Royalty Tours USA

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Royalty sees the Subway Series & meets a few new roadtrippers too!‏

Last year the Mets wound up sweeping the four game series between them & the Yankees. They took the first two at Citi Field then the other two they played at Yankee Stadium. This time the Subway Series started at Yankee Stadium. The King & I went to all four games starting on Monday, May 12th. Here's how it turned out this time around.
 
Me at Yankee Stadium
In game one, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead just three batters into the game. They manufactured a run as Eric Young Jr. lead off with a base hit. He proceeded to steal second. He moved to third on a ground out. He then scored on another ground out. In the bottom of the second inning, the Yankees struck back‎, they loaded the bases with three straight singles to start the inning against former Yankee Bartolo Colon who beared down. He got the next two batters out but with two outs, Brett Gardner didn't let him escape unscathed. He delivered a big blow as he hit a grand slam to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The Mets got one back in the top of the fifth inning when catcher Travis d'Arnaud hit a solo homer to make it 4-2. The Mets got even in the top of the sixth when former Yankee Curtis Granderson hit a two run homer to tie the game at four. The Yankees answered right back as they score three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to go up, 7-4. The Mets chipped away as they got within a run, 7-6 thanks to a two run homer by Eric Young Jr. in the top of the seventh inning. The Mets continued to fight back as they tied the game at seven on a run scoring single by Lucas Duda in the top of the eighth inning. They used the long ball again as Chris Young took one out to give the Mets the lead for good as they held off the Yankees, 9-7 to take game one. Lucas Duda saved the game with his glove as he started & finished a beautiful double play to preserve the win. 

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for game two. I met up with the King at our seats in section 420B row 7. This time the Mets offensive surge continued early as they scored four runs in the top of the first inning. David Wright delivered a run scoring single which was followed by a three run blast by former Yankee Curtis Granderson off Yankee starter Vidal Nuno. The Mets practically gave it all back as the Yankees got some clutch hits with two outs off of Mets' starter Zack Wheeler. Mark Teixeira broke the shutout with a run scoring single which was followed by a two run homer by Brian McCann to make it 4-3 after one inning. The Mets extended their lead to 7-3 with a run in the third & two more in the fourth inning. The Yankees made it 7-4 after four. The Mets tacked on four more in the top of the fifth inning which was highlighted by a three run shot by Daniel Murphy to go up 11-4. This time the Mets didn't allow the Yankees to make it too interesting as they went on to beat them, 12-7.

Wednesday night the series shifted from the Bronx to Queens as the Mets came back home to Citi Field to finish the Subway Series with the Yankees. 

Me with Kristina Munoz & Vincent Reardon
During the game, I got a special visit from a few up & coming road trippers, Vincent Reardon & his girl friend Kristina Munoz who are trying to see all 30 MLB ballparks before they turn 30 years old. They've been to seven ballparks thus far they said. ‎They told me they're making a West Coast trip in late June to see all five ballparks in California. I told them the King & I did a monster trip out there last August. They were in awe of our accomplishments. I told them we've been traveling together as long as they've been alive. Vincent said he lives in Astoria. With that being said, we're neighbors. As for Kristina, she's from the Bronx. I told them I'll guide them along so they can achieve their goal. It was nice to meet & greet them. I expect our paths to cross more often in the near future.

As for the game we saw, the Mets left their offense in the Bronx. They faced rookie Masahiro Tanaka, the sensational Japanese import who has lived up to the high expectations so far. The Mets found out firsthand on this night. Tanaka dominated as he allowed just four hits while walking none & striking out eight as he earned his first major league shutout. He also picked up his first major league hit. As for the Mets, rookie Rafael Montero made his major league debut. He pitched six innings allowing three runs. He walked two & he struck out three. Without any offensive support, he didn't stand a chance on this night.

Thursday night I returned to Citi Field for the finale of the four game set. The Mets bats were once again silenced by another rookie who made his major league debut, Chase Whitley. He didn't pitch long enough to qualify for the victory as he was pulled an out away from doing so. He left with the game scoreless. He did get his first major league hit, a single to right in the third inning. The Yankees couldn't get to another rookie who was making his major league debut for the Mets, Jacob deGrom who went seven innings. They finally got the game's only run a run scoring double in the seventh inning by Alfonso Soriano that proved to be the difference as the Yankees split the series with a 1-0 victory. Like Chase Whitley, Jacob deGrom also helped himself with the bat as he picked up his first major league hit. It should be noted it was the first hit by a Met pitcher this season.

Stay tuned as I plan to recap the weekend getaway the King ‎& I took to Cleveland & Washington DC in the middle of May.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

No comments: