MLB's first fans of 2020 see NLCS opener

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Scott McIlroy reached out with his left hand as a batting practice home run clanged off a railing and hit him in the palm, the ball popping in the air before settling back into his grip as he held a cell phone in his right hand. Count the Texas resident and Los Angeles Dodgers fan among the first in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season to catch a pre-game souvenir _ and among the first ticket buyers to see live baseball in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Monday night. Major League Baseball said it was selling 11, 500 tickets per game at Globe Life Field for the series between the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves and plans a similar allotment at the same ballpark when it hosts the first neutral-site World Series starting Oct. 20. McIlroy got a call from a friend knowing the longtime Dodgers fan would want to make the two-hour drive to the Dallas area. The announced attendance was 10, 700, not including those who didn't pay. Ticket prices ranged from $40 to $250 for the NLCS, and $75-450 for the World Series, which has already sold out. About 75% of fans appeared compliant with the requirement to wear masks except when ''actively'' eating or drinking. Some weren't covering their nose or mouth.''We were wondering what the mixture of fans would be, '' McIlroy said. ''In this new age of what we're going through, we were just curious. When we came in, we saw a lot of Dodger blue out there. ''There were plenty of Braves logos, too, and the tomahawk chop chant was audible when Ronald Acuna Jr. stepped in as Atlanta's leadoff hitter against Walker Buehler.''They brought it for sure, and it definitely got the adrenaline going, especially late in the game. It was intense, '' Atlanta's Austin Riley said of the fans after his home run leading off the ninth sparked a four-run rally in a 5-1 victory. It was the first MLB game of any kind with fans since March 12, when five Grapefruit League games in Florida were completed as the novel coronavirus caused the shutdown of spring training there and in Arizona. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in June that professional and college stadiums would be allowed to operate at 50% capacity, and MLB decided to sell tickets starting with the NLCS following a regular season in which attendance dropped to 0 from 68. 5 million. The NFL's Dallas Cowboys have sold about 31% capacity at nearby AT&T Stadium, drawing 25, 147 for Sunday's win over the New York Giants. No tickets are being sold for the American League Championship Series between Houston and Tampa Bay at San Diego's Petco Park.''It was really weird going on the field to get ready before the game and seeing people in general, '' said Los Angeles' Kike Hernandez, who homered for the Dodgers' only run in a 5-1 loss. ''It was kind of shocking for everybody to see, at least for the first few minutes. It definitely added more to this game. I missed what the roar of the crowd sounded like.