I drove to Pittsburgh on Thursday and I made pretty good time. I left at 10:00 AM sharp and was parked at my hosts place nine hours and 57 minutes later. I stopped twice for gas which accounts for 37 minutes of that time (I got dinner at Panera the second time). I’m staying with a friend of a friend of a friend. My friend Dustin was roommates in Denver with a guy who is from Pittsburgh. I asked Dustin if he could ask his friend if he had anybody in Pittsburgh that would be willing to host me. I’ll be staying with one of the friends this trip and the other one in September. My host this weekend is Mark. He’s going to medical school and he is smart, suspiciously smart… (Victoria hates it when I use suspiciously where it shouldn’t be used).

On Friday I went to a nearby bagel joint and then decided to visit Mount Washington and take in the accompanying views. I parked on Sweetbriar street and came upon this statue on the well named street that is Grandview.

Nearby there is a plaque that explains what the statue is of (George Washington and Seneca leader Guyasuta). It’s a depiction of a 1770 meeting between the two. If you’re interested you can click the image below so you can zoom in and read the plaque.

You can see PNC Park (where the Pirates play) off in the distance on the left side of the river. Heinz Field (where the Pittsburgh Steelers play) is also right across the river but it’s out of the frame in the pictures above.

I walked southeast on Grandview for a bit and came to the Duquesne Incline.

To the left of the building and closer to the sidewalk is a monument dedicated “To All Who Served”.

They have a platform beyond the monument above and it gives you a great view of the Pittsburgh skyline. I waited until one of the cable cars was returning before taking a picture. Hard to beat this view:

The River coming from the upper left is the Allegheny and the river coming from the right is the Monongahela. They come together in the lower left and at that point the body of water becomes the Ohio River.

I took an artsy-fartsy shot and I’ve included it below. I opened the aperture to its widest setting and focused on the fence, providing a nice bokeh effect for the city in the background.

I decided that although it probably wasn’t worth the $5 roundtrip I would take the cable car to the bottom of the incline and back up. After I paid for my trip at the bottom I took a picture of the car with the incline it had just descended; pretty cool.

When I got back to the top I got in my car and drove to Fat Head’s Saloon. The four part picture below goes clockwise from top left:

1) The exterior of the bar/restaurant on East Carson Street.

2) The bar with the beers on tap listed above it.

3) Five “Fat Heads Original” chicken wings. They were some of the best wings I’ve had, very spicy but not overwhelmingly spicy, for me anyways. The beer I had was Helltown’s Idle Hands Double IPA (8% ABV). After lunch I tried Fat Head’s own “Güdenhoppy”.

4) My lunch: The Southside Slopes, which consists of Kielbasa topped with fried pierogies, American cheese, grilled onions and horseradish sauce. There were more chips than just the three, but they’re hiding behind the monstrosity of the “Slopes”. If you want to check out the menu, click here, you won’t be disappointed. Kielbasa is just like a Polish sausage, so I’m actually going to count this in the sausage count. If you don’t agree with that…. too bad. I was stuffed after lunch and about 10 hours later I’m still stuffed.

I rolled myself back to my car and left for the game at about 4:30. How long do you think it took me to drive 2.7 miles? How about 30 minutes… Yay! I was stuck on the Smithfield St Bridge for a bit so I took a picture of it.

I parked in a $5 parking garage on Fort Duquesne Blvd and 6th street and walked across the Roberto Clemente Bridge to get to PNC Park. On game days they close the Roberto Clemente bridge to traffic. I’m not sure how long before the game but it’s at least 2 hours prior. You can see the top of the stadium and the light towers on the left.

They have a nice river walk that goes along the river on the outside of the stadium. Occasionally a left handed hitter will *really* get a hold of one, hit it over the stands in right field, and the ball will bounce off the path and into the Allegheny. I was at a game in 2006 when Prince Fielder hit a 472-foot mammoth shot that did just that.

I walked around to the home plate entrance to get game photo number 124. I had been to 8 Brewers-Pirates games at PNC in previous years, and I didn’t know what to make of all the people. I’m not complaining, it was just a different PNC experience. I had various people take a picture for me as they walked past. I kept asking because every shot wound up with someone inadvertently photo bombing it due to the busy intersection right behind me. I had plenty of time and I eventually got one that I was satisfied with. Thank you random fans!

I picked up my ticket from will call and was inside by 5:55. I walked around to the camera guys in left center and talked to the Root Sports cameraman for a minute or two. I told him what I was doing and if he would talk to the producer about maybe having me on their broadcast for an interview. After talking with someone he said that they were aware of my story and would be doing something over the weekend. Score! Got to give a shout out to Ryan, a twitter follower, who tweeted at Root Sports Pittsburgh and told them what I was doing.

The left field corner gives a decent view of the Clemente Bridge and business district:

I went and got my designated driver voucher and my drink and then went to my seat in section 108. A different twitter follower, Cooper, had tweeted at me the day before and said he wanted to meet up. He stopped by right before the national anthem and after talking for a bit gave me $20 to donate to Be The Match. Thanks Cooper! He’s a Brewers fan from Wisconsin who came out to see them play. I should’ve asked if he was named after Cecil Cooper.

The game got started and Wandy Rodriguez delivered a called strike to Norichika Aoki. This was the view from my seat:

I’m not being mean, but it was weird being at PNC and having the stands full. It may look a little scattered above but it was the first pitch and it eventually filled up. It wound up being a sellout, nice work Pirates fans.

Mike Fiers got the start for the Brewers and he retired the first 9 batters he faced. Here he is rearing back to let go of the first pitch of his outing:

In the top of the 2nd inning the Brewers’ bats came alive and they got three straight hits to open the frame. The second and third of which drove in runs. Corey Hart’s double drove in Aramis Ramirez:

And Jonathan Lucroy’s single drove in Hart:

The Brewers had an early 2-0 lead but it wouldn’t last long. In the bottom of the 4th the Pirates got the first two batters aboard and Andrew McCutchen drove them in with a single to left; tie game. The Pirates have a Pierogi race after the 5th inning and it’s run on the outfield warning track as opposed to the infield warning track (like the sausage race). It’s not terrible (better than the animated races that some parks have) but it ain’t no sausage race. The sausage race started it all, is the gold standard for in-game mascot races, and is not fixed (I think).

