April 12, 2019 – Pirates 6, Nats 3 (10 innings) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/pirates-vs-nationals/2019/04/12/565900#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=565900

 

Weather: 67 degrees, Overcast.

Wind: 8 mph, R To L.

Umpires: HP--Barry, 1B--Lentz, 2B--Danley, 3B--Carlson.

Time: 3:28

Attendance: 27,084

 

Section 419, Row M, Seats 1-2 – top level, next to top row, just beyond 1^st base

 

Patrick Corbin pitched like a champ for the Nats, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk in his 7 innings while fanning 11. He also helped himself with 2 singles at the plate, including a game-tying RBI hit with 2 outs in the bottom of the 2^nd. The ridiculously hot Anthony Rendon homered the next inning to give the home team a 2-1 lead.

 

And then it happened. Again.

 

Tony Sipp replaces Patrick Corbin to start the 8^th.

Erik Gonzalez singles.

Francisco Cervelli flies out.

Adam Frazier singles. (This sends Gonzalez to third, and Frazier reaches second when Eaton misses the cutoff man.)

Kyle Barraclough replaces Tony Sipp.

Starling Marte singles, scoring Gonzalez and Frazier. 3-2 Pirates.

 

Rendon homered (again!) in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, and neither team scored in the 9^th.

 

Matt Grace replaces Sean Doolittle to start the 10^th.

Melky Cabrera doubles.

Adam Frazier is safe at first when Grace makes a bad throw on his sac bunt.

Justin Miller replaces Matt Grace.

Starling Marte grounds out.

Pinch-hitter Colin Moran homers to right-center. 6-3 Pirates.

 

Jayson Stark tweeted the following Saturday afternoon:

Runs allowed by the #Nationals from the 7^th inning on: 35.

Runs allowed by the #Rays in all the innings combined: 33.

 

Enough said.

 

Although the tarp was on when we arrived (early, so we could get our Juan Soto bobbleheads), the game started on time and didn’t require any delays, although there were a few periods of relatively light rain. (We stayed comfortably dry in our overhang-protected seats.)

“Old Town Road” and “Uptown Funk”

https://slate.com/culture/2019/04/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-billboard-country-charts-hot-100.html

 

If you really want to know what’s going on with the controversy over Billboard magazine’s treatment of “Old Town Road”, this is THE deep-dive article to check out. (Warning – it takes a lot longer to read the article than to listen to the song.)

Average White Band – Rams Head on Stage, 4/11/2019

Table 100, Row A, Seat 3 – front row of tables, at the left side of the stage. Somewhat surprisingly, only 3 of the 6 seats were occupied, although it was a large crowd overall.

 

 

Cranky? Irritable? Just generally out of sorts? Just take 90 minutes of AWB. Repeat as often as necessary.

 

Seriously, this show just reinforces my impression from two years ago that this is one of the best live bands around today. Great solos by the entire crew, stunning soul vocals by Brent Carter, great crowd rapport. The audience seemed more diverse than I remember from last time, and had a high energy level throughout. “A Love Of Your Own” continues to be a show-shopper, although there really wasn’t a weak spot in the entire evening. The couple I sat with mentioned that they come to see them every year; I may have to join them in that.

 

Highlights: setlist