And Cincinnati, Ohio, our 6th state in just 3 days. There, waiting for us, the hometown favorite Reds, or Red Stockings, aka the Big Red Machine. A's rivals in the 1990 World Series, when Jose Canseco predicted Oakland would sweep it, only for the exact opposite to happen.
All grudges were set aside, however, for Mat Latos bobble head giveaway night. For the 2nd night in a row, Thomas bartered with a scalper to snag us field level seats on the cheap. America at its finest.
We had heard rumors the Great American was a bandbox, and flexing our muscles in the Slugger Factory cage had put us in a home run humor. To our advantage, the Reds were playing the Rockies, a team whose home field Coors grooms some serious sluggers of their own. Even better, the Reds were starting someone I'd never heard of, and the Rockies were starting Jon Garland, who was a decent pitcher approximately 10 years ago.
This game did not disappoint. It featured two towering Troy Tulowitzki homers, and not one, not two, but 3! Carlos Gonzalez cranks, one at an estimated 476 feet. (As Carlos was on my fantasy team, this boded quite well for me. But to be considerate visiting fans, we admired the blasts with subdued golf-claps.)
While both teams were crushing moonshots left, right and center, Thomas and I wandered out to the giant Riverboat beyond the outfield whose columns light up in flames every time a Reds pitcher strikes someone out. Unfortunately for the Reds, there was still plenty of lighter fluid in those giant tiki torches by the end of this one.
What else we learned: Red fans love Joey Votto. Like, they're obsessed. One dude even wrote a song about him that he somehow found a way to publish on iTunes while, evidently, having no musical talent whatsoever. I mean, the guy went 0-4 in about 8 pitches and they still cheered him on.
It was also at this point we began to realize that a steady diet of bratwurst and beer was not going to pay off in the long run, so we opted for the healthier chicken sandwich option, which was a solid switch.
Finally, in spite of a poor audition in front of us A's fans, the Reds are a good team, and one we thought the A's could see in a rematch of the 1990 Series this year. Though, thanks to fast-forwarding time another 4 months to October 2nd, 2013, our crystal ball has told us a rematch is not in the cards, as the Reds would lose to the Pirates in the one-game wild card playoff.
Final Score: Rockies 12, Reds 4
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