It remained tied at two going into the 7th inning. Fiers stepped to the plate with one out, still looking for his first major league hit. Up to that point he had been 0-22 with 12 strikeouts. He figured he should try to lay a bunt down since the swinging thing wasn’t working:

It was a beauty and it rolled on the grass towards the third baseman but looked like it might roll foul. By the time the third baseman got to it he realized that he had no shot at throwing out Fiers at first so he didn’t touch it, hoping it would roll foul. Thankfully it didn’t and it came to a stop just inches from the foul line. When Fiers was walking back to first he put his hands in the air as he glanced at the Brewers dugout. I’m not sure what was being said but they were likely giving him a hard time. Gomez (far right) is laughing about something:

Aoki grounded into a fielder’s choice and then Rickie Weeks was hit by a pitch. Braun walked on four pitches and Aramis Ramirez stepped in with the bases loaded and two outs. The 0-1 offering was sent deep to right center and I thought McCutchen had a bead on it. If you’re curious: the ball is just below the Pirates dugout fence, on the right side of the picture.

McCutchen narrowly missed making a great catch and all three base runners came home. Lots of high fives to go around:

McCutchen slid into the wall and received some attention from the trainer. Clint Hurdle, the Pirates manager, eventually came out to see his MVP candidate. “Cutch”, as they call him, stayed in the game and it appears that he’ll be fine.

Corey Hart followed Ramirez with an RBI single and the Brewers had a 4-run lead. A solo home run by Rod Barajas cut the lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the 7th and it remained that way going to the bottom of the 9th. Axford came on for the save and walked the first two men he faced (not good). The third batter singled and the Pirates had the tying run at first base with nobody out. Axford then got two big strikeouts and it looked like he had found his rhythm. Michael McKenry battled for 7 pitches and on the 8th hit one up the middle to pull the Pirates within one. Roenicke opted to bring in Kameron Loe and it payed off. Loe struck out Gaby Sanchez and the Brewers hung on. Final Score: Brewers 6 – Pirates 5.

On the way back to my car I took a picture of PNC park, as seen from the other side of the Roberto Clemente Bridge.

Game two is tonight at 7:05, game three tomorrow at 1:35 and then it’s on to Chicago.

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I finished up Tuesday’s post before going to bed so I was able to sleep in on Wednesday morning. I got up at 10:20 and left about an hour later. I pulled into the Cooper lot at 12:20 and headed inside. A little backstory on who joined me for Wednesday’s game. Back in June I was searching for an interview that I had done for a Cincinnati news station. While searching I came across an article titled “Ben Rouse, The Apology Letter.” I found out that the guy had originally called me a dillweed because he thought I was trying to get people to donate money to ME and not Be The Match. I sent an email to the “contact us” email address and found out it was Joel who was the guilty party. He said he would like to join me at a game, make a donation, and write an article about me for the website he contributes to: losersbracket.com.

Wednesday was the day and I left my extra ticket at will call. I went inside and got the game number picture taken in section 115.

If you’re new to the blog I’m doing a slow progression around the field level seating bowl. I did the same in the terrace level and the loge level. I’m taking suggestions for where to take the final game number photo. The second to last game of the year, October 2nd, I’m throwing out a ceremonial first pitch, and will be getting game photo number 161 from the pitcher’s mound. What can top that for game photo number 162?

I went up to the loge level, said hi to the Ice Man, and learned that Bill (the friendly usher behind section 216) has a home in Maryland and left a day early. His replacement said that Bill will be back for the next home stand. I got to my seat and Joel joined me shortly thereafter. I still had my 18-55 mm lens on my camera so I couldn’t zoom in very much for the following photo. Dylan Postl (AKA Hornswoggle) is a WWE wrestler and threw out the first pitch. Hornswoggle is four feet four inches tall. Here he is walking next to Joe Crawford, who has become the designated ceremonial-first-pitch catcher.

Yovani Gallardo got Wednesday’s game started by delivering a called strike to David DeJesus.

What a perfect time to show a picture I took of Gallardo back on Memorial Day in 2009 (thus the red hat). I used GIMP, a free photo editing program for the effects. I had an 8×10 printed and I’m hoping to get it signed someday. Wait, I WILL get it signed, and it WILL be on this road trip, mark my words….

Ok, back to Wednesday. DeJesus sent the fifth pitch of that opening at bat into the right field loge bleachers and the Cubs took an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 1st Aoki led off with a double and two batters later Braun followed suit:

After a Ramirez pop-out Corey Hart hit the third double of the inning for the Brewers, driving in Braun and giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Here’s Hart at second giving a long distance high five to Ed Sedar.

In the middle of the 4th inning I had a woman next to Joel take a picture of the two of us. Her name is Vivianna, she’s from Los Angeles, and she wants to get to the all the MLB stadiums as well (another goal of mine). She said her and her mom take a vacation every year and hit up a few parks. Thanks Vivianna! And thank you Joel, who made a $100 donation to Be The Match.

In the bottom of the 5th inning Aoki fouled a pitch back that was heading almost right towards me. I had my glove on, stepped into the aisle and reached forward a bit to make the catch. The guy across the aisle from me thought he would try and catch it as well, bumping my glove in the process. Instead of the ball smacking the webbing of my glove it hit the heel. Bouncing down the steps it went where it was picked up by another fan. If I would have been a spectator of the event I would have given me a hard time. I may have booed because if you bring a glove to a game you HAVE to make the catch, otherwise you’re subject to ridicule. I probably still should have made the catch despite the contact from the other fan, so I will take full responsibility for the error. If I hadn’t already caught two foul balls this year I would be a little upset, but I have, so I’m over Wednesday’s shortcomings.

