It was a sweltering October day in San Diego, and the temperature heated up the Padres bats in a major way against the Philadelphia Phillies during Game 2 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). With a swarm of fans in the stands, the San Diego Padres won with an 8-5 victory.
Tuesday’s midday game wasn’t an ideal time for many workers and students, but some found a way. Padres fan Curtis Milioti was one of them.
“I work from home, and I'm calling the stadium home today.”Curtis Milioti
Student Ella Ward played hooky and attended the game with her family.
“I emailed my teachers saying I wasn’t gonna be at school today. And then my mom called the attendance office and said I wasn't gonna show up — called in sick,” Ward said.
As fans buzzed with excitement to see their home team play, many held on to faith that the Padres would show up against the Phillies, despite losing their first game. The Padres also lost their first game of the previous series to the Dodgers, so the team is familiar with that scenario.
“As a baseball fan there's a lot of superstitions, but you just gotta go out, you gotta play your game, go out and win," fan Wes Polishuck said. "And we’ll be loud out there for them too.”
Considering the Padres won Game 2 with an 8-5 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies, it seems these fans were right.
The Padres travel to Philadelphia for three away games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Petco Park plans to host watch parties for the Friday and Saturday weekend games. If the series still isn’t over after five games, the teams will travel back to San Diego for games 6 and 7.
