Rays at Orioles, Camden Yards

After a delicious meal including a variety of fish at the Rusty Scupper, we wandered through the Inner Harbor on our way to Camden Yards. We even stopped at Vacarros for some Italian cookies to take to the game. Once we were inside beautiful Camden Yards, AJ said, "this is the best stadium in sports," to which I agreed. Unfortunately, it began to rain and the staff put the tarp on the field.

The rain delay lasted only 20 minutes though. The game was kicked off by the national anthem on trumpet played by Chick-fil-a's CFO.


The Rays got off to a good start thanks to an RBI double by Matt Joyce that sparked a seven-run second inning. Wade Davis lasted eight innings, holding the O's to just one run.

Then, in the middle of the ninth, AJ got a call from Papa J letting us know we were on TV for a few seconds holding our sign, "The Rays Shine With Sun Sports." The sign was held remarkably high for all to see.

As seen on TV

It is official. BL is now a Rays fan. Next stop: Wrigley Field (no Rays until Toronto though).

Rays at Red Sox, Fenway

School’s out for summer. I woke up the morning of June 29 feeling light as air and anxious to get to Boston. Our tickets were booked on the Bolt Bus departing from the Tick Tock diner. (I am loving the alliteration.)

The ride was pretty smooth. I was reading Salinger. Then we pulled over for our 10-minute leg stretch at Roy Rogers, somewhere in Connecticut. The bus was leaking oil. The driver was of questionable mental state. We waited for a new bus to pick us up.

The Bolt Bus breakdown

The Rays started the two-game stint with Boston that night. They lost. Boston kept second place behind the Yankees and the Rays kept up what June had looked like so far: slumpy.

Mike, Luca, and Nina: Our gracious hosts and unfortunate Red Sox fans

The following night, our seats in Fenway were pretty great. I had heard there isn’t a bad seat in that stadium. I had heard that it is always packed. I can’t really say what’s true or what isn’t after one night, except that the Rays pulled it out behind Garza, winning 9-4. They closed out June with a win, to set up July and get out of their rut. They broke Boston’s seven-game winning streak.


We sat in right field and could see all the catches made in the warning track. The eighth inning was explosive. That was foreshadowing. The Rays would sweep the Red Sox the following week in the Trop to take back second place.

Rays at Yankees, Yankee Stadium

Fast forward a month and a half, without overlooking the fact that the Rays had the best record and led not only the American League East, but also all of baseball. During which time, we trekked out to Yankee stadium and watched them win 10-6 behind the rookie Wade Davis.


The biggest moments: just as we walked in and up to the railing that overlooks the diamond from the upper level, Jason Bartlett hit a homer off A.J. Burnett on one of the first pitches of the game. The roadtrip plans were sealed as B.L. agreed to join me this summer (even though he doesn’t really like baseball, and if he did, his team would be the Baltimore Orioles.)

Mets at Rays, Tropicana Field

The season looked great from where I was sitting in April. The last spring training game at the Trop, a Rays win 4-2 behind Matt Garza. The news comes out the following day: the Rays have the best record in spring training. Just like they had done in 2008, when they won the ACLS and appeared in the World Series, each for the first time in team history.


Parents enjoy the Rays' win
Raymond, mascot of unknown species, visits the crowd