Royalty w/o 5/13 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I made myself dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a three game series with the Seattle Mariners. 17 years ago to the day was the anniversary of Dwight Gooden's no hitter which ironically was against the Mariners who had A-Rod in their line up at the time. It was the first no hitter I ever saw live in person. It was a very memorable night for me.

This time on paper history looked like it could repeat itself with Felix Hernandez starting for the Mariners and CC Sabathia going for the Yankees.

Before I went into the Stadium, I stopped off at Burger King a few blocks away to have a pre game meal. When I got done, I went up to my seat in section 420B row 7 where I was greeted by my pal and avid reader of my blog, Greg Venuto who came down from Norwalk, Connecticut to see his Yankees play. He told me he was in Washington DC over Mother's Day weekend. He went to visit his friend who lives down there. While he was there he went to see the Capitals play the Rangers. He also saw the Nationals host the Cubs. He enjoyed his time away. It was great to see him again.

It should be noted our friends Steve Tepperman and Pat Gorman were also in attendance on this night.

As for the game we saw, it didn't exactly live up to the billing. It turned out to be an ordinary occasion between two of baseball's best pitchers these days. The Mariners got to CC but they couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. They wound up getting ten hits off of him in six and a third innings before he departed. He allowed three runs only two of them were earned and he did strikeout ten in the process. Former Yankee Raul Ibanez felt right at home as he hit a two run homer to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning. The Yankees finally scored a run off of Felix Hernandez who had kept the Yankee bats quiet as he struck out eight over his six innings of work. Once he left for the night, the Yankees bats awoke. In the seventh inning, they scored three runs to take the lead, 4-3. Robinson Cano delivered a two run double and Lyle Overbay hit a sacrifice fly to put the Yankees ahead for good. Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth inning and he closed it out. As a result, he notched his 624th career save as the Yankees took the opener of the series.

Wednesday night after work I went back to the Bronx for game two of the series. I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant first so I could pick up sandwiches for the King and I. I had a corned beef and he had turkey. After I rounded up some snacks at a few different stores in the area I went into the Stadium.
When I got up to my seat in section 420B row 7 I was joined by our pals Vincent Ascanio, Larry Peim, Phil Butleman, David Sack and Rich Wolber who were also present & accounted for.

I want to congratulate our pal Vincent Ascanio aka the Kid who saw his 700th live baseball game on this night.

As for the game we saw, the Mariners jumped on Yankee starter Phil Hughes who failed to finish the first inning as they scored seven runs which included a grand slam by former Yankee Raul Ibanez. He also hit a two run homer in the fifth inning. Kyle Seager added a three run blast in the sixth inning as the Mariners cruised to a 12-2 victory.

Despite the blowout it was an historical night because the Yankees called up third baseman David Adams earlier in the day and he made his major league debut on his 26th birthday. He became the 30th player in MLB history to do so. In addition, he was the first Yankee to do it since 1916. I got that fact from our pal Michael Abrams who has been to over 900+ consecutive Yankee home games. To cap off his memorable special day, David Adams got his first major league hit in the sixth inning.

Thursday night after work I went back to the Bronx to see the rubber match of the three game series between the Yankees and the Mariners. I wound up eating dinner at Burger King again.

As for the game we saw, the Mariners held on to beat the Yankees, 3-2 to take the series two games to one. I was happy because I was thinking about a few ballpark chasers I know from Seattle who like the Mariners.It should be noted that Yankee starter Andy Pettitte left the game with two outs in the top of the fifth inning with an injury. Former Yankee Raul Ibanez finally cooled off after destroying them in the first two games. This time he was held hit less in four at bats and he struck out three times.

Friday night after work I went back to Yankee Stadium as the Toronto Blue Jays came back for a weekend series in the Bronx. Since I had a big lunch I didn't eat before the game. I went up to my seat and I was joined by our pal William Frank Guthrie who was there. It was nice to see him again.

It should be noted that this day marked the 15th anniversary of the first perfect game I saw live in person as David Wells accomplished the feat against the Minnesota Twins on a Sunday afternoon at Old Yankee Stadium.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got a stellar pitching performance from starter Hiroki Kuroda who threw eight shutout innings. He allowed just two hits as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 5-0.

