Home Team: Pittsburgh Pirates (K. Correia)
Visiting Team: Cincinnati Reds (H. Bailey)
Venue: PNC Park
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Doug F., his family
Game Story | Box Score
Watching on television, I've always thought that PNC was an absolutely beautiful ballpark, and I've always wanted to see a game there. So when my buddy Doug, a Pirates fan, said he had an extra ticket for this game against the Reds, I jumped on the opportunity.
Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. PNC really is a beautiful ballpark, even more so in person than on television. The effect really begins when you cross the Allegheny River via the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which is closed to all but pedestrian traffic on game days. From there, you can look directly into the stadium. The stadium area begins immediately on the other side of the bridge, where there are a number of restaurants and bars built into the stadium structure. There was some kind of breast cancer event going on as we got there, so there were plenty of people and activity.
We got there well before game time, so we stopped for a burger at Jerome Bettis 36 Grille, which is a short distance from PNC and very close to Heinz Field, where the Steelers play. We ended up hanging out in there for a while as a pretty vicious storm rolled through, then walked over to check out Heinz Field. Doug was hoping the Steelers sideline shop would be open, but no such luck. So then we headed back over to the ballpark to go in and get ready for the game.
Although the rain had mostly moved on by the time we got there, the game time ended up getting pushed back about 40 minutes to 7:45. By the time it started, the skies were clear and it had turned into an absolutely fantastic night for a ballgame. Our seats were pretty awesome, too--down the right field line, just a bit past first base and eight rows up.
It looked at first like the game was going to pitcher's duel, as neither team scored in the first three innings. Then Joey Votto hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth for the Reds, and the craziness began. From that point, there wasn't an inning in which at least one team didn't score, and only two scoreless half-innings. The Reds kept building a lead and then letting it slip away. I thought I was going to lose my mind when Nick Masset blew an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the eighth, but two (!) plays at the plate that inning kept the Pirates from going ahead. It was more relief than anything when the Reds scored three in the ninth to finally put it away. Of course, the Pirates fans I was with didn't exactly see it that way.
Anyway, it was a hell of a game, and a great experience overall. It was totally worth the long, late drive home that got me home close to 5:00 a.m. I had an absolute blast.
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