Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays)

I went to a Rays v. Nationals game on June 25, 2018 with my family, Brett's family and Matt's family.   It's just a quick three hours away from Brett's place all the way across the state of Florida. It was a great time.

I actually really liked the stadium. For some reason I was expecting not to like it. Maybe because it's a domed stadium with astroturf and very small fan attendance? But I actually liked how close we felt to the action up in the top deck behind home plate. It wasn't too far away.

Plus, the quietness of the stadium made it feel even closer I think since we could hear much of the action, such as the pop of the catcher's mitt and other noises down on the field. It was also fun to see the catwalks in person. I've watched many Rays games on tv and the catwalks frequently come into play so it was nice to get a better feel for how that is all set up. I am disappointed that I forgot about the Rays tank out near center field with actual Rays swimming around. The kids would have enjoyed seeing that.

I also forgot to scope out the yellow seat:

The plaque reminds me about how Matt thought they were still called the Devil Rays. So cute.

The game ended up being a rout as the Rays won 11-0. Gio Gonzalez for the Nats could not find the strike zone and ended up walking a bunch of guys, giving up a bunch of runs, including a grand slam to Kiermaier. His pitching line was brutal as he went only 1+ innings and gave up 6 runs. The main intrigue of the game was Blake Snell working on a no-hitter. He had a no-hitter through 6 but gave up a double to Rendon to lead off the 7th. Here's video footage of his outing: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/nationals-vs-rays/2018/06/25/530583?#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=530583

The highlight of the game was Brett catching a foul ball off the bat of Soto while holding Grace. It was fouled over our heads and I jumped over the back row to chase it down but it ricocheted off the section's entry way and bounced back over my head and out of reach and right into Brett's waiting arms.

Here's the final box score: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/nationals-vs-rays/2018/06/25/530583?#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=530583

The Rays W meant that we got to see the roof lit up:

The drive home wasn't too bad and we got to Brett's about 1:30 am. Then we woke up early to make the long drive back to Virginia. Happy to check another stadium off my list, especially one that I didn't think I would be attending any time soon.