STL: Hunter Dobbins; NYY: Ryan Weathers
STADIUM #2
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, New York · August 4, 2026
TRIP SNAPSHOT
First pitch7:05 PM
Attendance41,081
Game time2 hr 21 min
Conditions80° · partly cloudy
Roof / domeNone
Day or nightNight
SeatsSection 238, Row 7, Seats 13-18
TravelersMark, Sarah, Audrey, Oscar, Mary and Stephanie
THE SCOREBOOK
How the game unfolded.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
 Yankees | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Ryan Weathers (5–7)
Hunter Dobbins (2–2)
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY), 2nd inning; George Lombard Jr. (NYY), 5th inning
George Lombard Jr.
George Lombard Jr. hit his first major-league home run for his first career hit in his MLB debut, giving the Yankees a 2–0 lead in the fifth inning. He also made a standout defensive play to help turn a double play in the second.
THE TRIP STORY
More than a box score
Yankee Stadium was Ballpark #2 and the first true road trip of Chasing 30. Mark, Sarah, Audrey, Oscar, Mary and Stephanie flew nonstop from St. Louis to LaGuardia for a whirlwind New York adventure that lasted less than 36 hours.
After arriving in New York, we took the hotel shuttle to the Hampton Inn and got lucky—the rooms were ready early, so we were able to drop off our bags and even take advantage of breakfast. From there we headed into Manhattan and packed an incredible amount of New York into one day. We visited the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square and the Red Steps, Rockefeller Center, the United Flags of Fashion/America250 exhibit, FAO Schwarz and its famous piano, Radio City Music Hall, and the underground Rockefeller Center concourse. We stopped for lunch at Bill's Bar & Burger before making our way to the Bronx.
We took the D train to 161st Street–Yankee Stadium and arrived early enough to experience the stadium before the game. Our seats were only seven rows behind the Cardinals bullpen, which gave Audrey and Oscar plenty of opportunities to try to get a baseball. We visited Monument Park, explored Yankee Stadium, and settled in for Cardinals vs. Yankees.
The game itself didn't go the Cardinals' way. New York won 2–0 on two solo home runs despite St. Louis collecting more hits and having opportunities to score. George Lombard Jr. made his Major League debut and hit his first career home run, so we unknowingly got to witness a little piece of baseball history. Around the third inning Mark started exploring the stadium, and the food tour eventually included chicken tenders, New York Legendary Ale, and tiramisu served in a souvenir Yankees batting helmet.
We stayed through the end and heard Yankee Stadium sing “New York, New York” before joining the postgame crowd. We took the 4 train to Grand Central, transferred to the 7 train to 111th Street, and grabbed a Lyft back to the hotel. The next morning it was already time to head back to LaGuardia—where Mini Bat #1 became the final adventure of the trip when TSA decided it couldn't travel in the carry-on.
It was fast, exhausting, funny and exactly what Chasing 30 was supposed to be. Busch Stadium started the count, but New York was where the project became a real family adventure: getting on a plane, exploring another city, riding the subway to a ballpark, watching the Cardinals play somewhere completely different, collecting the first road-trip souvenirs, and coming home with stories that had almost as much to do with the journey as the baseball. Ballpark #2 was officially in the books.
Game highlights
A memorable night at Yankee Stadium, even though the Cardinals were shut out 2–0. Jazz Chisholm Jr. opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning. Yankees rookie George Lombard Jr., making his MLB debut, stole the show with great defense and then hit a 392-foot home run in the fifth inning for his first major-league hit. The Cardinals collected six hits but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and couldn't push a run across. Ryan Weathers threw six scoreless innings for New York, and David Bednar closed it out for the save
THE BALLPARK
Our experience.
You immediately knew you were somewhere important in baseball history. The Great Hall, huge banners of Yankees legends and the famous white frieze gave the stadium a larger-than-life feel. Even though this Yankee Stadium opened in 2009, it was clearly designed to carry the history of the original stadium with it.
Monument Park. Walking through the monuments and retired numbers made the Yankees’ history feel real instead of just something you read about. It was easily one of the most memorable parts of visiting Yankee Stadium.