After the game, Bryan Gilligan drove the King and I to Donovan's Pub in Woodside, Queens for our usual post game meal. We were also joined by our friend Frank Anichiarico who met us there. It should be noted that Donovan's recently changed ownership but many of the people we know are still there and the menu has been expanded. In addition, they now accept credit cards too.

Saturday afternoon the King and I took the subway up to the Bronx for game two of the series with the Blue Jays. We were joined by Vincent Ascanio and Bryan Gilligan who were there as usual along with our pal Pat Gorman.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got two home runs from Robinson Cano, one in the third inning and the other in the fifth as the Yankees built a 5-1 lead. In the top of the eighth inning, the Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo homer to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the eighth, Travis Hafner hit a two run homer that made the score 7-2. As a result, Mariano Rivera who had been warming up was forced to sit down since it was no longer a save situation. The Yankees got the last three outs as they beat the Blue Jays again.

Since the game was played in a timely fashion, Bryan who was driving us decided to skip going to Trenton, NJ. Instead he drove the King, Vincent & I to Allentown, Pennsylvania. By doing so, we got to go to Coca Cola Park, which is the home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies' Triple A affiliate. They were hosting the Rochester Red Wings, the Minnesota Twins farm team. After we parked the game, we walked over to the right field gate. We decided to ask around for tickets before we walked down to the box office. We lucked out. We came across different people who had extra tickets and they were kind enough to give them to us. We were very grateful. I wound up getting one in the Red Robin Tiki Terrace area which is located out in left field. The best part of it was it included free food. I was able to help myself to hot dogs, burgers and pulled pork. They also had chips and cookies along with soft drinks. Since we had time before the game started, I went out there and fed myself. When I had enough, I walked back to stand behind the plate with the King, Bryan & Vincent. We also had a guy who is a big fan of the King's signature strikeout call on hand which made for a captive audience.

As for the game we saw, the IronPigs broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks to a costly error which allowed the winning run to score by journeyman Ray Olmedo who has seen limited tours of duty in the major leagues from time to time from 2003-2007. For the most part, he's been a Triple A player the last five years. He continues to play in hopes of getting another shot at the major league level.

Sunday afternoon the King and I took the subway back to Yankee Stadium hoping to see the finale of the three game series with the Blue Jays. As we were getting ready to cross the street to go to the Stadium, we found out that the game was postponed due to rain. We got back on the train and we went home. We wound up watching TV unexpectedly.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 5/20

Here's the game plan:

Monday May 20th Reds at Mets 7:10PM

Tuesday May 21st Reds at Mets 7:10PM

Friday May 24th Braves at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday May 25th Braves at Mets 7:15PM

Sunday May 26th Norfolk Tides at Lehigh Valley IronPigs 1:35PM

                             Braves at Mets 8:05PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 5/13 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees plenty of baseball over Mother's Day weekend!

Saturday afternoon May 11th the King & I went back to Citi Field for game three of the series between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates. We met up with Jean Ann Harrison, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico, Manny Morales, Pat Gorman, Rich Wolber, David Sack and Michael Carson who were also in attendance.
As for the game we saw, the Pirates beat up the Mets. They raced out to a 9-0 lead after five innings. They lit up Mets' starter Jonathon Niese who gave up eight runs in four and a third innings. The Mets finally broke the shutout in the sixth inning when they got a run off of starter Francisco Liriano who was making his first start for the Pirates after overcoming injuries to get back to the Major Leagues. Liriano went five and a third innings. He walked two and struck out nine. He earned the victory as the Pirates cruised to a 11-2 victory.


With rain on its way to the area, we wisely left after eight innings at 4:01PM so we could get to the car without getting soaked since the King was driving us to Scranton, Pennsylvania to see a minor league baseball game. We almost avoided the rain. As we got close to the car, the sky opened up. Luckily we didn't get too wet.

The game was delayed after the Pirates batted in the top of the ninth inning. As a result, we made a sound decision leaving when we did. After a 47 minute rain delay, the game resumed. We wound up missing a lead off homer by Andrew Brown of the Mets which made it 11-2 Pirates.