The middle of the sixth is when the sausage race takes place, and for some reason they did a relay race on a Wednesday. I thought they only had the little weenies race on Sundays. I like that Braun is just minding his own business, getting ready for his at bat.

Braun deposited the 1-1 pitch into the Toyota Territory in right centerfield, increasing the Brewers’ lead to 3-1.

In the top of the 7th the Cubs got that run right back when Bryan LaHair took Gallardo deep on the first pitch of the inning. Henderson pitched a scoreless 8th and Axford the 9th, striking out the side to pick up his 20th save. Here’s the final pitch of the game, which resulted in a swinging strike from Brett Jackson.

SWEEEEEP! The Brewers wrapped up a 5-2 home stand after taking all three from the Cubs. Final Score: Brewers 3 – Cubs 2. I leave for Pittsburgh tomorrow morning and should be pulling into the Steel City at around 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Google Maps tells me it’s going to take 10 hours and 38 minutes to traverse the 594 miles. Ha, I think not. I’m shooting for less than 9.5 hours. My mouth is already starting to water thinking about Fat Heads and their “Southside Slopes” Headwich, which has kielbasa topped with fried pierogies, American cheese, grilled onions,
and horseradish sauce. Oohhhhh baby. There will be pictures, so check back in on Saturday for Friday’s post.

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I left the house at 3:30 PM on Tuesday and was parked in the Brewers 1 parking lot 64 minutes later. After about 45 minutes I started to get nervous, but I was able to sell my two seats for $80. I had front row Amy’s ticket for the game, and a friend had backed out on using my two tickets, so I had to scalp them. There are always 10-15 scalpers in front of the stadium and I was sure one of them was going to swoop in and steal the sale from me. A grown-up brother and sister bought the two tickets from me and I thanked them for their donation and gave them one of my cards. I also stopped by the seats about an hour later and thanked them again.

After selling my tickets I walked around for about an hour and handed out my cards and talked about Be The Match. On my way inside at 6:15 I stopped and got a picture of the 620 WTMJ tailgater that I had done my interview in the day before. I meant to get a picture of it on Monday but I forgot.

I went to section 114 for game photo number 122. A nearby fan, Derrick, did the honors and it only took him two tries. His first attempt was very good, so I didn’t feel bad asking him to pan up just a little. Thanks Derrick!

Even though I was sitting in section 117 for the game I went up to the loge level to get a Polish sausage. I wanted to say hi to the Ice Man and Bill, and assure the latter that I was at the game. I didn’t stop by on Sunday and on Monday he asked if I was there the day before. After eating I went back down to the field level and got ready for the game. As the national anthem was sung I could hear their voices before the sound came through the speakers, that’s how close I was. Thanks again Amy!

Soon thereafter the bench coaches came out to exchange the lineup cards. I didn’t plan on getting the Harley Davidson in the shot but that’s what went down. Someone riding a Harley Davidson delivers the game ball from one of the outfield corners, and it’s (at the very least) used by the starter as a warm up ball.

Marco Estrada threw a called strike to David DeJesus to get the game underway. The ball is between the shortstop and the batter in the picture below.

I knew that I would be on TV throughout the game and I took advantage of the opportunity. I have to thank my wonderful girlfriend (of 2 years on Tuesday) for taking the picture and sending it to me. Thanks Victoria!

The Cubs starter, Chris Rusin, was making his major league debut and he retired the first nine batters he faced. Norichika Aoki came to the plate in the bottom of the 4th and did his sumo-style stretch as he stepped in the box.

Aoki was hit by the 1-1 pitch and let out an “AYE!!!” that made me and most everyone around me chuckle. It was OK to laugh because Aoki was fine. I would not have been laughing if there was a chance that he was seriously injured. Weeks struck out, Braun was walked, and Aramis Ramirez was also hit by a pitch. Corey Hart had a chance to break the scoreless tie and he didn’t disappoint. Hart lined one off of Rusin (he too was fine) for an infield single and the Brewers had a 1-0 lead.

In the middle of the 6th I got to see the sausage race from a different perspective; Sausage stampede!!!

In the bottom of the 6th three walks loaded the bases with only one out. Lucroy was at the plate and quickly went down 0-2 in the count. I considered telling the lady on my left that I would take a past ball at this point. The very next pitch got past the catcher and Rickie raced home. The catcher had retrieved the ball and it’s on its way back to the plate (albeit a little late) in the picture below.

On the very next pitch Lucroy sent one to left for a two-run double and the Brewers had a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom of the 8th I took a panned out picture from my seat in section 117. It’s a great seat to take in a game as long as you can block out the screen that’s right in front of your face. I know it’s a necessity and there would be concussions and knocked out teeth at every game without it, but it just takes some getting used to.

Carlos Gomez singled in a run during the bottom of the 8th and the Brewers had a 5-0 lead going to the 9th. Manny Parra gave up a double and a walk and was pulled in favor of Jim Henderson. He allowed both inherited runners to score via a single and an RBI groundout and was pulled as well. Axford entered and threw a 1-2 pitch to Welington Castillo:

If you can’t tell I had moved up into the concourse for the final half inning. The pitch resulted in a groundout and the Brewers clinched the series. Final Score: Brewers 5 – Cubs 2. Here’s the final linescore as it appeared on the scoreboard:

The Brewers were able to score 5 runs despite only mustering 3 hits. 6 walks and 3 hit batsmen might be to blame… Thanks Cubs! It’s almost 1:00 AM now and the first pitch of the finale is in about 12 hours. Goodnight.

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I slept in until 10:45 AM on Monday and I felt like going back to bed after eating breakfast. I still had the cold and I still felt like crap. I worked on the post, got my stuff together, and left Victoria’s and my apartment in Madison at 3:15. I stopped in Lake Mills to pick up a sub from Jimmy Johns and then continued on to Milwaukee. I was parked at 4:50 and I spent the next hour walking around the parking lots and telling people about Be The Match and why it’s important to grow the registry.

