The baseball scene in California is tops in the majors and with five diverse teams and a similar number of fantastic venues, it is easy to see why this is one of the best markets in the league. Each ballpark on the west coast has its draws and charms and the warm Cali weather certainly helps too. Each stadium will be ranked from best to worst with details about park history, food and views along input about the residing team.

1. Oracle Park, San Francisco- The current home of the San Francisco Giants opened its door at the turn of the 21^st century on March 31^st, 2000 and has been a gem of the league ever since. The location of the park provides stunning views of San Francisco Bay and the rightfully named McCovey Cove over the right field wall in honor of Giants’ legend Willie McCovey. The left field bleachers are equally cool with the giant Coca-Cola Bottle that doubles as a fun slide for kids and the enormous Baseball Glove just to its left. Despite Oracle not being terribly old, there is still plenty of history as this was the site of three World Series Championships in six seasons as well as other historic feats such as Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s homerun record on August 7^th, 2007 and Matt Cain recording the first Perfect Game in Giants’ history on June 13^th, 2012. Another story could simply be written about the food at Oracle Park. There are a variety of choices from Hawaiian-inspired Poke Bowls to Midwest Bratwurst and hometown favorites like chowder in bread bowls and crab sandwiches. Overall Oracle Park is a great place to see a game with abundant history and food options and the end of a Giants dynasty.

2. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles- Dodger Stadium is a classic in an era of new and modern ballparks. Opened on April 10^th, 1962 it is currently the third oldest ballpark in the country behind Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago and the oldest west of the mighty Mississippi River. Its location in Chavez Ravine gives it spectacular views from all sides. The rolling hills of Elysian Park can be seen beyond the outfield walls and an unparalleled view of the Los Angeles skyline can be seen from the cliffs beyond the home plate entrances and parking lots. Described as a pitcher’s park, Dodger Stadium has seen 12 no-hitters, including two perfect games to date as well as the 1963 World Series. The stadium has seen many sports including baseball, softball, soccer and even a regular season hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. It has also housed concerts for all-time greats like The Beatles, KISS, The Rolling Stones and Elton John. Pope John Paul II even hosted mass at this historic venue. The classic Dodger Dog is the best food option followed closely by the tantalizing garlic fries. With the Dodgers incredible success over the last seven seasons, look for Chavez Ravine to be packed for the foreseeable future.

3. Petco Park, San Diego- Located outside of the lively Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, Petco Park has been the home of the San Diego Padres since it opened on March 11^th, 2004. The stadium design reflects the surrounding area and history of the Franciscan Mission. The blue seats and sand colored walls reflect the beach and Oceanside close to San Diego and the sandstone and stucco pillars on the first and third base lines represent the bell towers of the Franciscan Mission in Alcalá. The most impressive feature of Petco Park is the Western Metal Supply Co. building located down the foul line in left field. The stadium was built around the building and to this day is one of the most unique aspects of any park in major league baseball. Many different sports have been played here but baseball is king in San Diego. Some of the historic events that occurred at Petco include a 22-inning affair between the Rockies and Padres, Barry Bonds tying Hank Aaron’s homerun record and the 2016 MLB All Star Game. The classic ballpark food options are available at Petco but the item that sets it apart from other stadiums is Fish Tacos. There are multiple Fish Taco Stands throughout and each has its unique take on San Diego’s famous food. Petco Park is a young ballpark that will eventually blossom into a classic that could even match the likes of Dodger Stadium as it continues to age.

4. Angel Stadium, Anaheim- Angel Stadium of Anaheim is by far the least interesting ballpark in California. Even though it was opened in 1966 it is very much a cookie cutter baseball stadium will few things to set it apart. Its saving graces are the “California Spectacular” in straightaway center field, the massive Angels Hats that adorn the home plate entrance to the stadium and the “Big A” in the parking lot behind the stadium. Historic events including Mickey Mantle’s last game-winning home run, Vladimir Guerrero’s 400^th home run, Rod Carew’s 3,000 hit and the 2002 World Series, which the Angels won, have taken place in Anaheim. Along with the Angels, the Los Angeles Rams had a short stint where they played home games in Anaheim. Other sports, many concerts and even movie sets have taken place in Angel Stadium. The food scene is nothing spectacular and there are no real standouts in the culinary lineup presented at this ballpark. Overall Angel Stadium of Anaheim is clean and presentable, but lacks the pizzazz and character that other ballparks in the area are known for.

Baseball is one of the biggest sports in the country and California is no exception. The incredible variety of food, architecture and history throughout Cali and its five stadiums is absolutely a selling point for world travelers and baseball fans alike. With many places to see professional baseball throughout the state, make it a point to visit at least a couple of the wonderful venues it has to offer.

There was no shortage of excitement in this Friday night battle between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres. Plenty of situational hitting and perfectly placed balls let to offensively charged action and a walk off by the Padres.

