Game #22-Coors Field-Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants

We are in beautiful Colorado staying at an RV park just west of Denver. The threat of rain loomed throughout the day which had us concerned for another rainout. The MLB weather website I watch gives up to date information on the likeliness of a rainout. All day the website showed a "possible rainout or delay." A rainout would sure put a big glitch in our plans since we have been joined by extra special guests. Our daughter Brittany, her husband Steven, and our darling grandloves Ella and Bennett have joined us. Brittany, Ella and Bennett arrived by plane and Steven arrived by Harley. The plan for months has been for them to join us for the Denver vs. Giants game because they too are Giants fans. They try to attend a Giants game on their wedding anniversary every year at a different stadium. So of course when they saw we were attending this game on June 6 just three days after their anniversary it made sense for them to join us. After the game we will travel to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone in the RV with our grandloves while Brittany and Steven travel by Harley enjoying the gorgeous countryside and yes RAIN! Also, our son Chris, his wife Kayla and our other grandloves Makenna and Maddox will met up with us in Yellowstone. As the time for the game drew near there was only a slight indication of a game delay or rainout. We arrived at the game a few hours early to do our usual walk around the stadium with our grandloves. We were amazed by the size of Coors Fields with a capacity of 50,144 and the third largest in MLB. Tonight's game would have a crowd of 29,190 which is great for a rain-threatening Tuesday night. Coors Field opened in downtown Denver in 1995 and is known as the hitter's park due to the effect of Denver's high elevation. Speaking of high elevation, the stadium seats are all green except for the 20th row of the upper deck which are purple to mark the elevation of one mile (5,280 feet) above sea level. See our pictures on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. One interesting fact is that studies found that it was not necessarily thin air that resulted in more home runs but dry air. Since those studies in 2002 the Rockies installed a room-sized humidor to have a damper place to store the baseballs prior to games. Since that time the number of home runs at Coors Field have decreased. While we were walking around I observed two ladies struggling to take a selfie that would include their identical shirts. I asked them if I could help by taking their picture to which they were grateful. After taking several photos of them I asked them about their shirts. Their shirts said, "What Goes On?....LIFE." They told me they were recent widows who are just trying to figure life out now that they had lost their husbands. It was ironic that this would happen because just a few hours earlier we had received a call that Jim's mother had passed away. We were struggling with what to do....go to the game or stay back at the RV. Jim ultimately said we are going to continue on to the game with our kids and grandkids, mom would have wanted that. It was still not easy as our minds and hearts were elsewhere. I told the women they were the message that we needed at that moment. Coincidence? I think not! Other than the amazing architecture of Coors Field, the Rockies do not have a lot to see memorabilia wise due to them being a fairly new team with only a 30 year history. They have never won a World Series nor a NL West Division title. They have been a Wild Card five times, being successful in 2007 winning the NL Pennant. The Rockies have two retired numbers, #17 Todd Helton and #33 Larry Walker. Additionally, all of MLB have the famous #42 Jackie Robinson. Walking around the concourse provided many beautiful views of the stadium. Jim and I did take a walk up to "The Rooftop" in right field during the game for the most magical view of Coors Field. When we arrived to our section of seats we chatted with our usher Terry who had the recommendation of a Rockie Dog. I had told Jim I would be his understudy for the hot dog review as he was not really in the right spirit to perform. Jim went to get the recommended hot dog while I stayed with the grandloves preparing to put on the hot dog hat and do the review. As soon as Jim returned he said he wanted to do the review but only if his grandloves were included. Ella agreed to be a part of the review and shy Bennett reluctantly agreed. Jim gave the Rockie Dog a 7.5. After the review Bennett and Ella helped grandpa eat the hot dog and Ella thought the Rockie Dog should have been given an 8.0 and Bennett agreed with grandpa. See the reel on Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. As we were waiting for the game to begin we saw a woman with a sign that said "I've Hit Them ALL! #30 Quest Complete!" Of course we approached her and asked about her quest. She has been on her journey for 25 years and is a Phillies fan, therefore her shirt said, "Phinally 