Skid's 2015 Dream Season

JUNE 22nd, 23rd, & 24th - PNC PARK
New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates

The Mets are making their only trip to Pittsburgh for 2015 this weekend. I previously purchased a seat through the 7Line Army for Saturday's game. My brother Dan, who is a huge Pirates fan, came out from California to join me for an extended weekend of baseball.

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PNC PARK * May 22th 2015

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We got on the road early Friday morning for Pittsburgh, figuring a 7 hour drive to get there. A long drive but we made it to the hotel early afternoon. I took a short nap then Dan & I walked over the Clemente Bridge to the ballpark. There are four large player statues on each corner. Clemente, Stargell, Wagner, and Mazeroski. We wandered around the park for awhile then had a burger in the left field restaurant during batting practice. The ballpark is very intimate and fan friendly with nice convenient restrooms, plenty of food items, and easy exits.

The Pittsburgh skyline rises above the park

View from my seat

Lets Go Mets! Dan got us some sweet seats a few rows back of the Pirates batboy. These were like a mirror image of the seats we had yesterday at Citi behind the Mets batboy. It's fun to watch a game this close but this game was all Dan's. Noah Syndergaard struck out the first 4 batters but ran into a two out Bucco rally in the 2nd. He then retired eight in a row before the Bucs rallied again for two runs in the sixth. Gerrit Cole pitched very well, allowing 6 hits and striking out 10 Mets. Again a lack of Mets offence did not help with too many strikeouts.

Pirates Win 4-1

PNC PARK * May 23th 2015

1,000 crazy Mets fans

Saturday's game I sat with the 7Line Army. Happy Harvey Day with a thousand other Mets fans, overtaking three whole sections in the left upper deck corner. Dan sat near home on the second deck. He said we were pretty loud but the Pirates jumped all over Matt Harvey and gave him the worst start of his career. Harvey allowed 7 runs on six hits in only four innings. That took most of the air out of the sails of the 7Line Army.

I'm one of them Pirates win again 8-2 This was a lot of fun sitting with so many Mets fans at the game in Pittsburgh. It was a shame the game didn't go better for the Mets. At least I had company during the loss. After the game we went through the Pirates club level and looked at all the memorabilia on the walls. We then chatted for quite a while with a cool Mets fan and his wife outside the stadium. A few bars stay open in the street and fans can wind down after the game. Bill Mazeroski statue

Beautiful Pittsburgh skyline Sunday after we got in the park I met up with my friend Noah and his son Gabe. It was good to catch up with Noah and our seats had an awesome view. The weather was very warm and I was sweating in my Mets jersey. Luckily shade found us around the third inning. The Pirates stomped the Mets for the third straight day, the final score was 9-1. Dan and the other Pirates fans were very happy. Me, not so much. I told Dan I was Pirated out, ready to go back to Citi and see the Mets at home. My view from Sunday's seats Dan got to pose for a picture with one of his favorite players, Steve Blass. Steve pitched in the 1971 World Series for the Bucs and is currently an announcer for the Pirates. During the seventh inning stretch Blass threw dozens of items down on the fans from his announcer booth directly above us. Baseballs, shirts, posters, slippers, fruit bars, everything except the kitchen sink. Gabe got a poster, I got a fruit bar. I gave it to Dan. After the game we headed back to New York, stopping only for an ill timed burger at Wendy's. We got back to my apartment after midnight, heading to bed a little later. I awoke feeling ill and had a hard time sleeping most of the night. Swept and sick! Dan and Steve Blass Pirates sweep the Mets!