At 5:55 I headed to the 620 WTMJ tailgater that’s located near the home plate entrance. Trenni Kusnierek had invited me on the show, and I joined her and Greg Matzek on air around 6:20. They asked questions and I answered them, talking about my journey thus far as well as Be The Match. Before parting ways Greg took a picture of Trenni and me.

After talking with Trenni for a few minutes I dropped my twitter follower’s ticket off at will call and went inside. Section 113 was the spot for game photo number 121. I had a nearby fan take the picture for me and I found out later her name is Brandy, or Brandi, or however she spells it. She was on the jumbotron answering a trivia question early in the game, and they said her name. Thanks Brandy!

My twitter follower, Adam, joined me shortly before the game started and the Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the 1st. A sacrifice fly in the top of the 2nd doubled their lead. Lucroy cut the lead in half when he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd.

In the 5th inning the Cubs increased their lead back to two runs. The Brewers had an answer in the bottom of the 5th, eight answers to be exact. Eleven batters came to the plate in the 5th. Technically 9 different batters as two of them batted twice. Gomez led off with a single and scored on a one-out Travis Ishikawa base hit. Aoki drove in Ishikawa with a sacrifice fly and there were now two outs and no one on base. Weeks and Braun both singled and Ramirez walked, loading the bases for Corey Hart.

It wasn’t a grand slam like Thursday, but it was a 2-run single and the Brewers had a 5-3 lead. The Cubs’ starter, Justin Germano, got the hook, and while the pitching change went down I had a fan a few rows in front of us take a picture of me and Adam. He donated $50 to Be The Match for his ticket which brings us close to $3,500 raised so far. Thanks Adam! And thank you everyone for your donations and your support.

Germano’s replacement, Jeff Beliveau, didn’t fare much better. The first batter he faced was Jonathan Lucroy, who duplicated his 2nd inning performance with another home run, this time a 3-run shot.

Gomez wanted in on the action and followed Lucroy with a blast of his own. I’m not sure which was faster, the ball getting out of the park or Go-Go racing around the bases.

The roof was closed and the fireworks guy was busy:

In the bottom of the 6th the Cubs brought in Lendy Castillo and the Cubs lineup looked like this. The classic Castillo-Castillo battery, and they sported consecutive jersey numbers, awwww…..

In the 7th the Cubs got a solo run on an RBI-groundout and in the 9th a wild pitch by Livan Hernandez allowed another run to score. The 8-run inning proved the difference and the Brewers won going away. Final Score: Brewers 9 – Cubs 5. I took this picture before the wild pitch and the 5th run for the Cubs, but you get the picture. That snowman in the 5th sure looks nice. I believe it’s the most runs the Brewers have put up in a single inning this year. Since I’ve been to every game you’d think I would know that, but I’ve witnessed a lot of baseball and games start running together and details get forgotten.

It’s 1:40 on Tuesday afternoon and I’ll be leaving in an hour and a half for the second game of the series. I’m sitting in Front Row Amy’s seat tonight, so look for me behind the plate. I’ll be holding up the game number sign at various times, only when the Brewers are batting though. I don’t want to be a distraction for Marco Estrada or the guys in the field. I couldn’t find anybody to buy my tickets in section 221 yet, so I’ll be trying to scalp them for a donation to Be The Match before the game tonight. Last time I tried doing that the other scalpers swooped in when I had a potential buyer. I’m hoping there’s none of that funny business today.

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On Sunday Victoria and I left her aunt and uncle’s house at 11:20 AM. We drove separately to the interstate and then rode together to the game. She had met me at her aunt’s Friday night, thus the reason for us having two cars. We went over to the Miller parking lot to try and find a tailgate. An usher had asked me on Friday if I wanted to stop by but I had no way of contacting them. We were unable to find the tailgate but in the meantime my aunt called and happened to be tailgating in the same parking lot. We stopped by, said hi, and then headed inside at 12:20.

I got the game number picture taken in section 111.

Victoria and I went to the upper deck to try and find a chorizo taco that someone had recommended. We asked around and no one seemed to know what we were talking about. I went back and found the tweet from the end of July and they HADN’T said a chorizo taco, but simply “ask for a chorizo in a tortilla with pico de gallo.” I asked the concession stand near home plate in the upper deck and he said they should have the tortillas but didn’t. They also didn’t have pico de gallo so maybe it was a limited time offering. We were both a little disappointed and wound up getting some nachos before going to our seats.

When the first pitch was delivered from Randy Wolf to Jimmy Rollins the skies didn’t look very ominous.

Nyjer Morgan tripled to open the bottom of the first and it had started to rain. They didn’t close the roof and it appeared like the game would continue. I got a picture of the rain after the count went to 2-0 on Rickie Weeks.

Weeks bounced the 2-1 pitch in front of the plate.

It went right to the pitcher as Morgan broke for home. He was tagged out by Kendricks and slipped in the progress. I wish I would’ve gotten a picture but failed to do so. Since Nyjer didn’t get hurt it would’ve been funny to see him hugging Kendricks to stop himself from falling. A short 7-minute rain delay followed the play. The roof was closed and then a drying agent was spread around the infield. I like the facial expression of the grounds crew member as he runs off the mound.

There wasn’t too much to talk about from a Brewers fan’s perspective. Kendricks pitched extremely well for the Phillies, only allowing four men on base in eight innings of work. The Phillies scored 2 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, 2 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th. Final Score: Phillies 8 – Brewers 0. The series started out great, with the Brewers winning the first two games but it ended with a 2-2 series split. There was a Japanese contingent in the Dew Deck and when Aoki got an at bat in the 8th inning they all stood and cheered for their countryman.

Victoria dropped me off at my car and we drove separately back to Madison. Sometimes we’ll let Prince (our cat) out on the patio and he squeezes through the railing bars and out onto the roof of the building’s entryway.

It makes us a little nervous when he gets curious about the windowsills of other tenants’ apartments.