As we got further away from NYC, the weather improved for us. We wound up getting to Scranton with plenty of time to see the first pitch at newly renovated PNC Field which is the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. It's the Yankees' Triple A affiliate in the International League. On this night, they were playing the Gwinnett Braves, the Atlanta Braves farm club on Bark in the Park night. It should be noted there were dogs galore.

Jason Heyward playing for Gwinnett Braves

Curtis Granderson playing for the RailRiders

In addition, we wound up seeing a few Major Leaguers play because they were on rehab assignments. I'm referring to Jason Heyward who was playing for the Braves and Curtis Granderson who played for the RailRiders. Furthermore, we also saw former Major Leaguer Chien-Ming Wang start for the RailRiders as he attempts to make a return to the big leagues. He pitched well on this night as he allowed three runs in seven and two third innings. He didn't get a decision because he left with the game tied. The RailRiders got the winning run in the bottom of the eighth as Melky Mesa delivered a double that proved to be the difference as the RailRiders beat the Braves, 4-3.

Trevin Jaggars & I at PNC Field in Scranton, PA

During the game I got to meet another person I follow on Twitter who was also there. I'm referring to Trevin Jaggars. His Twitter handle is @Trevin8. Please feel free to follow him.

What a week it was for tweets and greets.

Sunday May 12th was Mother's Day. The King & I went back to Citi Field to see the Mets and Pirates wrap up their four game series as Matt Harvey tried to get a split for the Mets.

We were joined by Jean Ann Harrison, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Al Linderman & Alan Gimpel. In addition, we also had our friend Alvin Pachter and his father from Scranton there. They weren't able to join us Saturday night so it was nice to see them Sunday instead.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got Matt Harvey off the hook for the loss as Mike Baxter came through again as he tied the game at two in the seventh inning with a run scoring single. The Mets' bullpen gave up the go ahead run in the eighth inning. By doing so, it gave Jason Grilli a chance to get another save. He pitched a 1,2,3 ninth inning as he struck out two Mets to preserve the 3-2 win for the Pirates as they took three out of four from the Mets.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with Jean Ann Harrison at Citi Field as the Pirates came to play the Mets!

Jean Ann & I at Citi Field

Thursday night May 9th the Mets opened a four game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. I was informed earlier in the week that our friend Jean Ann Harrison who happens to be a business partner and friend of Jason Grilli was coming back to NYC. When I heard that, I was all excited. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Jason this time around before any of the games. Jean Ann did though. She told him I said hello.
Jean Ann is a big Met fan. She was dressed in her Met gear. She didn't want to sympathize that Jason was playing against her team. On the other hand, I wanted to see Jason have success. I've met him on a few occasions thanks to her. He's a good guy. Jason has overcome a serious knee injury to get back to the Major Leagues. He's a preserver. I don't have the heart to see him fail even if it's against my team since I like the Mets too.

Jason is now the Pirates' closer. With that being said, he normally comes into a game only when the Pirates are ahead late. On Thursday night, he was summoned from the bullpen with the score tied at two going to the bottom of the ninth inning. He proceeded to give up an infield single to second base to Marlon Byrd who lead off for the Mets. He was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Andrew Brown. With one out, Mike Baxter pinch hit for center fielder Juan Lagares and he became an instant hero for the second time this week as he delivered the game winning hit which made a loser out of Jason Grilli. As a Met fan, Jean Ann was thrilled. As for me, it was bittersweet since I didn't want to see him fail in front of me.

Friday night Jason Grilli got some revenge on Jean Ann. The Mets trailed the Pirates, 7-1 going to the ninth inning. They called on former Yankee Jose Contreras to finish the game but he wound up giving up three hits and a walk while recording just two outs. As a result, he wound up creating a save opportunity. Jason was called on to get the last out with the tying run on deck which meant it was a save situation. He got shortstop Ruben Tejada to fly out to center field. By doing so, he recorded his 14th save of the season. After the game, he wrote JeanAnn a text message and he said and I quote "that was easy." It was a small payback for the night before.

Jean Ann wound up joining us as we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Over the weekend, she joined us again as the Pirates played the Mets.

Stay tuned as I'll go into further detail about how those games played out.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with a few ballpark chasers at Citi Field for the White Sox!

