After having a night off Monday night after work, I went to Citi Field Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Tuesday night I got to say hello to Gio Gonzalez before the game and Wednesday night I got to see him pitch for the first time in person live at the major league level.
On Tuesday, the Athletics took total advantage of Mets pitcher Dillon Gee who suffered his first loss of the season. He couldn't find the strike zone as he walked 6 batters in four innings of work.
As a result, the Mets fell behind and they couldn't catch up. They went on to lose to the A's, 7-3.
On the bright side, our friends Phil Butleman, Manny Morales and Vincent Ascanio were in the house so by having them there it made for a fun and enjoyable evening despite the walk-a-thon the Mets pitching staff provided for us on the field.
Wednesday night after going to Taste of Dolly's for a pre game dinner, I went back to Citi Field. With mother nature threatening to spoil my evening, the Mets covered the field with the tarp because they heard there was rain in the area. It turned out to be a wise decision because shortly after I sat down under the overhang, the sky opened up.
Luckily the rain cleared out and the game got delayed by only an hour and three minutes.
It was worth the wait for the start being that Gio Gonzalez was starting the game. He was opposed by the Mets' R.A. Dickey.
Both pitchers pitched great in this pitchers' duel. As it turned out, neither got a decision.
The Mets did take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning but K-Rod blew it in the ninth.
As a result, the game went into extra innings which made for a very long night. Fortunately the first nine innings went fast after the rain delay.
The Mets outlasted the Athletics in 13 innings, 2-1 thanks to Justin Turner getting hit by a pitch. What a way to end a terrific well played ballgame.
The game itself took 4 hours exactly.
Thankfully I was going home after work Thursday night since the Mets and A's were wrapping up their three game series in the afternoon.
Friday night after work I went up to Yankee Stadium to see the Colorado Rockies return to the Big Apple. This time they played the Yankees.
As I was getting ready to go into the ballpark some people asked me to take their picture so I gladly did so. They happened to be Rockie fans from Denver.
After I took their picture, I saw how mobbed it was to get into the Stadium so I told them to follow me in. That way little did they know they were getting royal treatment. They were so grateful. It was a family of four. Husband, wife, son and daughter. They thanked me and we shook hands and parted ways. The son did say and I quote "Thank you, sir". It was a pleasure to make their visit more memorable. After all, that's what royalty is all about.
As for the game, the Rockies wound up beating the Yankees for the first time on the road, 4-2.
The fans gave former Yankee Jason Giambi a nice warm ovation when he came up to bat for the first time. He proceeded to hit a bomb into the right field bleachers. He finished the game 3 for 4 and a walk.
Saturday morning I rented a car from Avis for the day so I could go to Yankee Stadium then we had a carload as we went to Philadelphia too to see a modern day two ballpark doubleheader. We've been doing these for many years.
Besides the King and I, our friends Bryan Gilligan, Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich and Phil Butleman took a royal ride to the City of Brotherly Love. Unlike most out of towners, royalty always feels the Philly love.
As for the games we saw, the Yankees bounced back from their "rockie" road and they beat the Rockies, 8-3 behind a solid 8 inning performance from their ace pitcher CC Sabathia.
It should be noted we were joined by our friend Larry Peim who happened to be in attendance.
In Philadelphia, we saw another good one. This time the Athletics returned to Philadelphia and they beat the Phillies, 4-1. Their starter Trevor Cahill pitched into the eighth inning to put the A's in position to win.
Sunday morning I returned the car and I wound up staying home because I had things to take care of at home unfortunately.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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