The San Diego Padres restricted direct ticket sales for National League Division Series games at Petco Park to those living within select counties, and it prevented Los Angeles Dodgers fans from taking away home-field advantage.
Although it’s become commonplace for pockets of blue to be seen throughout Petco Park whenever the Dodgers are in town, that was not the case for Game 3 on Friday night. Seats instead were filled by fans dressed in brown and yellow, giving the Padres an edge that often haven’t enjoyed.
Only a sparse number of Dodgers fans could be seen throughout the stadium, which had an announced attendance of 45,137.
That not only represented a sellout but at the time also the largest crowd for a postseason game in Petco Park’s history. The Padres moved to the Gaslamp district from Qualcomm Stadium in 2004.
Friday was the first postseason game at Petco Park with fans in attendance since 2006. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was the leadoff hitter in the Padres lineup for Game 2 of the 2006 NLDS, when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“And Josh Bard, our bullpen coach, was in the lineup, as well,” Roberts said Friday. “It was crazy just going back into that period of time. It’s going to be fun. I know that Blake Snell said it was going to be insane. It’s going to be electric.”
Game 4 of the NLDS was much of the same, although there was a small increase of Dodgers fans on hand. They nearly witnessed the team force a winner-take-all back at Dodger Stadium, but the Padres rallied in the seventh inning to eliminate the Dodgers.
Game 4 had an announced attendance of 45,139, breaking the Petco Park record for a postseason game.
The Padres played the 2020 Wild Card Series in an empty Petco Park due to coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions.
Dodgers fans helped break Padres attendance record
During a series between the Dodgers and Padres in April, Petco Park attendance for the three games totaled 133,856 fans.
That represented the highest attendance figure in Petco Park history for a three-game series, surpassing the 133,456 from May 3-5, 2019, which also was for a stretch the Dodgers were part of.
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