Me with Jen Obirek  & Jim Wood at Citi Field

I was wandering around Citi Field before the game on Tuesday night May 7th when the White Sox made their first ever visit to Queens to play the Mets. As I was, I found out someone I follow on Twitter was also at the game thanks to my pal and fellow ballpark chaser Tike Narry who lives in the Bay area. His Twitter handle is @eddiesofficials. Please feel free to follow him on Twitter. He tweeted me with the heads up. I'm referring to Jen Obirek. Her Twitter handle is @keribo1. Please feel free to follow her. She lives in Chicago on the South Side. She likes the White Sox and the Blackhawks. She was at the game which was her first "road" game for the White Sox she said. Ironically she wound up sitting in section 516 row 3 which happens to be where the King & I have our season tickets. We usually don't sit in our seats though. We prefer to sit up near the top of the section so we can have more space. In addition, people we know can sit there with us without a hassle.

On this night, Matt Harvey was pitching a perfect game until there were two outs in the seventh inning. As a result, I decided to stay in the seat I sat in for the whole game. When the game ended, I went down to row 3 and I introduced myself to Jen. She was there with a guy named Jim Wood, who I've seen on the ballpark chasers website. Jim said he was originally from the South Side of Chicago but he now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's been to 44 major league ballparks as well as an impressive number of minor league ones too. Jen introduced us. Jim's twitter handle is @BWB2013. Please feel free to follow him too.

I wound up walking out of the ballpark with them. They were taking the 7 train back to Manhattan where they were staying. We got to talk to one another. I gave them my contact information. I couldn't get theirs because my phone died on me. I told them to contact me if they needed any assistance getting around while I was at work.

They said they were coming back for the game Wednesday night May 8th. I told them to come up to section 516 near the top which they did. I was glad to see them because I didn't hear from them all day. I made sure I took down their contact information so we can stay in touch in the future. We got to enjoy the game together. Unlike Tuesday night, this time the White Sox beat the Mets. It worked out well for all of us that both teams won a game. They went home early Thursday morning. We enjoyed each others company. We said our goodbyes and we hope to meet up again down the road.

Stay tuned for another special post that we recap another visit by a special guest as the Pirates came to town for the weekend to play the Mets at Citi Field.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 5/6 in review

Monday night after work I got to go home and relax for a change. There were no baseball games to attend in the area so I did the next best thing. In other words, I was able to catch up on my blog. I didn't want to fall further behind. As time goes on, I unexpectedly find new things and people to write about. So I need to use my free time wisely.

With that being said, I'm going to summarize the week I had then when I have some spare time I'm going to do some special posts about some people, new and old, I got to meet and greet along the way.
Tuesday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for dinner on my way to Citi Field to see the Mets open a two game series with the Chicago White Sox who quite amazingly were making their first ever visit to Queens to play the Mets.

Upon arrival, I got to see my pal Sam Citron who greeted me by the Rotunda entrance. He told me that a lady came in earlier with her son. He was describing Rebecca Herman who I met at Yankee Stadium over the weekend. She took a picture of him because I saw it on Twitter. Rebecca said and I quote "Sam is a very nice gentleman." That tweet made me feel real good. Shortly thereafter, I saw another tweet that another person that I follow thanks to other people I know was also at the game. I got all excited about the potential tweet and greet. For some reason, my phone decided to act up. As a result, I couldn't get in touch with Rebecca Herman aka The Baseball PHD. She told me she had seats in the Delta Suite with her son, Trevor who's afraid of heights. With that being said, I decided to go upstairs to section 516 so I could get ready for the game.

We had a nice gathering in the Royal Court if you will as the King and I were joined by the usual regulars, Bryan Gilligan and the Ascanios, Ralph & Vincent aka the Kid. In addition, we also had our friends Frank Anichiarico, Phil Butleman, Pat Gorman, Martin Caamano & Charlie Vitanza in attendance.

