Jacob deGrom was starting for the Mets. I was expecting that. He’s had a great year so far, but the Dodgers were able to get to him. Max Muncy hit a home run in the first inning to put the Dodgers up 1-0. I hadn’t heard of this guy before this season. He’s been awesome. He wasn’t doing much at first, but the Dodgers got their season turned around when he started hitting. And the turn around pretty much started in Washington. Here are Muncy’s numbers before the game I went to in Washington: 73 plate appearances, .238/.329/.460, 3 home runs, 12 RBIs. Here are his numbers from the game I went to until now: 140 plate appearances, .280/.450/.701, 14 home runs, 23 RBIs. Kershaw looked really good in the first inning. He struck out the first two batters and then got a soft ground ball right back to him for the third out. Kershaw struggled after that, but managed to limit the damage. He gave up two runs on five hits and one walk over the next two innings. It was easily the worst start that I’ve seen from Kershaw (I’ll get to his numbers with me in attendance later). But I would say it was a success. He made it through three innings without getting hurt. His velocity has been down this season. It still wasn’t what we’re used to (I hope it gets back there, but it’s possible that the days of Kershaw throwing 93-95 are over), but it was definitely better than it was in his last start before going on the DL (and it was better in his second start when Kershaw was really good, but the bullpen was terrible). So he left in position to lose, but the Dodgers got him off the hook. Chris Taylor pinch hit for Kershaw in the top of the fourth and doubled in two runs. Caleb Ferguson came in to pitch for Kershaw pitched four great innings. He allowed three hits and a walk, but he didn’t give up any runs.
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| It was good to see Clayton Kershaw back on the mound. |
So it was a close game going to the eighth. Then the Dodgers took control. Cody Bellinger led off with a single. Yasiel Puig singled, but the ball was misplayed. It allowed Bellinger to get to third, but Puig was too aggressive and got thrown out at second. The Mets intentionally walked Yasmani Grandal. With runners at the corners and one out, my dad called for the squeeze. And that’s what the Dodgers did. Kiké Hernandez successfully laid down the bunt. The Mets tried to get Bellinger at home, but he was safe. Chase Utley singled to load the bases. And then Matt Kemp came up as a pinch hitter and hit a grand slam to make it 8-2. The Mets hit a meaningless home run in the bottom of the 8th and the Dodgers won 8-3. It was the 11th straight win for the Dodgers over the Mets. The six RBIs for pinch hitters was the most in Los Angeles Dodgers history. Kemp’s grand slam was his seventh with the Dodgers. It put him one behind Mike Piazza for the most in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the Dodgers play at 12 different stadiums. I had never seen them play anywhere other than Shea Stadium until 2009. Thanks to the MLB Ballpark app, I know that the Dodgers’ record in games I’ve attended at any stadium other than Shea Stadium is 18-15. I was able to figure out five Dodger games that I went to at Shea Stadium from 1989-2008. The Dodgers were 1-4 in those games, but there were definitely a lot more than those five games. They’re 8-6 at Citi Field, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium, 2-0 at Nationals Park, 1-1 at Yankee Stadium, and 2-5 everywhere else (wins at Citizens Bank Park and Petco Park, losses at Fenway Park, AT&T Park, Coors Field, Chase Field, and Comerica Park).
As for food and drink, it was a mixed bag. Of course, Shake Shack is the best option at Citi Field, but the line is always way too long. So I didn’t try for that. I had googled some of the new food options. I couldn’t find a couple of things that I read about (Italian cheese balls with pepperoni and chicken parm bites). Lines were an issue. Besides Shake Shake, I was interested in lobster tacos, but I didn’t want to deal with the line. I tried getting in line for an Alpine Brat (a brat with melted Raclette cheese). The line was not long, but it was not moving at all. I called an audible because the game was about to start and just got a hot dog so that I could be in my seat for the first pitch. It was no Dodger Dog, but it was $7 cheaper than the Alpine Brat. The beer selection was pretty good. I was disappointed that there was no Sam Adams Summer Ale. Sam Summer and Clayton Kershaw would have been the perfect first day (sort of) of summer vacation. The only Sam Adams beer that I could find was Sam ‘76, which I’ve had before and I didn’t think it was anything special. So I went with a Brooklyn Summer Ale. It’s decent for a summer beer and I guess it was appropriate for watching the Dodgers in New York. Also I got it from a little New York craft beer stand. There was no line so it was nice and quick and easy. After Kershaw left the game, I got some chocolate chip cookie dough from the edible cookie dough stand. It’s really good. The bad thing was I had to go down to the lower concourse because the stand on the upper level didn’t have chocolate chip. Why even have other flavors? No cookie (and I’m presuming cookie dough as well) beats chocolate chip.
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| I have at least six baseball games left this year. Hopefully I'll be able to find some Sam Adams Summer Ale at a couple of them. |
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| This was ridiculously good. |
It looks like the next couple of games I’m getting to will be minor league games. I think I’m going to get to three more Dodger games this year. Hopefully I’ll get to see Kershaw again. This was the first time I’ve seen Kershaw pitch since his second start back from the DL in 2016 when he pitched at Yankee Stadium. Here are Kershaw’s updated numbers with me in attendance:
9 starts, 2 pinch hit appearances (0-1 with a sacrifice bunt)
Dodgers: 10-1 (the loss came in the game where he unsuccessfully pinch hit), Kershaw: 4-0
58.2 innings
1.23 ERA
63 strikeouts
34 hits
11 walks
0.77 WHIP
2 complete game shutouts