Excellent. The experience started before we even entered the stadium, with Yankees fans filling the subway and the area around 161st Street. Once inside, the crowd felt engaged and knowledgeable. The best moment came after the game when tens of thousands of people stayed and sang along to “New York, New York.”
Definitely noticeable, but scattered throughout the stadium rather than concentrated in one area. Cardinals fans got louder whenever St. Louis threatened to score. Being near the Cardinals bullpen also gave us a little piece of home-team territory in Yankee Stadium.
Our seats behind the Cardinals bullpen gave us a great view of the field while also letting us watch the Cardinals pitchers warm up up close. Walking around the stadium also provided several completely different views of the field.
Section 238, Row 7, Seats 13–18. Only seven rows behind the Cardinals bullpen. Great location for Cardinals fans, especially Audrey and Oscar, who spent plenty of time hoping one of the players would toss them a ball.
Monument Park and the Yankees’ history throughout the stadium. We saw the monuments and retired numbers honoring generations of Yankees legends and learned how the 2009 stadium was designed to preserve pieces of the original “House That Ruth Built,” including the iconic frieze.
The biggest one was staying after the final out for Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” Hearing tens of thousands of Yankees fans singing together was one of those classic baseball experiences that made the visit memorable even after a Cardinals loss.
The history, Monument Park, the atmosphere, being so close to the Cardinals bullpen, exploring the stadium, and the traditions. The food adventure was fun too—chicken tenders and fries, New York Legendary Ale, and tiramisu served in a souvenir Yankees batting helmet.
The actual baseball! The Cardinals lost 2–0 despite outhitting New York 6–5 and repeatedly giving us hope that they were about to score. They stranded seven runners and couldn't cash in even when they loaded the bases in the eighth. Great ballpark experience; frustrating Cardinals game.
10.0 / 10
Absolutely
FAMILY MEMORIES
The parts we never want to forget.
Tiramisu in a souvenir Yankees helmet; chicken strip bucket; New York Legendary Ale
Tiramisu in the Yankees helmet — partly for the dessert, but mostly because the mini helmet became part of the Chasing 30 collection.
By the end of the night, eating had basically turned into souvenir shopping. The tiramisu helmet, chicken bucket, America 250th Anniversary soda cups and even the empty Legendary Ale can all came home with us. We weren't just trying Yankee Stadium food—we were slowly packing the concession stands into our luggage.
Yankee Stadium mini bat, souvenir Yankees mini helmet from the tiramisu, empty New York Legendary Ale can, special America 250th Anniversary souvenir soda cups, and the Yankees chicken-strip bucket. Apparently, if the food or drink came in a collectible container, it was coming home with us.
Staying through the final out and hearing roughly 30,000 Yankees fans sing “New York, New York.” The Cardinals lost and the game itself wasn't especially exciting, but that moment felt unmistakably like Yankee Stadium.
Waiting outside Gate 8 in the shade under the elevated subway tracks. Every couple of minutes another train roared overhead and basically stopped the conversation. It was our introduction to doing baseball in the Bronx.
How much we could actually fit into less than 36 hours. We flew to New York, explored Manhattan, rode the subway to the Bronx, visited Yankee Stadium, watched a full game and made it home with an entire trip's worth of memories.
“Pretty boring.” — our assessment of the actual baseball game. 😂
The Cardinals lost 2–0, Audrey and Oscar spent a lot of time near the Cardinals bullpen hoping for a tossed baseball but never got one, and the Yankee Stadium mini bat couldn't simply come home in the carry-on. TSA turned our first Chasing 30 mini bat into one last New York adventure.
Audrey and Oscar hanging around the Cardinals bullpen hoping a player would toss them a ball, riding the New York subway, exploring Yankee Stadium, hearing the entire crowd sing “New York, New York,” and discovering that apparently even a MINI baseball bat is still a baseball bat as far as airport security is concerned.
The baseball was forgettable, but Yankee Stadium and our less-than-36-hour New York adventure absolutely were not.
FAMILY GALLERY
The trip in pictures.
Family