As for the game we saw, Matt Harvey was starting for the Mets. With that being said, we knew we had a chance to see a great game. He was opposed by Hector Santiago who started for the White Sox. As advertised, this match up turned out to be a beauty. Matt Harvey out pitched Hector Santiago but neither one got a decision as the game was decided in extra innings. Matt Harvey in fact was almost perfect for the first nine innings. He allowed an infield hit to shortstop Ruben Tejada who couldn't put enough on the throw to get Alex Rios who barely beat it out at first base with two outs in the seventh inning. He struck out twelve batters too. He was simply amazing. Unfortunately the Mets couldn't score a run off the White Sox pitching for the first nine innings either. Santiago pitched well for seven innings. Matt Lindstrom pitched the eighth. Then Nate Jones came on for ninth and he pitched into the tenth when the Mets finally broke through to ultimately win the game, 1-0 thanks to a game winning pinch hit by Mike Baxter to make a winner out of reliever Bobby Parnell who pitched a scoreless tenth for the Mets.

Wednesday night after work I went to Subway and Carvel for dinner and dessert on my way to Citi Field.
On this night I was joined by Rich Wolber, Phil Butleman, Frank Anichiarico, Pat Gorman and Charlie Vitanza as well as the usual regulars.

It should be noted that the Hooligan's were present & accounted for in section 513. They made their presence felt when they chanted "Where's the King?". He was talking on his cell phone at the time. As a result, they caught him off guard. It was quite a scene.

As for the game we saw, the White Sox finally got a run in Queens. Lead off batter Alejandro De Aza hit a home run to right field to make it 1-0 right off the bat. The Mets tied it in the second inning when Lucas Duda returned the favor hitting a homer to right. In the third inning, the White Sox got four straight hits after the first out which scored three more runs off Mets starter Jeremy Hefner. They tacked on another run in the seventh and the ninth innings while the Mets added one in the eighth and another in the ninth but they fell short as the White Sox won the game, 6-3 to earn a split in the two game set.

Thursday night after work I went to Checker's for my pre game meal on my way back to Citi Field to see the Mets open a four game weekend series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

When I got upstairs I was joined by Phil Butleman, Manny Morales, Michael Abrams, Pat Gorman, Alan Gimpel and Martin Caamano.

As for the game we saw, the Mets and Pirates played a seesaw battle as both teams took turns scoring single runs. The game was tied at two going to the bottom of the ninth inning. The Pirates decided to bring in their new closer this year my pal Jason Grilli in a tie game. He gave up an infield single to Marlon Byrd to start the inning who was then bunted to second by Andrew Brown. With one out, Mike Baxter pinch hit for center fielder Juan Lagares who made a nice catch to end the top of the ninth. Baxter became a hero as he delivered the game winning hit to give the Mets a 3-2 victory. Since it came against Jason it was bittersweet for me because I want to see him to do well every time he pitches.

Friday night after work I went back to Citi Field to see game two of the series with the Pirates. I wasn't hungry so I decided to go straight to Citi Field in hopes of seeing Jason Grilli after batting practice ended. Unfortunately I heard Jason went in by the time I arrived. I was surprised but being in a new role this year, he has other responsibilities.

After I struck out, I went upstairs so I could get ready for the game. I had some company. The King, Bryan Gilligan, Vincent Ascanio as usual were already there. In addition, our pals Frank Anichiarico, Al Linderman, Pat Gorman and Alan Gimpel were there too.

As for the game we saw, the Pirates took a 6-0 lead midway through the game. Catcher Anthony Recker hit a solo homer to break the shutout to make it 6-1. The Pirates added another run in the ninth to go up, 7-1. In the bottom of the ninth inning, former Yankee Jose Contreras came in to finish the game. He couldn't get it done. Instead he wound up setting up a save for my pal Jason Grilli who got Ruben Tejada to fly out to center field to end the game as the Mets came up short as they lost, 7-3.

After the game, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico, the King and I went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Stay tuned for the special posts I plan to write about the people I met along the way. In addition, I'm going to do another special post that we recap the weekend as well.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees another MLB doubleheader and meets another ballpark chaser over Cinco De Mayo weekend!

Saturday morning I got up after I got a good night sleep and I made myself breakfast. When I got done I got ready for another busy day. The King went out to have breakfast with at his mother's house. He told me he'll meet at Yankee Stadium.