I got another 10 hours of sleep and I still have the cold. I’ll try 12 hours tonight and see what happens. I’m leaving Madison in under two hours for the first game of the Cubs series. I’ll be doing an interview with Trenni Kusnierek on 620 WTMJ in their tailgater that’s located at Miller Park. I’m getting there at 6:00 PM but I might not be on until 6:15 or so. No one has claimed my two tickets for tomorrow’s game yet (8/21). I’m sitting in Front Row Amy’s seat and am looking to get $100 for my two seats in section 221 so I can donate the money to Be the Match. Leave a comment if you’re interested or if you’re on twitter send me a tweet (@Brew_Mission162).

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I woke up at 8:25 on Saturday and did a 15 minute interview with Shane Sparks and Josh Smith on my hometown radio station, 940 WFAW. I went back to bed and slept until noon. I was hoping some extra rest might help with the cold but I woke up just as sick and just as tired. I worked on the post for Friday and Victoria and I left her aunt and uncle’s house at 3:30. We were parked in the Coooooooper Lot 30 minutes later. Victoria headed inside and I walked around for a bit, telling people about Be The Match and why it’s important to grow the registry.

I went inside at 5:10 and met Victoria in section 110. It took a few tries but we got game photo number 119 taken care of.

We went over to the team store and then met up with someone Victoria used to work with. Frank has been following along and he gave me a $50 check made out to Be The Match. Thank you Frank! If any of you would like to make a donation, you can click here.

Victoria and I went up to the loge level and got some dinner before the game. She got the Food Network sloppy joe by section 222 and I got the Chef’s Table Philly cheesesteak. I would’ve preferred provolone instead of cheese sauce and there seemed to be too much bread. It wasn’t Ken & Betty’s good, but it was still a pretty good cheesesteak. I was eating when the first pitch was thrown, so this picture will have to do. Imagine the spoon is Mike Fiers and the bottom right potato chip is Jimmy Rollins taking a called strike.

In the top of the 2nd I was trying to get a good picture of Fiers pitching. I accidentally took two pictures, the first one is of his 87 MPH fastball heading towards home plate. The second is of the ball coming back at 99 MPH, it eventually went over the wall in left to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

The very next batter also went deep, increasing the Phillies lead to three runs. In the bottom of the second the Brewers got one back when Aramis Ramirez hit a solo home run to left, ending Cole Hamels’ scoreless innings streak at 23.

A 3rd inning double by Ryan Howard gave the Phillies a 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd Jonathan Lucroy connected for a two-out single. Braun stepped to the plate and sent the 1-1 offering deep to left field…

I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a home run but then I swore I saw it disappear into the Brewers bullpen. I think everyone around me also thought it was a home run. Domonic Brown threw the ball back into the infield as Braun was nearing second base. Lucroy was at second and this is what resulted:

I think one of two things happened; either Lucroy thought there were less than two outs and wasn’t sure if the ball was going to be caught, or he thought it was a home run and was just trotting around the bases. I’m guessing it was the former. With two outs he should’ve been on the move right after Braun made contact. At the very least he should’ve been at third base, if not at home with the Brewers second run. Braun wound up in a pickle and instead of stopping at second he just kept running into the outfield. That’s why he’s in shallow left field in the picture above. I found out later that Braun had missed a home run by mere inches and the ball bounced high off the wall.

A guy two rows in front of me and on the other side of the aisle was playing some sort of shooting game DURING the game. “Come on, Man!” I know I miss pitches occasionally while tweeting or something, but I make a concerted effort to pay attention when there’s action on the field.

The game remained 4-1 as the Brewers took their turn at bat in the bottom of the 8th. A two out single by Lucroy brought Braun to the plate once again. This time Braun DID sneak one over the wall (in right field), driving in Lucroy and cutting the deficit to one run.

Hamels was removed and the Phillies closer entered. Jonathan Papelbon retired all 4 batters he faced (while striking out 3) and picked up the save. Final Score: Phillies 4 – Brewers 3. The loss halted the Crew’s home winning streak at 8 games.

It’s 10:20 on Sunday morning and we’ll be leaving shortly for the finale of the four game series. I’ll be heading to Madison after the game but will be right back in Milwaukee for the first game of the Cubs series on Monday evening.

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Friday was a lazy day and I laid low trying to get better. I’m convinced it’s just a cold but I still feel pretty crappy. I left my parents’ house at 4:40 (probably the latest I’ve ever left for a home game). I hit some traffic but was parked in the Money Lot just before 6:00 PM. I stopped at a few tailgates on my way inside to tell people about Be The Match and my mission. I met Dani, a twitter follower, outside of the home plate entrance and we headed inside.

Dani took game photo number 118 for me in section 109. Only 21 home games left!

We went upstairs and we both utilized our designated driver vouchers while I went with a Polish and Dani a Bratwurst. I will admit that the pace of the sausage tally is starting to slow. I might make it to 100 sausages, I might not. I never really had a goal in mind, I just thought it would be fun to keep track of.

The game started shortly after we got to our seats and Yovani started things off with strike one to Jimmy Rollins.

The game was going by pretty quickly and there were only three hits between the two teams going into the top of the 4th inning. Back-to-back doubles from Utley and Howard gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half Vance Worley retired Braun and Ramirez in succession but the Brewers rallied with two outs. Hart followed Ramirez with a single and Maldonado walked. Nyjer Morgan was up next and he hit one to right center that glanced off Domonic Brown’s glove (I thought it should’ve been an error). The scorekeeper ruled it a triple and Nyjer Morgan pulled into 3rd after giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead:

The Phillies elected to intentionally walk Jean Segura to get to Gallardo. I missed the 2-0 pitch of the intentional walk because I was talking to the woman behind us. This has happened four or five times now, and you’d think I would learn. Segura stole second with Gallardo at the plate and Yovani took advantage, singling to right and driving in both men on base. Segura must’ve wanted to practice his sliding because Nyjer Morgan is clearly giving him the stand up sign.

