August 17, 2016 – Rockies 12, Nationals 10 – Coors Field

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/196128614/rockies-outslug-strasburg-nats-in-finale-win/

 

Attendance: 25,308

Game Time: 3:52

Weather: 85 degrees, sunny

Wind: 4 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Clint Fagan, First Base - Brian Gorman, Second Base - Quinn Wolcott, Third Base - Mark Carlson

Seventh-inning stretch song: Hey Baby – DJ Otzi

 

Section 236, Row 11, Seat 1 – club (2^nd) level, looking down first base line, in the shade, more limited concessions selection than main concourse and not quite enough seating in the “club”, although the air conditioned refuge would have been great in rainy, hot, or freezing weather

 

Finally, a real Coors Field kind of game!

 

Highlights – Nats kept battling back from their 7-0 first inning deficit … two-run Harper homer in the fifth traveled 461 feet and made the score 9-6 … Pedro Severino and Chris Heisey also homered (the first of Severino’s major-league career) … Jayson Werth ran his consecutive game on-base streak to 45

 

Other – Strasburg was torched for 7 in the bottom of the first on a combination of walks and scorched line drives, and gave up 2 more before being lifted with two outs in the second … splurged on the carved turkey sandwich for $12.00 (OK, with a pickle and chips), and grabbed a Dollar Dog later

August 16, 2016 – Rockies 6, Nationals 2 – Coors Field

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/196008928/rockies-lemahieu-flirts-with-cycle-in-win/

 

Attendance: 29,209

Game Time: 2:54 (delayed 2 hours and 4 minutes in the bottom of the third inning due to rain)

Weather: 84 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 7 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Mark Carlson, First Base - Clint Fagan, Second Base - Brian Gorman, Third Base - Quinn Wolcott
Seventh-inning stretch song: Hey Baby – DJ Otzi

Section 137, Row 31, Seat 1 – lower level, section behind the visitors dugout, far enough back (just under the overhang) that I only got slightly wet when the storm hit

 

Highlights – Werth set the Nats team record by reaching base in his 44^th consecutive game (franchise record is 46) … singles by Werth, Murphy, and Ramos gave the Nats a 2-0 lead in the top of the third

 

Other – Rockies came right back to tie in the bottom of the third on a Blackmon double and LeMahieu homer off Gio … after play resumed, Nats were blanked for the final 6 innings, while the Rockies notched 4 runs in 5 innings against 4 Washington relievers … apparently if I take a road trip to see the Nats, there will be a two-hour rain delay … had a large burrito bowl for $8.00, and an overly large serving of gelato for $5.75 … over 700 canines for Bark in the Park, complete with a pre-game parade (not sure how they handled the rainstorm and delay)

August 15, 2016 – Nationals 5, Rockies 4 – Coors Field

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/195792814/nats-bryce-harper-hits-go-ahead-rbi-in-win/

 

Attendance: 27,818

Game Time: 3:26

Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 7 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Quinn Wolcott, First Base - Mark Carlson, Second Base - Clint Fagan, Third Base - Brian Gorman

 

U338, Row 25, Seat 1 – halfway between third and home, very top row of the stadium (I requested something under cover since I realized I forgot to pack an umbrella)

 

Highlights – Nats rallied from a 3-0 first-inning deficit for the win … Werth (who tied Nats record by reaching base in 43 consecutive games) got things started with a two-run shot in the third … Bryce reached base all 5 times and knocked in the winning run with a seventh-inning double … Trea Turner stole another two bases … Treinen relieved Solis with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh and induced an inning-ending DP on his first and only pitch … Melancon needed only 4 pitches to retire the Rockies in order in the ninth for the save

 

Other – Scherzer was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the top of the fifth, after needing 97 pitches to get through 4 innings … concession prices very reasonable by DC standards ($7.75 draft beer, $5.75 grilled chicken sandwiches) … unbelievably pleasant weather after escaping the Washington heat wave

August 14, 2016 – Nationals 9, Braves 1 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/195507330/rendon-roark-lead-nats-to-win-over-braves/

 

Attendance: 29,107

Game Time: 2:46

Weather: 96 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 9 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Pat Hoberg, First Base - Mike Everitt, Second Base - Jordan Baker, Third Base - Tim Timmons

Seventh-inning stretch song: The Twist – Chubby Checker

 

Highlights – Tanner Roark had his second straight strong Sunday start, this time giving up only one run in his typical 7 innings … Bryce Harper, out over a week with a stiff neck, asked politely to get back in the lineup and was in the middle of the Nats’ 3-run first with a double … after Roark drew a walk to start the bottom of the 5^th, Nats broke things open on a sac fly by Ramos and a 3-run homer by Rendon

 

Other – perhaps the hottest game I’ve been to, as the official temperature hit 100 for the day … roasted in the sun until the second or third inning, at which point we got our shade and it wasn’t so bad … enjoyed the cooling center for a couple of innings (large conference room with plenty of large TV screens, ice, and water)

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band w/ Emmylou Harris -- Wolf Trap, 8/12/2016

Row H, Seats 46-48

 

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band somehow managed to be hotter than the sweltering weather Friday evening; despite the short (for them) two-hour set length, it may have been the strongest performance I’ve seen from them yet. They leaned into the gospel side of Lyle’s repertoire more heavily than in some past shows, as this summer he’s featuring local gospel choirs as part of his shows. Tonight it was members of the Morgan State University Choir, who shone at both the beginning of the show (“I’m a Soldier in the Army of the Lord”, “Church”, “I Will Rise Up”) and the end (“I’m Going to Wait”, “Praise the Lord”, and the sublime encore “Pass Me Not O Savior”). The other main theme was paying tribute to Texas singer/songwriter Guy Clark, who died in May. Lovett performed a heartfelt version of Clark’s “Step Inside This House” and brought opening act Emmylou Harris back on stage to duet on “Anyhow I Love You”; she had provided harmony vocals on Clark’s recording. Emmylou stayed for “Walk Through the Bottomland”, reprising her vocals from Lyle’s second album.

 

Naturally, Lyle also included some of his other favorites, such as “If I Had a Boat”, “Penguins”, and “I Know You Know”.

 

Lovett’s shows certainly aren’t just about the music. He called out his musicians a few at a time, generally with an anecdote or two about each one. He also included a number of personal stories featuring his dry sense of humor. If there was a general theme, it was Lovett thanking various folks who had helped him out along the way. He comes across as a genuinely nice guy, and given the length of time many of his bandmates have been working with him (one as far back as 1979), I have to assume it’s an accurate portrait.

 

Emmylou Harris, along with three bandmates, got the evening off to a nice start with a one-hour opening set. Highlights included “Red Dirt Girl”, her cover of Paul Simon’s “The Boxer”, and the final two songs, “After the Gold Rush” and “Boulder to Birmingham”. Clearly her presence significantly boosted sales; the house was full, which was definitely not the case the last couple times Lovett played without an opener. (The $55 ticket price was also remarkably reasonable, given that two well-known performers were featured.)