The Hermans meet - Gary & Rebecca

I wound up getting to the Stadium a little earlier than I normally would have because during the week I arranged to meet up with another ballpark chaser who was planning to be at the game too. Ironically she has the same last name as me. Her name is Rebecca Herman. She was visiting NYC with her son Trevor. They live in San Diego. I got wind of her excursion on Facebook through the Ballpark Chaser group that I belong to. She said she had seats in section 320B in the Jim Beam Suite. That was perfect because the King and I sit in section 420B which is right above where they were sitting. When I arrived at the Great Hall, I sent her a text message so I could see where she was. They were in the Jim Beam Lounge eating at the time. With that being said, I headed upstairs. When I got nearby, I called her and she came out to meet me. We got to speak briefly because she left her son alone and she didn't want him to think she got lost. She told me she's in the process of writing a baseball book. She said her friend is doing it with her. They have interviewed 18 different managers so far. It sounds like it's going to be a great read. I look forward to staying in touch with her. We follow each on Twitter. Her handle is @TheBaseballPHD. Feel free to follow her too especially if you like baseball. She's a very intelligent person who can teach you a thing or two about baseball and life. Please feel free to read her blog for all the details and pictures about their visit to the Bronx.

After I said goodbye to her, I went to my seat. I got to see our pals Phil Butleman, Vincent Ascanio, Bryan Gilligan and Rich Wolber who were in attendance among the announced crowd of 41,349.

Jessica, Luis Nunez & I at Yankee Stadium

In addition, we met up with a few people who came from California to visit. They were Luis and Jessica Nunez. They were Oakland A's fans. Luis is from LA and his wife Jessica is from Oakland. They wound up sitting a few rows behind us. During the game, we started talking to each other. Luis had some time off so they took a vacation to come East for 10 days. They said they were planning to go to Boston and possibly Niagara Falls while they were here. They didn't have a set game plan though. We did exchange contact information so if and when I do get back to the West Coast which should be in the near future, we can hopefully meet up again.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got a great pitching performance from their starter, Phil Hughes who pitched eight shutout innings. In the process, he struck out nine Athletics. The Yankees gave up a few runs in the ninth inning but they held off the A's to take game two of the series by a score of 4-2.

After the game, Bryan drove the King and I as well as Vincent Ascanio down to Philadelphia for game two of the day. We got to Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies with plenty of time to spare. It helped that the Yankee game was nice and crisp. We wound up sitting up in section 419 which is just to the right of home plate. They announced a crowd of 40,091 which was short of a sellout so we had just enough room to sit and relax.

View from Section 419 at Citizens Bank Park 

As for the game we saw, the Phillies were hosting division rival, the Miami Marlins, who are off to a terrible start after they dismantled their team again in the off season. On this night, they sent rookie Jose Fernandez to the mound to pitch against Cole Hamels of the Phillies. It was a great pitchers' duel as Jose Fernandez allowed just one hit and a walk both to Freddy Galvis. He threw seven shutout innings while he struck out nine as he earned his first major league win. He got run support from rookie right fielder Marcell Ozuna who hit his first major league home run to lead off the second inning to make it 1-0. In the third inning, second baseman Chris Valaika added a solo shot to make it 2-0. The Marlins made those runs stand up as they beat the Phillies, 2-0. Cole Hamels went eight strong innings but he was the hard luck loser.

Sunday was Cinco De Mayo, the King and I spent it at Yankee Stadium. We saw the rubber match of the three game set with the Athletics. We were joined by our pals Pat Gorman, Rich Wolber, Larry Peim and Phil Butleman.

As for the game we saw, Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees. He pitched better than he did his last time out against the Astros but he wasn't great. He allowed four runs, three earned in five innings of work. He left the game with the Yankees losing 4-1. The Yankees rallied to tie the game at four as they scored three runs in the sixth inning to get Pettitte off the hook for the loss. The Athletics got a solo homer with one out in the eighth inning as Josh Donaldson hit a ball into the left field stands which turned out to be the game winner as the Athletics won, 5-4. As a result, they left the Bronx taking two out of three.