The Padres pitching staff had a surprise bullpen day as starter Nick Margevicius went only three and two thirds innings and relievers Miguel Díaz, Robbie Erlin, Matt Wisler and Adam Warren finished out the final five and one third innings.

Nationals’ right-hander Erick Fedde put together a quality start, going six innings and giving up three earned runs on five hits while striking out five Padres batters. By reaching the six-inning mark Fedde posted his longest start of the season by an inning and was able to keep his team within striking distance as well. Despite throwing a no decision, this is definitely something for the young starter to build on.

Rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. provided the jumpstart that the Padres’ offense needed to get going and Austin Hedges finished the game off with a hard hit single to walk it off for the Friars. Tatis had three hits, setting a new career high and sent a moonshot to deep center field into the Padres’ bullpen.

Hedges recorded his first career walk off hit tonight. The Padres’ catcher was interview after his game ending hit and said of his team, “We’ve got so much faith in each other. No matter whether we’re down or we’re up, we expect to do it every day”.

The Nationals’ offense was led tonight by three two-hit performances from Howie Kendrick, Brian Dozier and Yan Gomes and they were on their way back to the win column but could not add insurance in the ninth inning after taking the lead.

A strong effort by both teams made for an eventful game and an exhilarating finish. These teams will meet again tomorrow night for a game three matchup between Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer and Padres’ Southpaw Eric Lauer.

The Padres and Nationals are set to play game two of a four game set today at Petco Park. Last night the Padres defense played a stellar game after a horrendous first inning and managed to retire the final 20 Nationals’ batters in the comeback victory. They look to continue the trend tonight and the Nats are looking for revenge.

There is a potential for a lot of runs to be scored today, as the two starters have been a bit shaky recently. Erick Fedde has had a short season so far after making his season debut on April 28^th; Fedde has not eaten up many innings, with his longest start of the season being only five innings of work. He has been more consistent lately, going five innings in two of his last three starts and looks to get into a groove against the struggling Nationals.

Nick Margevicius also looks to break out after making his rookie debut on March 30^th this season. He has posted a 2-6 record with the Friars this season along with a looming 5.40 ERA. He will be facing a tough Nationals offense that features multiple high-average hitters, including three batters over .300.

Make sure to pay attention in your seat if you go to the game tonight because baseballs could be flying!

The Padres started the game strong and the Phillies brought the bats in the late frames. Offense was abundant and starting pitching was a bit shaky for this warm overcast showdown between San Diego and Philadelphia. The stars came out to play at Petco Park on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Padres’ superstar shortstop Manny Machado brought his A-game throughout the contest this afternoon. He made a nice spinning throw to nab the light-footed Jean Segura on a ground ball hit up the middle in the top of the first inning, then later in the 8^th inning he made a spectacular diving catch to rob Phillies’ catcher J.T. Realmuto of a single to left field. He was also swinging the bat well today, getting a pair of hits and raising his batting average to an even .250.

The Phillies offense came to life in the 7^th and 8^th innings, scoring five runs over those two innings and overtaking the Padres 7-5, the eventual final score.  Recent outfield acquisition Jay Bruce picked up right where he left off, adding another homerun to the two he hit on Tuesday night, giving him three in just two games as a Phillie. Bryce Harper also had a pretty solid game, going 2-5 and scoring a run in the 7^th that brought the game to a tie.

Wednesday was an interesting afternoon for starting pitching. Cal Quantrill had a strong performance after his third call up of the season, pitching five innings and giving up five hits, two earned runs and seven strikeouts. Jake Arrieta’s game was a different story. He was looking for redemption after giving up his season high ten hits to the Dodgers on May 31^st. The cards were not in Jake’s favor as he gave up seven hits (including two homeruns) and five earned runs over just 4.2 innings of work.

The Phillies will head home and look to continue their winning streak against the Reds and the Padres will try to right the ship in a four game set against the Nationals at Petco Park.

The Phillies look to end a rather abysmal California road trip in which they have gone 1-4 and given up an average of 6.4 runs per game over that stretch. The pairing of below average starts and sub-par defense has left the Phills with a slim 0.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. They look to squeak out another win against the Padres, who have gone back and forth in the win/loss column of late.

This afternoon’s pitching matchup will be interesting indeed with veteran righty Jake Arrieta taking the mound for the Phillies and Rookie call up Cal Quantrill will take the hill for San Diego.

Quantrill has been called up from the minors for the third time and looks to put together a quality start to increase his chances of staying with the big club for an extended period of time. This season he has pitched 21 innings, striking out 19 batters, walking 7 and posting an ERA of 5.14.

Arrieta has had a bit of an up and down year for the Phillies, hanging around a 3.5 ERA while giving up an average of nine hits per start and over one homerun per start. He has managed to eat up a lot of innings and has shined at times.

This game could be a toss up and could be a strong pitcher’s duel or an absolute slugfest depending on the weather as well as starting pitching.

