May 24, 2019 – Nats 12, Marlins 10 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/nationals-bats-rally-in-win-over-marlins

 

Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 14 mph, In From LF.

Umpires: HP--Winters, 1B--Timmons, 2B--Whitson, 3B--Muchlinski.

Time: 3:59

Attendance: 29,173

 

Section 312, Row C, Seat 19

 

You shouldn’t win a game when your starting pitcher gives up 5 runs in 4 innings. You definitely shouldn’t win when your bullpen gives up another 5 runs, somehow increasing its already dreadful 7+ ERA. And you certainly have no business coming out on top when you commit 4 errors (which would have been 5 if not for a questionable scoring decision).

 

The Nats fell behind by 3 early, came back to tie, fell behind by 4, came back to tie, and once again gave up the lead in the top of the 8^th. Nevertheless, they persisted.

 

Give credit to Anthony Rendon for his game-tying 3-run blast in the 3^rd. Give some to Victor Robles, whose 2-run double tied it again 3 innings later. And give a ton to Juan Soto, once again doing Juan Soto things, for finally putting the home team in front with a 3-run homer off a 101-mph pitch.

 

On the pitching side, Matt Grace and Tanner Rainey kept the visitors off the board in the 6^th and 7^th innings, respectively. With a 3-run lead to protect in the top of the 9^th, Doolittle allowed a homer on his first pitch, followed by 2 more hits later in the inning, but finally recorded the final out, allowing the crowd to exhale at last. We were also glad that they chose to play this marathon on a night that Metro kept going past 11:30.)

 

Musical footnote – kudos to Matt Adams for his use of Gary Clark Jr.’s “Bright Lights, Big City” to lead into his ABs, and to Brian Dozier for choosing the ubiquitous “Old Town Road” for some of his.

May 23, 2019 – Frederick Keys 8, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7 (11 innings) – Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium

https://www.milb.com/frederick/news/reyes-walks-it-off-for-frederick/c-307398486

 

Umpires: HP: Reed Basner. 1B: John Budka.

Weather: 71 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 5 mph, Calm.

First pitch: 11:00 AM.

Time: 3:38.

Attendance: 6,232.

 

Section 204, Row K, Seat 17 – second section from the middle on the third-base side, second row below the concourse, on the aisle

 

It was a good news / bad news / good news kind of day at Frederick. It was all good for the first 5 innings, as Baltimore’s 2017 first-round draft pick, southpaw DL Hall, blanked the visitors in dominant fashion, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk while fanning 10. Meanwhile, the Keys turned 4 straight singles into 2 runs in the bottom of the 2^nd, and added one more in the 5^th on a Trevor Craport RBI double.

 

Things quickly broke bad from there, when Travis Seabrooke relieved Hall to start the 6^th and allowed a pair of 2-run homers. The Pelicans then added single tallies in each of the next 3 innings, countered only by a single Keys run in the 8^th.

 

Trailing 7-4 in the bottom of the 9^th, however, Zach Jarrett (son of NASCAR legend Dale) hit a 3-run homer with one out to tie the game.

 

This was the first extra-inning minor-league game I had seen since the recent rules change that starts each half-inning after the 9^th with a runner on second base, to increase the chances of scoring (and thus ending the game more quickly). This didn’t particularly bother Frederick reliever Steven Klimek in the top of the 10^th, as he struck out the first two batters and retired the third on a grounder.

 

Frederick went for the jugular in the bottom of the frame, pinch-running Jake Ring at second base for Ryan Ripken (son of Cal Jr.). After Sean Miller failed to bunt him over, he got to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded there as the next two batters grounded out.

 

Klimek didn’t have it as easy the next inning, walking two batters with one out to load the bases, but escaped on a nicely-turned double play. Third-baseman Jomar Reyes, spending his 4^th consecutive season with the Keys, hit a ground-rule double with one out in the bottom of the frame to end it, sending the remnants of the STEM Day crowd home happy, at least until the torrential rains hit shortly thereafter.

May 19, 2019 – Cubs 6, Nats 5 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-nationals/2019/05/19/565918#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=565918

 

Weather: 87 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 7 mph, R To L.

Umpires: HP--Wolf, 1B--Lentz, 2B--Iassogna, 3B--Holbrook.

Time: 3:15

Attendance: 23,244

 

Things did not begin well.

 

Veteran Nats starter Jeremy Hellickson, who depends on command to make up for the lack of an imposing fastball, walked the first 3 Chicago batters he faced, throwing only 2 strikes in the process and generating early action in the home team bullpen. He hit Willson Contreras with a pitch later in the frame, but after a double play managed to escape with only a single run on the board.

 

Hellickson then stopped walking people and started allowing extra-base hits, allowing single runs in the 2^nd and 3^rd. Kyle McGowin made his season debut for the Nats in the 4^th and continued the trend. Meanwhile, Washington didn’t get a runner on base against Kyle Hendricks until Rendon drew a four-pitch walk with 2 outs in the bottom of the 4^th.

 

Things started to look up an inning later, as McGowin retired the visitors in order and the Nats ended the no-hitter and shutout on singles by Suzuki and Parra followed by a Dozier groundout. Unfortunately there would be no shutdown inning, as the Cubs responded with 2 runs in an ugly top of the 6^th, during which McGowin uncorked two wild pitches and was charged with an error on Hendricks’ bunt. This was especially painful since Washington finally figured out the Cubs’ starter in the bottom of the inning, but they still trailed by 2 runs after Rendon’s 3-run blast.

 

Howie Kendrick cut the deficit to one with a leadoff HR after the seventh-inning stretch, and the Washington bullpen blanked the Cubs over the final 3 innings, but they were matched by Chicago’s Steve Cishek, who notched a rare 7-out save, allowing only one hit in the process.

 

While we were not happy earlier in the week to hear that the game had been chosen by ESPN for its Sunday night broadcast, the decision worked out well, given how hot it was in the afternoon. Things were much more comfortable for the 7:05 start, especially in the shade.