Stay tuned for my w/o 5/6 in review.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty schedule w/o 5/13

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday May 14th Mariners at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday May 15th Mariners at Yankees 7:05PM

Thursday May 16th Mariners at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday May 17th Blue Jays at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday May 18th Blue Jays at Yankees 1:05PM

                               Bowie Baysox at Trenton Thunder 7:05PM

Sunday May 19th Blue Jays at Yankees 1:05PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 5/6 in review. In addition, I plan to finish doing a special post that will recap the weekend of 5/4-5/5.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 4/29 in review

Monday night after work I went up to the Bronx. I stopped off at Burger King for a pre game meal before I went into Yankee Stadium to see the Houston Astros make their first appearance at the New Stadium. This was their first ever American League game against the Yankees since they just changed leagues this year.
Back on June 11, 2003, we saw them play at the Old Stadium in an interleague match up. They wound up using six pitchers to no hit the Yankees. An injury to starter Roy Oswalt forced him to leave after pitching just one inning. Technically it was a historical night. This was another one.

The King and I were joined by a few regulars, Bryan Gilligan & Vincent Ascanio aka the Kid. We also had our pal Steve Tepperman aka Princeton Steve who made an appearance. He comes to a game every so often. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Astros had their hitting shoes on this night like they did when we saw them play in Houston on Opening Night when they beat the Rangers, 8-2. This time they beat up Yankee starter and former Astro Andy Pettitte who got lit up for eight runs in four and a third innings of work. Catcher Carlos Corporan was 4 for 5 with two singles, a double and a home run. He also reached on an error and he drove in four runs to carry the Astros to a 9-1 victory. With that being said, the Astros look like world beaters in our presence. We should see them more often.

Tuesday night after work we did just that. After work, I went back for more. Like any addict, you can't get enough of a good thing. I went to the Court Deli Restaurant and I picked up sandwiches for the King & I for dinner. I walked over to Yankee Stadium and I went inside. I met up with the King in our seats in section 420B row 7 where we enjoyed our meals. This time we were joined by our buddies Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich & Larry Peim who were present & accounted for.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees scored early & often as they gave starter Hiroki Kuroda the run support he needed as he threw seven shutout innings as the Yankees held off the Astros, 7-4. Our Astro luck finally ran out. We knew it was a matter of time.

Wednesday night after work I went back to see the rubber match of this three game series. Before I did so, I went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner. I wound up having fried scallops and fries. It was really good. When I was done I went to the Stadium. I did my usual routine. When I got upstairs to our seats, I saw our pals Frank Anichiarico and Manny Morales who both made rare appearances in the Bronx.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees jumped on the Astros early again. They scored four runs in the first three innings. In the third inning, Robinson Cano & Ben Francisco who the King & I met on a one day cruise while we were in Alaska on a real vacation if you will back in July 2001 and again in Hawaii in February 2002 when he played his college baseball at UCLA. The Bruins of UCLA were playing the University of Hawaii while we were there so we got to see him play this time. On this night, Ben delivered a solo homer to make it a 4-0 Yankees. The Astros fought back as they tied the game at four after four innings as they roughed up Yankee starter David Phelps after the Yankees did the same to Astros' starter Erik Bedard. The Yankees scored the go ahead and eventual winning run in the sixth inning as Ichiro Suzuki hit into an inning ending double play but the run scored before the third out was recorded. That was the difference as the Yankees won the game, 5-4. By doing so, they also won the series taking two out of the three games.

Thursday night after work I went home since it was a night off for the local teams. As a result, I was able to come home and make dinner. After I ate, I went around the block and I did my laundry.

Friday night after work I returned to the Bronx as the Yankees were opening a three game series with the Oakland Athletics. I stopped off at Burger King so I could have a light meal to hold me over.
The King and I met up with Bryan Gilligan inside the Stadium.

As for the game we saw, CC Sabathia started for the Yankees. His very first pitch was hit over the fence by Adam Rosales, the Athletics lead off hitter. It gave the Athletics a 1-0 lead. They added another run in the sixth inning to make it 2-0. Starting pitcher A.J. Griffin threw seven shutout innings. He left after giving up a bunt single to Brett Gardner in the bottom of the eighth inning. Reliever Sean Doolittle got the next five outs and closer Grant Balfour recorded the last one as the Athletics blanked the Yankees, 2-0.

After the game, Bryan drove the King and I to Donovan's Pub in Woodside, Queens for our post game meal. Our friend Frank Anichiarico met us there for the festivities.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do that will recap how we spent our weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with the Ultimate Sports Family at Citi Field before going to Yankee Stadium for more baseball over weekend in NYC!

