates when Ike Davis hit the only home run of the game, Pirates lead the Dodgers 2-0. In total, the Dodgers had 7 hits, but they just couldn't seem to turn them into anything substantial. Francisco Liriano was pitching for the Pirates and did a good job keeping the Dodgers at bay. L.A. came back to finalize the score 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th when Hanley Ramirez singled, allowing Chone Figgins to score.
Despite their best efforts, the Dodgers ended up falling short to the Pirates. Even with seeing two consecutive loses for the Dodgers, we all had a great time! The game even concluded with a fireworks show set to a 'California-themed' playlist, a perfect ending to our California tour! I'm sad to be leaving California, but I can't wait to see more great games!
Until Next Time -
Kaylie
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