At halftime (between the top and bottom of the 5th) I had the lady behind us take a picture of me and Dani. Dani went to school at UW-Oshkosh and played on the softball team. Small world: Dani was a catcher on the team while Annie, who hosted me in Houston, was a pitcher during her year at Oshkosh. Dani donated $40 to Be The Match for her seat, and I’m very grateful. Over $1,000 of the funds raised has come from people joining me at games and donating to the cause. Thanks Dani! And thanks to everyone who has joined the registry or made a donation, everything helps!

In the bottom of the 6th inning Aoki walked with one out. The very next pitch (which was to Braun) wound up over the centerfield fence, increasing the Brewers lead to 6-1. I’ll take (partial) credit for Braun’s home run. Before his first at bat I mentioned to Dani that he had four home runs in four games against the Phillies this year, so he was due.

This isn’t newsworthy, but I’ll include the picture I got of Segura breaking his bat in the bottom of the 7th inning. It resulted in a groundout to the second basemen, but I thought it was cool.

This sign made the jumbotron so I figured it I would include it as well. Awwwwww…

Livan Hernandez pitched the 9th and he made things a little interesting. Since I witnessed all three terrible losses to the Phillies in person back in July, I was a little nervous that the Brewers were sitting on six runs. They lost each game in that series by a final score of 7-6. And then I had 320 miles of Interstate 76 and I-76 signs to remind me of the sweep. With two outs the Phillies doubled and singled to cut the deficit to four runs. Hernandez got Brian Schneider to fly out to Gomez, and the Brewers hung on. Final Score: Brewers 6 – Phillies 2. It was group hug time for Braun, Gomez and Aoki after the win.

Since the Brewers had been up by five runs, a lot of people left early, something that bugs the heck out of me. Not only are you not getting your money’s worth, you might also miss something historic. Selfishly I also don’t like it because it makes getting out of the parking lot in a timely matter almost impossible. I could tell that when I got to my car it was going to be a while. I waited in line for 7 minutes, moved one car length in that time, and then called it quits. I pulled into a spot, turned off my car, and waited until most people had left. It probably would’ve taken me 30 minutes to get out of the lot anyways, so I might as well not waste my gasoline. I listened to the Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption podcasts while I waited, so it wasn’t too frustrating. I met Victoria in Sussex at her aunt and uncle’s house, and she’s joining me for Saturday and Sunday’s games.

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Thursday started with a 7:30 alarm and a 30 minute ride to the Denver Airport. As you enter the Airport’s grounds a blue bronco statue catches your eye. Dustin said that most people don’t like it and think it should be taken down. In an ironic and unfortunate twist, the sculptor who was working on the horse in his studio was killed when a section of the bronco fell and severed an artery in his leg.

My flight left a little late but was OK despite the child vomiting in the row behind me. I was able to tune it out and work on my post for Wednesday. We landed in Milwaukee at 1:45 PM and I stayed at the Airport for an hour and a half to finish up the post. I got to my car at 3:45 and was parked in the Brewers 1 lot at 4:15. This is when I really started to feel miserable (sore throat, aches, etc.). I wanted to drive back to Fort and hibernate for a few days. I listened to a few podcasts in my car and decided that I should walk the parking lots and spread the word, despite my exhaustion. I probably talked to about 60-70 people and even though it didn’t cure my likely cold, it made me feel a little better. There are free donor drives (where they take a cheek swab to collect some saliva) coming up in and around Milwaukee. I chose a 100 mile radius so if you click that link you’ll also see a few in Beloit and Rockford. There is one in Racine tomorrow, Saturday the 18th, then two in Milwaukee next weekend. The first is on Friday the 24th and the other on Saturday the 25th.

I was inside Miller Park at 6:25 and went to section 108 to get game photo number 117. A gentlemen agreed to take the picture for me but after a few attempts (with coaching after each one) he gave up and said I would need to hire a photographer. I give pretty specific instructions but it’s also not rocket science. Another fan took over and got the job done.

After getting the picture I went to the loge level and got a Polish sausage with caramelized onions and a lemonade. That’s the cure-all for colds, isn’t it? Dustin’s dad, Luke, was joining me at the game and I met him in our seats. I had a fan a few rows back get a picture of the two of us before the game got underway.

Marco Estrada got the start for the Brewers and I think this is the first pitch of the game. I vaguely remember a cotton candy vendor being in the way for the first pitch so maybe this was the second. When I say the vendor was in the way I mean for a picture, I’m still able to stand up or move side to side as to not miss a pitch.

The Brewers wasted no time getting an early lead, as Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez went back-to-back in the bottom of the 1st. I’ll take credit for Braun’s home run because as Cliff Lee was about to deliver the first pitch of the at bat I was telling Luke that “Braun hasn’t homered since” and then said “TODAY!” as the first pitch neared home plate (it resulted in a called strike). On the 0-2 pitch Braun listened, though, and gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead that would grow to 2-0 five pitches later.

Ryan Howard drove in a run in the top of the 3rd on a ground ball that could’ve ended the inning. Rickie threw to Segura at second and he tried to turn a quick double play but didn’t catch the ball first. Estrada got out of the inning without allowing another run. In the bottom of the 4th Braun homered again, giving the Brewers a 3-1 lead.

In the top of the 5th Estrada recorded two quick outs but then gave up a single, a walk, and another single. Kevin Frandsen had a good at bat and lined the full count offering to left centerfield, clearing the bases and putting the Phillies in front 4-3. The Phillies maintained that lead going into the bottom of the 8th and it wasn’t looking promising for the Brewers. The Crew was down to their final four outs when Rickie Weeks reached on a throwing error by Frandsen. Braun and Ramirez were walked, and the stage was set for Corey Hart, who up to that point had struck out in all three of his plate appearances.

Hart lifted it to right and deep and it *barely* cleared the fence in right centerfield. Domonic Brown tried to rob Hart of the salami (grand slam) but he narrowly missed it.

