Mets 10 Reds 8

Major League Baseball
Home Team: Cincinnati Reds (J. Cueto)
Visiting Team: New York Mets (J. Santana)
Venue: Great American Ball Park
Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Brandi

Game Story | Official Box Score

What a crazy game.

It looked like the Reds had this one in hand. It was already fixed in my mind that the Reds were 3-0 this season in games I attended, and then the whole thing went straight to hell. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, given how the game had gone prior to that point, but still - two-run lead, bottom of the ninth, closer in the game...this should have been a win for the Reds.

Still, it was pretty cool to be at the first game back after the All-Star break. We even managed to be in our seats for the first pitch, which I was unable to accomplish in my first two trips this year. And we got to see a bunch of home runs (5, even though 3 of them were by Mets). I'm still a little bit in shock that a pitching matchup between Johnny Cueto and Johan Santana turned into such a shootout, but that's what we got.

We also had a good time with the two guys who sat in front of us. One of them was trying to keep score (I think it's great when people score baseball games), but he wasn't paying too close attention - he had to keep asking me what had happened so he could write it down. At one point during the game he got up to go to the bathroom, and he couldn't find his way back. He kept wandering up and down the aisles, and his friend was laughing his ass off.

I didn't take my camera to this game, and I wish I would have. We went down to Cincinnati early since Brandi and I were both on vacation, and we went to the Bodies Exhibition at the Museum Center that afternoon. We finished up there earlier than we thought, so we got to the ballpark early and decided to spend some time in the Reds' Hall of Fame. Being a Reds fan for so long, that was an awesome experience, and I wish I could have gotten some photos. I especially enjoyed the tribute to late Reds player and broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, and the view of the Rose Garden (a preserved section of the Astroturf field from Riverfront Stadium marking the location where Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd hit landed, surrounded by roses) along with the wall of baseballs (50 feet tall) marking each of Pete's hits. Just amazing. On the bright side, buying admission lets us go back for free anytime up through the end of the year, so hopefully I'll be able to correct my camera oversight sometime before then.