The Los Angeles Dodgers overcame an early deficit Wednesday night to earn a series split with the Houston Astros in front of an announced attendance of 52,724 at Dodger Stadium. On top of the Dodgers slugging four home runs, fans were treated to Max Scherzer making his Dodgers debut.
It marked the team’s 35th sellout and also represented the largest crowd for an MLB game this season. The attendance figure surpassed the 52,692 that was announced for the series opener against the Astros, which was good for most this year across the Majors.
Earlier this season the Dodgers drew an announced attendance of 52,078 for Reopening Day at Dodger Stadium, which at the time was deemed the largest crowd to watch a professional sports league game in the United States since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic last year.
The Dodgers drawing such large crowds for the Astros series was not surprising considering it was their first time playing in front of fans at Dodger Stadium since the 2017 World Series cheating scandal was uncovered.
L.A. faithful previously made their way to Houston and made their presence felt in the first game Minute Maid Park was opened to full capacity.
Up until this season, Dodgers fans had been limited to waiting outside Chavez Ravine with trash cans and disparaging signs as the Astros’ buses arrived last year.
Now getting a chance to express themselves, fans unleashed relentless boos and chants both during batting practice and games. There were also a handful of inflatable trash cans and lids thrown onto the field, along with foul balls hit by Astros players.
Scherzer drew from Dodger Stadium atmosphere
Scherzer held the Astros to two runs and finished with 10 strikeouts over seven innings. He was particularly effective against Jose Altuve, who went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts — three of those coming against Scherzer and much to the delight of the crowd.
“The crowd was definitely into it and you can feed off that,” Scherzer said. “You really get some adrenaline from that.
“To go out there and pitch well and have the fans ask for a curtain call, I’ve never had that happen so that’s a really a cool moment and something I’ll never forget.”
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