Game #6- Truist Park Home of the 2021 World Champion Atlanta Braves

We must have been really tired from our very long day of travel from Florida to Atlanta because it was the nearby trumpet from Dobbins Air Force Base playing REVEILLE that woke us up. It was 8am on Sunday, April 23 and our Astros vs. Braves game time was 1:35pm. We had a good laugh about waking up to the sound of reveille and talked with the neighbors in our RV Park to confirm it was every morning at 8am with the National Anthem at 4pm. Anyone who knows Jim and I know how patriotic we are and how we love and appreciate the beautiful country we live in. So this was a perfect RV park for us. We arrived at Truist Park at 11:00am in order to do our exploring of the park. This is our first outdoor stadium on our tour and the weather was perfect. We parked in a nearby lot and walked through "The Battery Atlanta" which has several restaurants and retail stores for fans to enjoy before and after games. The crowds were very large and many of the restaurants had very long lines. We decided to forgo one of the outside restaurants and make our way to the gate entrance. It was "Kid's Day" at the park and all kids under 14 received a piggy bank. Unfortunatly I did not qualify. LOL. Truist Park opened in 2017 after leaving Turner Field. One of the reasons besides Turner Field needing major renovations was the traffic congestions in the metro Atlanta area. All I can say is if it was worse than what we experienced getting in and out of the ballpark, I cant even imagine it! Truist Park has a capacity of 41,350 and today's game is sold out as they are playing their huge rivals. Once inside the park Jim and I decided to do our usual walk around the park and began in Monument Garden which houses many of the Braves prized jewels. At the center of this historical display is a 9-foot tall statue of Hank Aaron recreating the moment when he hit his record breaking 715th home run. Right behind this amazing statue is a sculpture made of bats in the number 755 which is the number of career home runs hit by Hank Aaron. We also saw the 55 bats and gloves that represent the 55 Braves inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Additionally, there is a water feature that has incorporated the 11 retired jersey numbers. Speaking of jerseys they have a large display of over 25 uniforms since 1871 that shows how the jerseys have changed over time. We really enjoyed seeing the trophy cabinet with the 2021 World Series Trophy and World Series Ring. What an fantastic way to give fans a total snapshot of the history of the Atlanta Braves. I even found out the Braves which began in Boston, were known as the Red Stockings in their early years. The Monument Garden was extremely well thought out and put together excellently! We continued our walk around the park and made our way to Hank Aaron Terrace. This sits just above left field and is a beautiful space where groups can purchase tickets to sit indoors or outdoors to watch the game. The minimum number of tickets you can buy is 20 with room for up to 400. Inside baseball fans have their own bar and restaurant for a small cost of $95.00 a person, food and non-alcholic drinks included. We finally made our way to our seats after our walk around this incredible ballpark. When we arrived to our seats we were greeted by our very kind ushers Harold and Keith. Jim got his hot dog recommendation from the ushers and we exchanged information took a few pictures and gave them our gift of salt water taffy and surfboard key chain. They were extremely helpful and shared many good tips. As we were taking pictures we noticed just beyond center field a water feature with boulders and evergreen trees. We found out this is nicknamed "Chattahoochee Falls." The water feature shoots water high in the air when the Braves get a home run of win the game. Now on to the food, you know the drill Jim got a hot dog recommended by our ushers and did his review giving it a 6. Check out the reel on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. The absolute funniest thing happened when the gentleman sitting next to us shared that he had worked for Oscar Mayer for 18 years. We had a huge laugh and told him Jim has on his bucketlist to drive the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. HAHAHA. I had a barbecue pork sandwich which was more than I could eat but absolutely delicious. Not as memorable as those carnitos tacos at LoanDepot Park in Miami but very good. Before the game there was a parade of little league baseball players parading around the field because today the Braves are celebrating kids as well as reconizing the Deaf community. The national anthem was sung and signed by a children's choir who did a great job. During the game, about the 3rd inning we were greated by Heather Agan from Guest Services. Heather responded to my letter and has been keeping in contact with me since that first interaction in January. She brought us a gift of a bobblehead, Braves pennant, Braves lanyard and buttons commemorating our visit to Truist Park on our Field of Dreams Tour. The game began with a pitching duel between Braves pitcher Max Fried and Astros pitcher Cristian Javier until the first score was put on the board in the bottom of the 5th inning. This score came after Javier had retired 10 hitters in a row before Kevin Pillar hit a homer to make it 1-0 Braves. Then in the bottom of the 6th inning Ronald Acuna Jr. scored on a throwing error by Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon making it 2-0 Braves. Pitching changes came for both teams in the 7th inning. Another pitching change for the Braves in the 8th inning after a couple of singles and a walk to load up the bases by Ian Anderson. The Braves brought in reliever A.J. Minter and it was Astros Yordan Alvarez who hit a two-run single to tie the game 2-2. Another pitching change for Houston in the 8th brought in Hector Neris who put the Braves down in order. On to the 9th inning where it fell apart for the Braves. A.J. Minter struggled for the outs and had a few singles hit off of him and a walk allowing the Astros to take the lead 3-2 before another Braves pitching change. Danny Young came in and hit Mauricio Dubon with a pitch which gave the Astros runners at first and second. Alex Bergman hit a deep single to bring in two runs making the game 5-2 Astros. The bottom of the 9th inning Astros brought in closer Bryan Abreu who walked the first batter, hit the second batter. This brought a spark of hope as there were runners on first and second with no outs. That ended very soon as Eddie Rosario grounded into a double play. The final at bat by Sam Hilliard ended when he struck out swinging. Final score 5-2. The Astros rode out of the park on their brooms having swept the series. So now after 6 games for us it is 3 home team wins and 3 visiting team wins. We are off to Baltimore with a stop in Fancy Gap, Virginia. We will attend three ballparks making camp in Baltimore. Game number 7 will be Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox. Until next time PLAY BALL!