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| Prince at Turner Field |
We finally arrived within walking distance of Turner Field at 3:11PM as we parked the car at a Funeral Home that was charging $10 to park.
We got out of the car and we walked over to Turner Field where the Atlanta Braves were hosting the Mets at 4:05PM that Saturday afternoon.
It was a long grueling ride from Miami but I mapped it out and I managed to find a way to make it happen. Initially I forgot how far it was from Miami to Atlanta. Back in 1991, I went to Florida with my sister and we drove to Atlanta to visit our mother's friend from Delray Beach where our grandparents lived at the time. Upon returning to Delray Beach, I dropped off my sister and I got back in the car and drove to Miami to see the Heat play Michael Jordan and the Bulls at the old Miami Arena. I was exhausted but I still found a way to do it.
Early in 2012, I realized I underestimated the distance from Miami to Atlanta. With that being said, I redid the game plan so we could get there on time. I knew Paul needed to see Turner Field so I wasn't going to shy away from the challenge. True to my word, I found a way to get it done.
As for the game we saw, All-Star pitcher R.A. Dickey started the game for the Mets. Paul was thrilled to see him pitch in person. As for the King and I, we've seen him pitch numerous times since he became a Met a few years ago. On this day, he didn't have his best stuff but he left the with a 6-5 lead after pitching five innings. The Mets added an insurance run and they lead 7-5 after seven innings despite getting some bad calls from the umpires. As a result, Met manager Terry Collins got ejected in the fifth inning.
Unfortunately the bullpen let the game slip away for Dickey and the Mets. They managed to get two outs in the eighth inning but they couldn't get the third one until they lost the lead. With the crowd doing the tomahawk chop, the Braves responded and sent their fans home happy. Michael Bourn, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward delivered clutch two out singles to give the Braves a 8-7 lead at Turner Field aka the chop shop. That's the way it ended as Braves' closer Craig Kimbrel came on to pitch the ninth inning and he blew away the three Met batters he faced striking them all out to save the game as the Braves won, 8-7. As for the King and I, it was another frustrating loss in which the Mets had a lead late in a game and they let it get away.
After the game, we stopped off at a Waffle House outside of Atlanta and we had dinner as we braced for the long ride back to Ocala, Florida where we stayed at Super 8 again.
Stay tuned as I recap the next installment of this journey as we went to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg Sunday afternoon.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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