30 for 30." It is amazing how many people we have met that have the dream of visiting all 30 ballparks. Soon Brittany and Steven joined us and we captured a few photos together at the stadium before the first pitch. First pitch came at 6:40pm and LaMonte Wade Jr. hit that first pitch for a double. The 1st inning ended with no score by either team. That all changed in the top of the 2nd inning when a two out rally began with a double by rookie Patrick Bailey. Next to the plate was Brandon Crawford who has been in a little bit of a slump. Crawford hit a double bringing home Bailey to score. Score Giants 1 - Rockies 0. LaMonte Wade walked and then Thairo Estrada hit a single to bring home Crawford. Score Giants 2 - Rockies 0. With two runners on, Joc Pederson was hit by a pitch to load up the bases. J.D. Davis was at the plate while I dreamed of seeing a grand slam, no such luck as he was called out on strikes. It was top of the 3rd inning when Mitch Haniger hit a double and then the rookie Patrick Bailey came to the plate. Bailey hit a triple to score Haniger. Patrick Bailey has been a great addition to the Giants lineup. Score Giants 3 - Rockies 0. In the bottom of the 4th inning Rockies Randal Grichuk hit a triple and then Nolan Jones came to the plate and reached on a fielder's choice, the play at home was close but Grichuk scored. Score Giants 3 - Rockies 1. The damage to the Rockies happened in the top of the 5th when the Giants broke the game open! Mike Yastremski had reached on a walk when Patrick Bailey came to the plate to hit a double. LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a double scoring Yastremski and Bailey. Score Giants 5 - Rockies 1. The Rockies brought out the hook and changed pitchers to try to mitigate the bats of the Giants. With two outs Joc Pederson came to the plate and hit a single to put LaMonte Wade Jr. on 3rd base. J.D. Davis hit a double scoring both Wade and Pederson. Score Giants 7 - Rockies 1. The Giants were not done putting numbers on the board when Michael Conforto hit a single to bring home Davis. Score Giants 8 - Rockies 1. The Rockies would add one more in the bottom of the 5th with a single by Charlie Blackman and a double by Jurickson Profar. Score Giants 8 - Rockies 2. The Rockies had their third pitching change but that did not stop the Giants hitters. LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a single and Thairo Estrada hit a double when J.D. Davis hit a sacrifice fly to score Wade. Score Giants 9 - Rockies 2. The Rockies would show a little life in the bottom of the 7th inning in a two out rally. Charlie Blackmon walked then Jurickson Profar came to the plate and ripped a triple. Score Giants 9 - Rockies 3. Next Ryan McMahon hit a double scoring Profar. Score Giants 9 - Rockies 4. The game time was well over 3 hours by the 8th inning due to pitching changes and long at bats. In the top of the 9th inning the Giants began had three walks by LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada and Wilmer Flores. With bases loaded my hopes for a grand slam were sparked with J. D. Davis at the plate. That did not happen and the Giants had two strikeouts one by J.D. Davis and the other by Austin Slater. Then it was Mitch Haniger who would get another walk to walk in a run. That hurts when you walk in a run. Score Giants 10 - Rockies 4. The Giants were very patient at the plate drawing 11 walks from six Rockies pitchers in this game. The bottom of the 9th would see some excellent defense by the Giants. Charlie Blackmon flied out making it one out. Jurickson Profar hit a single and then Ryan McMahon grounded into a double play. Brandon Crawford did his great work getting the ball to 2nd baseman Thaito Estrada who sent it bolting to LaMonte Wade Jr. for the double play. Final Score Giants 10 - Rockies 4. The record for the home team in "Our Field of Dreams Tour" is 10 wins and 12 losses. This was a great win for us on a day that started with our hearts hurting. The fun did not end with the final pitch and we are sure there was someone already up in heaven working to make her children and grandchildren happy. We were waiting for our shuttle bus to take the six of us back to the parking area. As we were waiting in line there was a shuttle bus in the line that had great music blasting. As fate would have it we were the last six on the packed bus. The driver began with, "You have just boarded the best shuttle of all and you are going to have so much fun, and if you don't, I'm quiting tomorrow." He then cranked up Earth, Wind and Fire, "Let's Groove" complete with flashing party lights. The entire bus was dancing, singing and having a great time. Our grandloves had a blast! One thing about Jim's mom is she LOVED dancing and music! Thanks mom for sending that little blessing our way. We needed that!!!! We will be taking a break from baseball to enjoy some family time in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. We will be back to baseball on June 14 when we are in Seattle to see the Mariners play the Marlins. Until next time, PLAY BALL!