Manny Parra came into the game for the 9th inning and struck out Chase Utley before giving up back-to-back singles. Jim Henderson entered and struck out Ty Wiggington before giving up a single of his own. The bases were loaded with Phillies and Erik Kratz stepped to the plate representing the go-ahead run. The 0-1 slider from Henderson…

The pitch resulted in a groundout to Aramis Ramirez and the Brewers hung on for the win. Final Score: Brewers 7 – Phillies 4. I had a good time with Luke and I very much appreciate his $40 donation to Be The Match. We’ve now raised over $3,000 for the Be The Match Foundation.

It’s 1:40 on Friday afternoon and I feel just as bad as I did yesterday, maybe a little worse. I got 10 hours of sleep last night but that didn’t cure whatever I’ve got. It’s probably just a cold but whenever I get sick I always think the worst case scenario; relapse. A cold can be a sign because a relapse would result in my body not producing enough white blood cells, which fight colds and infections. No one should be worried but it’s what goes through my mind whenever I get sick, so I thought I would share. This is why I’m so adamant about washing my hands and using hand sanitizer. If I don’t get sick I won’t have any reason to suspect something is wrong. I’ll be taking a nap and I’m hoping I feel better before I leave for game number 118.

Before I forget; if anyone is interested in going to the game on Tuesday, August 21st, let me know. Front Row Amy gave me her ticket so I’ll be sitting right behind home plate. My two tickets are in 221 so you would not be sitting with me but you and a friend could have a great time in the seats that I call home. A friend had agreed to donate $100 for the tickets, which is face value, but he coaches football and he realized they have a scrimmage on Tuesday. Leave a comment if you’re interested and we’ll work something out. The money goes to the Be The Match and would cover the costs associated with an individual joining the registry.

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Wednesday’s game was at 1:10 PM and I was up until two in the morning working on Tuesday’s post. Dustin and I left his place at 11:40 AM on Wednesday and caught the 11:52 train to Union Station. We took the free 16th street mall ride and walked to Deli Zone for a late breakfast/lunch.

We got our food to go and made our way to Coors Field. Outside of the home plate entrance there is a statue. It’s not of a particular player, but rather “The Player”:

I picked up my ticket from will call and then we bought the seat next to mine so Dustin and I could sit together. We got inside at 12:35 and went to the upper deck for game photo number 116. Dustin has the same camera as I do so it’s nice when he joins me for games (and because he’s a good friend).

We ate in the upper deck and I took a few pictures. This first one is looking south from the top row of the upper deck.

Coors field has a row of seats in the upper deck that are one mile above sea level and are painted purple to stand out.

“I’m king of the world!”

We returned to the field level and got situated for the game. Guillermo Moscoso delivered a strike to Norichika Aoki to get the finale underway. Here’s what it looked like from our seats in section 140.

The Brewers had the bases loaded with two outs in the 1st but came away empty handed. Mark Rogers got the start for the Brewers and here he is about to let go of the second pitch of his outing (a ball to Eric Young Jr.).

With two outs in the 1st the Rockies were able to score three runs and again the Brewers were in an early hole. In the top of the 2nd Mark Rogers got his first major league base hit; a double that rolled to the wall in right center. Here’s Rogers chilling at second base. It looks like the second base umpire is laughing about something. Maybe he was giving Rogers a hard time that he didn’t try to stretch it into a triple.

Since it was his first major league hit the ball was thrown towards the Brewers dugout and Ed Sedar acted as the relay man, flipping Rogers’ keepsake into the dugout.

Rogers was stranded at second and an Eric Young home run in the bottom of the 2nd increased the Rockies lead to 4-0. In the 5th inning the Brewers offense got going. The first six batters reached base, the last of those being Nyjer Morgan, who drove in two runs with this single to center field.

Segura followed Morgan with a sacrifice fly, wrapping up the scoring in the 5th and giving the Brewers a 5-4 lead (their first lead of the series). In the bottom of the 6th the Rockies tied it at five when Chris Nelson drove in Carlos Gonzalez. A half inning later the Brewers regained the lead when Nyjer Morgan drove in another run on a single to left.

At one point in the game Dustin and I noticed a gentlemen a few rows in front of us. This was not in between innings, he would occasionally look towards the field, but “Come on, Man!!!”

The Brewers held the 6-5 lead as the game entered the bottom of the 9th. Jim Henderson came on to try and close the door and salvage the series. He struck out the first batter but then gave up back-to-back singles, putting the game-winning run at first base with only one out. Tyler Colvin stepped to the plate and after a fastball was fouled off Henderson threw him an 0-1 slider:

That picture might be a little deceptive (because it almost looks like a swing and a miss). I think I took that picture after he made contact but Colvin hit it down the right field line. Rosario was at third and scored the tying run while Eric Young Jr. (who is very fast) scored from first and the Rockies completed the sweep. I didn’t stand up when I took the picture below, thus the people in the way. You can see Jonathan Lucroy airborne trying to catch the throw from Rickie Weeks. Lucroy is to the left of the girl’s hat. You can also just make out Young’s backside as he crosses the plate, which is also to the left of the same girl’s neck.

Final Score: Rockies 7 – Brewers 6. The Brewers have now lost 14 of their last 15 road games; not fun. There really isn’t much to say. The bullpen has struggled most of the season and that’s all there is to it. I know every member of the bullpen is trying their best but it just hasn’t been going their way. Henderson didn’t walk anybody in the 9th, if that’s any consolation. At least it was the Rockies winning it and not the Brewers giving it away (which they’ve also done their fair share of as well).

It was Dustin’s birthday and after the game we hung out at his place before heading back downtown around 7:00 PM. We went to Wahoo’s on Blake Street for some fish tacos. The first picture is of the interior of the restaurant and the second is of my regular and Cajun Wahoo fish tacos.

After dinner we hit up Falling Rock Tap House for a few beers and some darts. I’ve never played on a real dartboard before, and it was fun (both playing and having to keep score on a small chalkboard). During one of the games of cricket I needed a few bullseyes to win the game. This is where my second dart wound up. I did not place it here, I swear. That should be an automatic win in my book. Ok, maybe not an automatic win, but it’s still cool though.

