August 18, 2021 – Nats 8, Blue Jays 5

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/blue-jays-vs- nationals/2021/08/18/632856#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=632856

 

Weather: 87 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 5 mph, out to LF.

Umpires: HP--Barksdale, 1B--Livensparger, 2B--Barrett, 3B--Hernandez.

Time: 3:19

Attendance - 18,336

Seats – Section 215, Row A, Seats 3-4. I decided to splurge a bit on the ticket exchange, getting second level seats just to the right of home plate, with access to the indoor “Champions Club”. Things worked out quite nicely, although I plan to avoid the front row in the future due to the plexiglass that somewhat hinders the view.

 

On Tuesday night, the weather forecast for Wednesday afternoon was so ominous that we thought the game might be postponed until Thursday. Fortunately no one jumped to a hasty conclusion, as the skies turned out to be sunny; we didn’t encounter a single drop of rain. Given our reasonably timely arrival via Metro, two of us took the opportunity to stop by Subway and purchase sandwiches to bring into the game.

 

Trois étoiles:

#3 – Starting pitcher Josiah Gray, who continued to win the hearts of Nats fans with an effective 6-inning performance, allowing one solo homer in the 2^nd and another in the 3^rd but pitching out of minor trouble otherwise. He also notched his first major-league hit and started a nifty double play on a sacrifice bunt by Toronto starter Jose Berrios.

#2 – Josh Bell. Although he did ground into a double play and misplayed a grounder on what should have been the final out of the game, he provided the decisive three-run homer in the bottom of the 7^th, after the visitors had taken the lead in the top of the inning.

#1 – Juan Soto. After the first two Nats batters reached base, Berrios unwisely gave him something to hit, and he crushed a ball to left to give Washington a quick 3-0 lead. Having learned the hard way, Blue Jays pitchers walked him in his next three plate appearances, including right before Bell’s HR.

 

Former closer Brad Hand’s return to Washington was not exactly auspicious. Entering the game in the fateful bottom of the seventh, he allowed a single to Alcides Escobar and walked Soto before serving up Bell’s blast. After Yadiel Hernandez was retired, Carter Kieboom sent Hand’s next pitch over the left field wall. One out later, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo lifted Hand (who got a sarcastic/appreciative round of applause from the hometown fans) before he could face Nats catcher Riley Adams, for whom he had been traded a few weeks earlier. Adams, on the other hand, justified his end of the trade with two more hits against his former team, after notching a single, double, and homer the previous night.