Thanks again to the quirky schedule makers, the Mets and Yankees played at home on Saturday, April 27th. The Mets were playing the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:05PM on Fox and the Yankees were scheduled to start at 4:05PM against the Toronto Blue Jays. With that being said, barring a miracle there was no way humanly possible for anybody to see both games start to finish.

Since the King & I and our friend Bryan Gilligan have season tickets for both teams we wanted to see as much as we could of both games that day.

Here's how things turned out for us. We met up at Citi Field and we sat in section 515 on this day. We had a number of people we knew that showed up. I'm referring to our pal Manny Morales who was there with his buddy Marc Beck in section 516 which is where their Saturday plan seats are located. In addition, we had our friends Phil Butleman, David Sack, Al Linderman, Pat Gorman, Bill Graven and a guy we know from going to Islander games named Donovan who made a rare appearance.

Last but definitely not least we got a visit from the Ultimate Sports family, the Van Cleves. Our good friend and fellow roadtripper Andrew brought both of his sons to the game. They are known as the Ultimate Sports Brothers, Dylan & Micah. Thanks to Andrew, these lucky little boys have seen a number of live sporting events already at such a young age. Dylan is almost three years old and Micah is a year and a half. This game was Dylan's 11th MLB park and it was Micah's 2nd. As always, it was great to see them all again.

Andrew, Micah, me, Dylan and the King

As for the game we saw at Citi Field, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Phillies came back with three runs in the third inning as rookie pitcher Jonathan Pettibone got his first major league hit to ignite the comeback. The Mets cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth inning. The Phillies responded with five more runs in the top of the fifth inning as they hit a few homers, one from Domonic Brown, a three run shot and John Mayberry Jr. added a solo blast after Ryan Howard delivered a run scoring single to break open the game as the Phillies took a 8-2 lead. The Mets got one back in their half of the fifth inning. The Phillies tacked on another run in the top of the seventh inning. After the Phillies batted, the King, Bryan & I decided it was time to leave so we could get to Yankee Stadium. We departed at 3:28PM with the Phillies up , 9-3. The Mets went on to lose, 9-4 as John Buck hit a solo homer in the ninth. It should be noted that Phillies' starter Jonathan Pettibone pitched the first five innings to earn his first major league win.

As for the Yankee game we saw, we arrived there at Yankee Stadium at 4:16PM. We got great service from the MTA which enabled us to get there so fast. As a result, we missed just the top of the first inning as CC Sabathia got the Blue Jays out 1,2,3. We went upstairs to our seats in section 420B and we watched the rest of the game. The Blue Jays went up 3-0 with a run in third and two more in the fourth inning. The Yankees took advantage of a few walks from J.A. Happ to lead off their half of the fourth inning. Travis Hafner made Happ pay by hitting a homer which tied the game at three. In the sixth inning, Brett Lawrie of the Blue Jays hit a solo homer to make it 4-3. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Yankees tied the game again on a run scoring single by former Blue Jay Vernon Wells. Two batters later, Travis Hafner delivered the game winning blow as he hit a two hit triple to give the Yankees the lead for good, 5-4. Apparently Mariano Rivera was overworked so I was surprised he didn't come in to pitch the ninth inning after CC Sabathia went the first eight innings. Instead Joba Chamberlain gave up a few hits but he worked himself out of trouble as the Yankees held on for the 5-4 victory.

After the game, the King and I went home and we had dinner.

Sunday afternoon we returned to Citi Field for the finale of the Mets and Phillies series. We were hoping to see the Mets salvage a game. We were joined by our pals Frank Anichiarico, Al Linderman, Alan Gimpel, David Sack & Michael Carson who were present & accounted for as well.

As for the game we saw, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead with a run in the first inning. The Phillies tied the game at one in top of the fifth inning when left fielder Freddy Galvis hit a solo homer. In the top of the seventh inning, the Mets got the first two Phillies out. Then catcher John Buck failed to catch a foul pop up which proved to be very costly as it extended the inning. The Phillies capitalized as they got four straight hits that led to three runs to make it 4-1. They tacked on another run in the eighth as they went on to sweep the Mets, 5-1.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman