Hotlanta: Livin’ up to it’s name!
We liked Turner Field a lot. Compared to some of the other stadiums we’ve seen that were built in the 90’s, this one was very nice. We’re seriously jealous of people our age who saw this stadium open in 1997 and be the home of the NL East Champions for its first nine seasons. Many very important games have already been played at this stadium.
Turner Field also holds the distinction of being the only major league stadium to serve as the centerpiece of the Olympics. In the 1996 games, Michael Johnson broke a world record there in the 200m and won the 400m, and Carl Lewis won his fourth gold medal in the long jump. With the 2012 London Olympics starting in 24 days, and the Euro 2012 finishing up, we were in full Olympic festive mode during our time in Atlanta.
We got to see two games at Turner Field, and they were some of the most fun times we’d had at games so far. Rex’s cousin, his wife, and two fun and hilarious little boys came to the Friday night game, as well as great friends of B4B: Kay, Angie, and Ricky. After sitting in our actual seats for the first few innings, Rex’s family said goodbye to get the kids to bed, and we found our way to some of the most refreshing stadium beer we’ve had: Lienenkugel’s Summer Shandy. We made friends with the beer vendors who did a great job of adding the perfect amount of orange, grabbed our drinks, and watched the rest of the game from the outfield pavilion where we really socialized more than actively watched the game.
Because Chase is a percussionist*, he had been eyeing the HUGE drum in the outfield the whole game, so late in the game the whole team made their way to check it out. Unfortunately, only season ticket holders (not us) could play the drum. But we did meet the Tomahawk Team, a group of attractive women who provide southern hospitality to guests at the ballpark. Nice to meet you, ladies!
*Or likes to think he is!
After watching the Braves rally fall just short in the first game, we practically begged Kay, Angie, and Ricky to come back to the Braves game the next day because they were so much fun to hang out with, and they agreed. The second game started at 4:05 on a record heat day in Atlanta. We saw Strasburg struggle with the 106 degree heat, and we wandered the stadium and stayed in the shade. We drank plenty of water from the water stations but made sure to hit up the Lienenkugel’s once again. Summer Shandy was so refreshing, we couldn’t miss our last opportunity to get it!
As for the actual games, both were tight and pretty exciting. We got to watch two top teams in the NL East battle it out in well-played baseball games. The Nationals took the first game and the home team took the second game. In game 1, the Nationals got up on the Braves early before Ross Detwiler melted down in the seventh inning and allowed the Braves to tie the game at 4-4. Michael Morse took former Royal Chad Durbin deep on his first pitch in the eighth inning for the decisive score. 5-4 Nationals win.
In game 2, the Nationals took a quick lead, but Strasburg started to succumb to the intense heat and allowed the Braves to take the lead. He left the game after 3 innings, and we found out on twitter he was dehydrated and had to have 3 IVs. Scary stuff! The Braves held the lead through the eighth, which meant Craig Kimbrel was in for the save in the ninth. After an easy 1-2-3 inning, in which he made professional hitters look pitifully silly, we saw the home team win!
The games between the Nationals and the Braves showcased the next big star in the MLB: Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons. That’s right; Simmons outplayed Bryce Harper in the two games we saw by hitting a home run and showing off his incredible glove skills in each game. Harper had one hit and 2 strike outs in the two games. We really like to see good up-and-coming players.
After surviving the second game, we made our way out to the parking lot to the landing spot for Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. The site for the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium is in what is now the parking lot for Turner Field, and they have this really cool commemorative spot. Here we are trying to catch a part of history. Adam wanted to re-enact the historical moment, and Chase was going to viedo-bomb him rounding second base, but they would have been hit by cars in the huge parking lot.
Gm 1– 4/13 @ Safeco Field – Oakland A’s @ Seattle Mariners
Oakland wins 4-0 (WP – Colon, LP – Hernandez)
Gm 2 – 4/24 @ O.Co Stadium – Chicago White Sox @ Oakland A’s
Oakland wins 2-0 (WP – Milone, LP – Floyd, SV – Balfour)
Gm 3 – 4/27 @ AT&T Park – San Diego Padres @ San Francisco Giants
San Diego wins 5-3 (WP – Luebke, LP – Hacker, SV – Street)
Gm 4 – 5/3 @ Angels Stadium – Toronto Blue Jays @ LA Angels of Anaheim
Toronto wins 5-0 (WP – Morrow, LP – Haren)
Gm 5 – 5/7 @ Dodger Stadium – SF Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers win 9-1 (WP – Lilly, LP – Zito)
Gm 6 – 5/8 @ Petco Park – Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres
Padres win 3-1 (WP – Suppan, LP – White, SV – Thayer)
Gm 7 – 5/12 @ Chase Field – San Francisco Giants @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Giants win 5-2 (WP – Cain, LP – Cahill, SV – Casilla)
Gm 8 – 5/20 @ Coors Field –Seattle Mariners @ Colorado Rockies
Mariners win 6-4 (WP – Beavan, LP – Guthrie)
Gm 9 – 5/30 @ The Ballpark in Arlington – Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers
Mariners win 21-8 (WP – Beavan, LP – Holland)
Gm 10 – 6/3 @ Minute Maid Park – Cincinnati Reds @ Houston Astros
Astros win 5-3 (WP Lyles, LP – Arroyo, SV – Myers)
Gm 11 – 6/15 @ Tropicana Field – Miami Marlins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Rays win 11-0 (WP Moore, LP – Zambrano)
Gm 12 – 6/22 @ Marlins Park – Toronto Blue Jays @ Miami Marlins
Blue Jays win 12-5 (WP Romero, LP – Sanchez)
Gm 13 – 6/30 @ Turner Field – Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves
Braves win 7-5 (WP Minor, LP – Strasburg, SV – Kimbrel)