Game 2: Rockies 9, Brewers 5
WP: Shawn Chacon (5-6)
LP: Ruben Quevedo (5-7)

Home Runs: Matt Stairs (Mil, 7), Todd Hollandsworth (Col, 10), Juan Uribe (Col, 4), Jose Hernandez (Mil, 18), Alex Ochoa (Mil, 5)
Denver Post Story

And I thought the first day in Kansas seemed long! There were still over 300 miles of the Sunflower State to get through today; I did hit Russell. Not because I was ever a huge Bob Dole fan, but partly to honor the funniest SNL skit of all time, and partly to break up the 300 miles ever so slightly.

And then it's on to Denver and Coors Field. After all that prairie (and there was an awful lot of eastern Colorado to get through too), there's no time to explore the city, just to grab a (you guessed it) Coors and some local Denver cuisine. I don't know about the rest of the ballpark menu, but a local staple seems to be the Rocky Mountain Oysters. They're essentially what makes a bull a bull instead of a steer, but they're supposed to be quite tasty. So I'll happily include them on my virtual visit to Denver, and hope that I'll have the oysters to actually try them when I hit town for real.

Coors Field was built at the height of the mid-90s ballpark renaissance, and it's generally considered one of the best examples of that era. It has some neat quirks: the bleachers, called the Rockpile, are $4.00. The 20th row of the upper deck has all its seats painted purple, signifying the fact that this row is exactly one mile above sea level. The mascot is a purple triceratops named Dinger. And, of course, Coors has revolutionized the offensive game; Denver's altitude and low humidity make fly balls turn into home runs at an alarming pace.

Day 6: Wichita to Denver
Mileage Today: 522.6
Denver Weather: 92 °, cloudy
States: Kansas, Colorado
Route Traveled: I-135 to Salina, I-70 and Rt. 281 to Russell, I-70 west to the Colorado state line and west to Watkins and into Denver.

Rockies/Coors Field Facts
First Game: 4/26/95 vs. Mets
Capacity: 50,445
Retired Numbers: none
Rockies Fan Site: Denver Baseball Observer