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| Prince Outside First Energy Park in Lakewood, NJ |
I was originally considering possibly going to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Rays at Fenway Park Saturday night after the Met game Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
When the King and our pal Vincent Ascanio heard the Lakewood BlueClaws were playing a doubleheader at First Energy Park, they said they wanted to go there instead. Since I was doing the driving, I told them that's not a problem.
Luckily the Mets behind Johan Santana who pitched a gem of a game we were able to get to Lakewood with a little time to spare for their 6:05PM double dip. Our friend Frank Anichiarico decided to join us too.
As for the performance by Santana, he went the distance for the first time since 2010. He did miss the whole season last year due to injury. He returned to his old form on this day as he shutout the Padres, 9-0. He scattered four hits and he pitched in a timely fashion so it was a pleasure to watch him.
As for the games we saw in Lakewood, the Blueclaws who are the Single A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies split a doubleheader with the Hagerstown Suns, the farm team of the Washington Nationals nowadays. I've seen them play when they were affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.
In the first game, the Suns won, 7-1 as Nathan Karns a highly touted prospect who has had to overcome injuries, pitched lights out as he struck out ten and he allowed one hit over seven innings to win the game. It was a complete game for him because in the minor leagues when they play a doubleheader both games go only seven innings unless the game is tied.
In the nightcap, the Blueclaws won the game, 7-5 to gain a split.
After the game, we went back home.
Sunday we went back to Citi Field to see the Mets again as they wrapped up their four game series with the Padres. We saw another fine pitching performance this time by R.A. Dickey who worked into the eighth inning. He allowed no runs as the Mets shutout the Padres again, 2-0.
After the game, Vincent Ascanio joined the King and I as we went back to Lakewood to see another game there since they were playing at night.
This time they played a full nine inning game as the Suns came out ahead, 7-6 despite a controversial call in the eighth inning that cost the Blueclaws a chance to possibly tie the game. As a result, Blueclaws' manager and former Philadelphia Phillie Mickey Morandini got thrown out of the game.
Stay tuned for the special post about a restaurant we found in Lakewood before the game Sunday night.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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