Reds 4 Pirates 3

Major League Baseball
Home Team: Cincinnati Reds (A. Harang)
Visiting Team: Pittsburgh Pirates (P. Maholm)
Venue: Great American Ball Park
Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Amy, Doug, Miranda

Game Story | Official Box Score



It was cool to see Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th career home run on TV a few weeks ago. It was even cooler to see him hit #603...in person...in the bottom of the ninth inning...to win the game for the Reds.

When my friends Amy and Doug called and said they had tickets to the game and asked me to go, it was a no-brainer. I hadn't been to a game all year, and I was ready. Also, in case I don't get down there again before the trade deadline (or, perhaps, the rest of the season)...well, I wanted to make sure I got a chance to see Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. play as Reds at least one more time.

I was a little nervous about the weather, as it was overcast all through the day, but it turned into a great night at the ballpark. I took a jacket just in case it did rain or get chilly, but I didn't need it. We ended up getting to the ballpark in time for the bottom of the 2nd inning. And we had great seats - we were just to the first base side of home plate in the lower seating area. Several foul balls found their way into our section over the course of the night, including one that landed on the other end of the row we were in.

It didn't seem like a whole lot happened for much of the game. It was already 1-0 Pirates when we got there, and then Jerry Hairston homered in the bottom of the third to tie it (I got a pretty great shot of it, if I do say so myself). The Pirates scored 2 to go ahead 3-1 while I was scouting the concession stands in the 6th, then Jay Bruce drove in one in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2. And that's where it stayed until the bottom of the ninth.

I had a good feeling when Griffey came to the plate. No matter what his stats say he's doing this year, he's a guy I want at the plate with the game on the line. I definitely didn't expect him to end it with a walk-off home run, though. It was awesome, and complete pandemonium broke out. I was trying to take more photos, but I was too busy jumping up and down and screaming while fireworks went off (from two locations - one for the home run, one for the win) and the Reds poured out of the dugout to celebrate at home plate. That was definitely the best finish to any game I've ever attended.