May 4, 2018 – Nats 7, Phillies 3 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/bryce-harper-homers-twice-in-win-over-phillies/c-275256696

 

Attendance: 35,497

Duration: 2:49 (39 minute rain delay)

Weather: 86 degrees, Mostly Cloudy

Wind: 13 MPH Out to Left

Umpires: HP: Rob Drake. 1B: Mike Muchlinski. 2B: Sean Barber. 3B: Mike Winters.

 

Section 311, Row D, Seats 7-9 (usual section, one row back)

 

Nats notch sixth straight win

 

Game notes – Phils wound up with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the first, after two walks and an error, but failed to score … Nats battered Nick Pivetta for 3 in the bottom of the first on Harper’s leadoff HR, two walks, and RBI singles by Zim and Wieters … he fared no better in the second, as Difo walked, Harper hit another one out, and Turner singled … Drew Hutchison replaced Pivetta and promptly gave up a homer to Matt Adams, but pitched through the end of the 6^th with no further damage … Gio blanked the visitors for his 5 innings, with a rain delay in the middle … Phils finally broke through off Trevor Gott in the 6^th on Altherr’s infield single, followed immediately by homers by Santana and Franco, at which point Gott left the game with what turned out to be a sprained ankle … Wander Suero, Madson, and Kintzler kept the Phils off the board for the rest of the game, while Zac Curtis pitched two scoreless frames for Philadelphia

 

Other – we took Metro and arrived in plenty of time to get our Max Scherzer bobbleheads

May 3, 2018 – Nats 3, Pirates 1 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/nationals-beat-pirates-winning-streak-at-5/c-275080316

 

Attendance: 30,434

Duration: 2:42

Weather: 87 degrees, Clear

Wind: 12 MPH Right to Left

Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: Bruce Dreckman. 2B: Mike Estabrook. 3B: Eric Cooper.

 

Section 220, Row D, Seats 11-12 – club level was a good choice this afternoon, as we were out of the sun on an unseasonably hot day, and were able to spend a couple innings in the air-conditioned lounge behind the seating area

 

Game notes – after scoring 12 and 9 runs the previous 2 games, Nats eked out the win despite getting only 4 hits …  continuing the season-long avoidance of having Hellickson face opposing batters more than twice, Dave lifted him with 2 out and 1 on in the 6^th, with the game scoreless, after only 61 pitches … Washington scored its only runs of the game in the bottom of the frame (Difo single, homers by Turner and Zimmerman), giving Solis the win after he relieved Hellickson and retired Gregory Polanco on one pitch … after Madson got into a bases-loaded one-out jam in the 8^th (an error on a double-play ball didn’t help), Doolittle was summoned to get the final 5 outs

Trump is where the end begins

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-where-the-end-begins/2018/04/30/ef6ea24a-4cb0-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bdac326ed97f

 

A perceptive column by Richard Cohen, helping to explain Trump’s appeal:

 

“For all his wealth, Trump is a bundle of insecurities and resentments. In that way, he validates similar feelings in others. If they loathe the establishment, so does he. If they loathe foreign aid, so does he. If they misunderstand trade agreements, so does he. If they fret over an America that is less white and more tolerant of homosexuality and immigrants, then so does he. If they recoil from a news media that talks the PC language they abhor, so does he. They are him. He is them.”

April 29, 2018 – Nats 3, Diamondbacks 1 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/gio-gonzalez-nationals-beat-d-backs-in-finale/c-274428154

 

Attendance: 30,285

Duration: 2:49

Weather: 54 degrees, Partly Cloudy

Wind: 18 MPH Left to Right

Umpires: HP: Bill Welke. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Tony Randazzo. 3B: Nic Lentz.

 

We finally see the Nats win one!

 

Game notes – Arizona starter Robbie Ray had to exit in the second inning with what turned out to be a right oblique injury … Wieters homered off T.J. McFarland, who replaced Ray during his at-bat … with two outs in the inning the Nats loaded the bases on two walks surrounding Gio’s single, and plated another run when McFarland booted Zim’s chopper … Taylor homered in the 3^rd to give the Nats what turned out to be their final run of the game … Gio allowed some baserunners but kept the visitors off the scoreboard thru 6 innings … with his pitch count in the mid-90s but the bullpen heavily taxed, Davey allowed him to hit for himself and pitch the 7^th, during which he allowed one run on a sac fly … Kintzler and Doolittle shut out Arizona over the final 2 frames to nail down the much-needed victory

 

Other – weather still windy and somewhat chilly, but much better than our two previous Sunday games … despite multiple promotions (Youth Baseball/Softball Day, kids fidget spinner giveaway, Pups in the Park), the number of occupied seats appeared to be significantly below the paid attendance … traffic down was wonderful, and not too bad coming back either … our first Signature Sunday of the season featured Trevor Gott and Andrew Stevenson

Janis Ian – The Birchmere, 4/28/2018

Table 216 – 8-person table parallel to the stage, house left section, about 1/3 of the way back.

 

When we saw the James Hunter Six at Pearl Street Warehouse earlier this year, I remember thinking that venue might not be ideal for relatively quiet, acoustic acts. Janis Ian would not be an ideal performer to work there, although at the Birchmere you could have heard a pin drop during her quieter material (which was much of the 95-minute show, starting with a leisurely version of her classic “Jesse”). The show worked well, however, as she mixed in a fair amount of audience banter and some more uptempo material, including “The Tiny Mouse”, “Married In London”, and “My Autobiography.” She did the latter with some clever modifications to the original lyrics; it would never have occurred to me that “Donald Trump” and “Forrest Gump” rhyme nicely. My favorite was a tribute she did to Ella Fitzgerald near the end of her first set, complete with a great guitar solo in the middle. She did get to “At Seventeen” (although not “Society’s Child”), and borrowed from Livingston Taylor the idea of doing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” as an encore. (Great song, but maybe not the best choice for an audience singalong.)