After playing three games of darts we went to 1 Up, an arcade themed bar near the Tap House. I didn’t count how many arcade games they have, but there are a lot. One wall is dedicated to pinball machines:

Probably the best game they have is four-player Pacman. We didn’t keep track but I think Dustin got the most wins. I’ll admit that I was letting him win since it was his birthday (right….).

When it got close to midnight we called it a night and rode the light rail back to his place. It’s 2:11 PM central time as I’m writing this, and I’m about 35,000 feet in the air. The game tonight is at 7:10, and I’m actually going with Dustin’s dad, Luke, who lives in Fort Atkinson. For my sanity’s sake I’m hoping the Brewers can pick up a few wins at Miller Park.

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Dustin and I hung out at his place on Tuesday then headed out at 2:00 PM. We took the light rail downtown and the free 16th street bus up to the the Civic Center Park and the State Capitol Building. There wasn’t a clear name engraved on that statue in front, just “1861 – 1865”.

The steps on the west entrance were engraved:

We walked in on the south side of the building and after getting through the security checkpoint we came here and looked up. It’s probably my favorite picture of the day.

We went to the main entrance and turned around, this is what it looks like if you enter from the west:

We also visited the hall of U.S. Presidents, the wall opposite this one has the rest of them.

After leaving the Capitol Building we walked over to the Art Museum. The oddly shaped building in the background is the Art Museum and in the foreground lies a large piece of artwork:

You can make out the dust pan in the picture above, but here’s the whole thing:

The Denver Public Library is right across from the Art Museum:

This was outside of a building that was near the Art Museum:

On our way back to 16th street we saw a food truck parked in Civic Center Park. It’s called Ba-nom-a-nom.

It says “100% healthy – 100% treat” on the truck. There was a dry erase board sign next to where you order and it said that it’s not ice cream, it’s not a smoothie, and it doesn’t contain any dairy. It’s hard to describe and a small cup was $4, but it was really, really good. I had the Pineapple – Peach, I think. I know it had pineapple but now I’m second guessing what the second fruit was.

When we were about to leave Civic Center Park we came across this.

We took the free bus down a few stops and got off so we could eat at Yard House. It’s connected to the Sheraton and they had over 115 beers on tap when we were there. It varies, sometimes there will be more, sometimes less. These were just some of them, the bar was oval, and the taps circled the bar.

We both ordered “1/2 Yards” of the house hefeweizen. A 1/2 Yard is about a half yard tall and it holds approximately 32 fluid ounces. They’re actually kind of difficult to drink, because you have to take it to the side of the table so the top of the glass would be at mouth height.

We were there during happy hour and Yard House offers half-price appetizers. We got the Chicken nachos, which consisted of chicken, spicy pinto beans, cheddar and jack cheeses, red and green sauce, tomato, cilantro, onions, guacamole and sour cream.

The pizzas were also half off during happy hour so each of us got a Pizza (probably not the best idea). Dustin got the barbecue chicken pizza and I got the Spicy Thai Chicken pizza. Mine had chicken, firecracker sauce, mozzarella cheese, macadamia nuts, carrots, green onion and cilantro

I almost finished my Pizza, Walsh not so much. It was stupid to try and finish it. I felt miserable for a while and I curse my habit of not wanting to waste ANY food.

We hopped back on the free bus and took it to Market Street, where we got off and walked to Coors Field. We got to the park at around 5:35 and once inside we went to the Rock Pile seats way out in center field. It provided a great spot for game photo number 115.

Beyond the last row they have pennants for each National League team. This was one side of the Rock Pile seats. The only flag that was missing was the Rockies’. I’m assuming a drunk fan thought it would make a nice addition at their house, so they reached over, lowered it, and took it with them.

If you turn 90 degrees to the left in the picture above you get an idea of what’s beyond Coors Field to the North. On a normal day you’d be able to see the Rockies in the distance (thanks weather).

Once we got down to the field level concourse I got a picture of the picnic area that is behind the batter’s eye in straight away centerfield.

We walked around the field level concourse to right field and we got a good look at the scenic bullpen. This is most of the visitors’ bullpen, the Rockies’ bullpen is to the left and not pictured.

We went over to our seats in section 142. Before the game started Norichika Aokia, Carlos Gomez, and Corey Hart came out to stretch. Aoki can pull this off but if I tried it I would likely tear something.

Some school children sang the national anthem and some Boy Scouts presented the flags.

The game got underway at 6:40 PM and Aoki took a called strike from Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood:

Randy Wolf gave up four runs in the 1st inning and again the Brewers found themselves in an early hole. In the top of the 3rd the Brewers scored a run but the Rockies returned the favor in the bottom half. In the 5th Martin Maldonado homered to lead off the frame, here he is just before getting a low five from Ed Sedar:

The Rockies increased the lead back to four runs in their half of the 5th and then added two runs in the 6th, taking an 8-2 lead. The Brewers scored one in the 7th and had a golden opportunity in the 8th to cut into the lead. The bases were loaded with one out and Ryan Braun was at the plate. Braun struck out swinging and Aramis Ramirez followed him with a strikeout looking.

The top of the 9th was an interesting one and the Brewers almost did what has been done to them most of the season (late inning comebacks). Five of the first six reached for the Brewers and the lead was now just two runs. Weeks stepped to the plate representing the go-ahead run. Weeks flew out and Braun was given another chance to be the hero.

He lifted one deep to center, but not quite deep enough. Center fielder Dexter Fowler squeezed it for the final out and the Rockies assured a series win. Final Score: Rockies 8 – Brewers 6.

In the 8th inning I had a fan a few rows back take a picture of Dustin and me.

Today’s game is at 1:10 this afternoon and we’re leaving in just over an hour. It’s Dustin’s birthday and tonight we’re meeting up with some of his Colorado friends to celebrate. There’s an arcade bar where every game is 25 cents; let the games begin.

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