Al and I had a great time at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati this afternoon,

Great American Ballpark

despite the heat and a strong thunderstorm that delayed the bottom of the first for (officially) 47 minutes. The ballpark is beautiful with fantastic views of the Ohio River, one of the advantages of sitting one row from the very top of the stadium.

Al takes his swings.

Before the game, we took some swings in the batting cage outside the ballpark proper, which means, therefore, that we have now added Ohio to the places we have played. (Hey, it was all that we could do because we’re pretty sure that they wouldn’t let us play catch in the middle of I-71 although they might have because once again, everyone loved our shirts.

As for the game itself, the Indians won 5-3 in 11 innings, despite stranding 18 runners, thanks to four bases loaded walks in four different innings. The last time the Reds walked in four runs was 45 years ago in September of 1970. This is in keeping with some strange things that we’ve seen in ballgames this trip. As it was, the Indians took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Cincinnati rallied with two outs and none on to tie the score.

Hey! I’m talking about the view of the river.

Fittingly, the winning run was walked home in the top of the 11th. We enjoyed the final four frames from the comfort and air-conditioning of the Newport, Kentucky Hooters. The view there is fantastic.

We made it as far as Williamstown, Kentucky after the game, which is a bit north of Lexington. Tomorrow we re-cross those 1,029 West Virginia mountains and hopefully, arrive safe at home.