Game #12-PNC Park-Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates-A Game to Remember!

On Saturday, May 6th we set out early, or what we thought was early to PNC Park. We arrived at 3:00pm for a 6:35pm game. When we got to our reserved parking area it was full of Pirate fans tailgating. These Pirate fans know how to tailgate. It was surprising to see so many Toronto Blue Jays fans at the game. Ths is the second game in a row for us where the Blue Jays were the visiting team and those Blue Jay fans show up! This is a very special park for Jim as the company he worked for, PPG/Vitro for 42 years has its headquarters in Pittsburgh. In fact their building is part of the beautiful skyline in the backdrop of PNC Park. Jim has been to Pittsburgh countless times over the years and has been to a few Pirate games. Now that he is retired his employer gave us the PPG Home Plate Club seats along with dinner at the Home Plate Club. What a very special treat! We are so thankful for Jim's former boss, Mark Seaton for his generosity and to his former workmates and friends, Isaac and Julie who joined us. Jim and I took our usual walk around the exterior of the park where almost all of the features such as statues and tributes to Hall of Fame Players are displayed. The ballpark sits along the Allegheny River with a picturesque view of Downtown Pittsburgh. It was built in the "retro-classic" style with limestone and large steel truss work. As we walked around we saw four statues surrounding the stadium, Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski. There was a grassy area that held retired Hall of Fame numbers of Pirate players. Additionally, along the riverwalk they have placed large baseball statues to commemorate Hall of Famers. You can see the pictures on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. PNC Park opened in 2001 replacing Three Rivers Stadium. The seating capacity is 38,747 and tonight's game was nearly a sell out with 34,882 in attendance. We were fortunate to not have to wait in the very long lines to get into the stadium because we held the special Home Plate Club tickets. We entered the restaurant about 5pm where we were joined by Isaac and Julie. We had a fantastic dinner with a vast assortment of food to choose from. I had a nice salad, pasta, pierogies, and fruit. The pierogies were fantastic! Jim had a small plate to allow room for the hot dog review. After dinner we made our way to our seats via a tunnel. I could not believe my eyes when I saw we were sitting 4 rows behind home plate. We were able to hear and see everythng! Even the choice words Toronto player Brandon Belt (former Giants player) had for the home plate umpire when he called him out on a strike. Let's just say the umpire did not appreciate his words so he threw him out. Experincing the game from this vantage point is a unique and memorable experience. I could get use to this but not on a retirement budget. Now on to the hot dog review....Jim was a bit nervous about doing his hot dog review in those fancy seats and was unsure of how he would be received. Well it was a big hit and several people were clapping and laughing as he did his review wearing his hot dog hat. He gave the Pirates Hot Dog a 7.5. Now on to the game, a very lopsided game with Toronto winning 8-2. The Blue Jays came to play scoring 4 runs in the 1st inning. A few singles loaded up the bases when Toronto's Daulton Varsho singled bringing in the first run. Brandon Belt was the first to put big action on the board hitting a double brining in two runs. Making it 3-0 Toronto. I was thrilled to see Toronto's Brandon Belt, former Giant playing. He was the DH and did he do his job! Another double by Alejandro Kirk brought in another run making it 4-0 Toronto. The Toronto bats were on fire and in the 3rd inning they scored another 3 runs with singles being hit by Alejandro Kirk, Caven Biggio and Kevin Kiermaier. 7-0 Toronto. The Pirates tried hard to fight back and in the bottom of the 6th inning Bryan Reynolds doubled bringing up Connor Joe who singled and drove in a run. Score Toronto 7, Pirates 1. In the top of the 7th inning the Pirates had a struggle with pitching, walking Brandon Belt and Alejandro Kirk being hit by a pitch. Toronto would score another run with Kevin Kiermaier hitting a single. Score now Toronto 8, Pirates 1. In the bottom of the 7th inning we got to see a Pirate HOMER with Jack Suwinski hitting a monster home run. Score Toronto 8 and Pirates 2 and that is where it ended. It was a tough loss for the Pirates. After the game we stayed for the firework show and what a show it was. The music they played while entertaining us for nearly 10 minutes was magnificent! Truly an enjoyable game in a gorgeous setting! Next stop Cleveland to see the Cleveland Guardians take on the Detroit Tigers. We will be picking up our great friends Tom and Kat Gelardi who will join us for the next three games, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers. They are originaly from Detroit so they should enjoy the games. Until next time PLAY BALL!