The A’s and Angels returned to action tonight in Anaheim on a clear and cool evening that saw a strong performance from A’s starter Frankie Montas, hitting all around the lineup for the visitors and a tale of two shaky innings from the Angels staff with no run support from Mike Trout and the offense.

Frankie Montas threw a redemption game tonight after one of his less impressive starts on May 28^th against these same Angels in Oakland when he gave up four earned runs on four hits and walked five batters en route to a 6-4 loss at home. Tonight however was a completely different story with Montas returning to form with a respectable 6 innings in which he gave up only two runs on two hits including a homerun from Shohei Ohtani. Interestingly enough this was the first homerun that Montas had given up in over 53 innings of work.

The most significant offensive contribution of the game came from Athletics’ center fielder Ramón Laureano, who came away with two hits, including a homerun, two RBIs, a walk and a stolen base in five plate appearances. With his two hits tonight, Laureano extended a league-best hitting streak to 17 games and increased his batting average seven points to .264.  

Shohei Ohtani provided all of the offense for the Angels in a rather uneventful evening for them. He racked up two hits, a walk and two RBIs in four plate appearances. During his third plate appearance he was able to connect with a fastball that ran in on the hands at 96mph and push it the other way over the fence in deep left center field.

 With the completion of the first game of this series, the A’s broke a five-game losing streak and regained the .500 mark as a club (30-30). The Angles meanwhile have now lost two straight and look to get things back on track in game two of three and regain their lead in the standings over Oakland.

The Angels and Athletics head into their third head to head series of the season, the first two of which were played at the Coliseum in Oakland that sees the A’s holding a 4-3 series this season. Look for plenty of homerun power from players like Mike Trout (14), Albert Pujols (11), Tommy La Stella (12), Khris Davis (12) and Matt Chapman (16).

The pithing matchup features two arms in Frankie Montas of the A’s and Griffin Canning of the Angels. Montas has been the best pitcher for the A’s this season with a solid line of 8 hits, 2.5 walks and 9 strikeouts per nine innings plus a 1.203 WHIP. Montas has been the backbone of the A’s starting staff and a big reason why they are still hanging around .500. The rookie right-hander Canning has not thrown a ton of innings in his first big league season, but has proven to be effective when used. He has a record of 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 32.1 innings of work. Canning will hope to establish himself as a staple in the Angels rotation with another solid outing against the A’s

The AL West has proven to be a tight race to this point in the season and with the Angels (29-31) and the Athletics (29-30) with nearly identical records, the winner of this series will find themselves in third pace in the division behind two good teams in the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.

A seemingly star-studded matchup between two powerhouse teams saw excellent performances from unlikely sources. This game was a classic pitcher’s duel with solid performances from the starters Rich Hill and Nick Pivetta. Both starters struck out 9 batters with Pivetta setting a new season high. Hill was once again the model of consistency and showed why he is one of the cornerstones of the Dodger’s staff completing 7.0 innings of work, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks (two intentional) and 9 strikeouts, lowering his ERA from 2.73 to 2.25. Pivetta matched Hill with a gem of his own, working for 6.0 innings, gave up 3 hits, no walks and also struck out 9 batters.

The pace of the game was relatively quick until the bottom of the 7^th inning when veteran infielder David Freese came in to pinch-hit with the score tied 0-0. With two outs and a 2-2 count, Freese put a jolt into a pitch that barely found its way over the fence in straightaway right field. This proved to be the spark that the Dodger’s offense needed and they rattled off a 7-run 8^th capped by an opposite field 2-run shot by Joc Pederson.

After the conclusion of this series, the Dodgers come away with a sweep of the NL East leading Phillies and have won 9 of their last 10 games. Needless to say the Dodgers are feeling good right now and it shows in the standings as they have a 9 game lead in their division and they are the only team in the National League that has reached the 40 win mark. The Dodgers will now head on an 8-game road trip to Arizona and the neighboring California teams and they hope to continue the great run they are on, facing sub .500 team in the Diamondbacks, Giants and Angels.

The Dodgers look to sweep the Phillies in their first head-to-head series of the season today at Dodger Stadium. Rich Hill, the current oldest pitcher in the majors, is on the bump for the Dodgers. The veteran left-hander has been very consistent this season, throwing six innings in four of his last six starts. Starting for the Phillies today is third-year pitcher Nick Pivetta. He has been struggling of late, giving up at least three runs in each of his last five starts and the long ball has been a problem for the youngster. The Dodgers offense has been hot recently with a team line of .310/. 373/. 571 over their last five games, posting a record of 4-1 over that span. Cody Bellinger has led the Dodgers this season 20 home runs and a whopping 1.208 ops, establishing himself as the star power in the Dodgers lineup in the batter’s box as well as on the field. The National League East leading Phillies have posted a .245/. 328/. 416 batting line over the club’s last five games, going 2-3 in those five games. With warm LA temperatures and no shortage of Star Power on display in this matchup, expect a high-scoring game with plenty of hitting between these two powerhouse clubs.