What the...?
Never in my life could I ever have expected a crowd of Dodger fans to out-root, out-cheer and simply overcome the hometown crowd at Yankee Stadium. As you may have heard, a group of over 1,300 loud Dodger fans, a contingent that came along with Dodgers fan group
Pantone 294, overwhelmed Yamkee fans in their own home. Heck, they even performed their own "roll call" of Dodger players on the field (watch the NY commentators discuss it
here).
Billy Witz at the NY Times has a good rundown on the spectacle:
The longest-tenured Yankee, left fielder Brett Gardner, who was well
within earshot of the Dodgers fans, said in reference to the crowd:
“Even the Red Sox, they don’t have maybe as big a following or aren’t as
rowdy. It’s a little bit different, but I thought it was a good
atmosphere. If we’re going to play well down the stretch and get back
into the postseason like we aspire to do, we’re going to have to play
well in that atmosphere, whether it’s at the Stadium or on the road.”
Best yet, the folks at Pantone 294 brought some luck to the Blue Crew. The Dodgers hammered out an impressive 8-2 victory behind an fantastic second career start by Jose De Leon. Via
Doug Padilla at ESPN:
“It was electric and everything I expected,” De Leon said of his Yankee
Stadium debut. “I was a little more nervous than I was in L.A. Since I
grew up a Red Sox fan, I really wanted to beat the Yankees, so it was a
good one."
Photo above via
@MLB on twitter. Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodgers History: In 1925 Dodger starter Dazzy Vance ho-hit the Phillies at Ebbets Field, 10-1. Check out the boxscore here. In 1977 Dodger outfielder Dusty Baker set a franchise record by driving in five runs in one inning. It was against the Padres at Dodger Stadium.
- Happy Birthday, Dutch Ruether and Rick Dempsey!