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.

Chaos undercuts president’s vows of a steady hand

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bidens-promise-to-restore-competence-to-the-presidency-undercut-by-chaos- in-afghanistan/2021/08/16/4feaaebc-feaf-11eb-ba7e-2cf966e88e93_story.html

 

“[O]ver the past few days, the images from Afghanistan have put on vivid display an inability to plan, an underestimation of a foreign adversary, an ineffective effort to scramble and make up for it — and, as Biden demonstrated in a brief address Monday, an attempt to deflect full responsibility.”

August 15, 2021 – Braves 6, Nats 5

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/braves-vs- nationals/2021/08/15/632867#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=632867

 

Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 5 mph, in from right.

Umpires: HP--Riggs, 1B--Marquez, 2B--Barrett, 3B--Torres.

Time: 3:19

Attendance - 27,488

 

This was Washington’s 12^th loss in their past 13 games. The “Cruel Summer” continues. Give credit to the heart of Atlanta’s batting order, which accounted for almost all of their offense.

 

Trois étoiles:

#3 – Freddie Freeman, whose two hits included a home run to lead off the 5^th.

#2 – Austin Riley, with three hits, who went back-to-back with Freeman to knock out Nats’ starter Paolo Espino.

#1 – Dansby Swanson, with a single and a two-run third-inning HR.

 

Washington did respond well to Atlanta’s two crooked innings. They put together four singles, a perfectly-placed sacrifice bunt by Espino, and a Juan Soto sac fly to tie the game at 3 off Atlanta starter Drew Smyly in the bottom of the 3^rd. Two frames later, they answered the visitors’ 3-run outburst, as Carter Kieboom singled home Soto (who drew a two-out walk) and Josh Bell (who followed with a double).

 

Somewhat surprisingly, that ended the scoring for the afternoon. The embattled Washington bullpen allowed only one man to reach base (on an error) over the final four innings. Meanwhile, the Nats had their chances to tie things up or go ahead, but wasted a double, two leadoff walks, and a pair of walks in the ninth.

 

Although it was much cooler than the previous week, it still felt unpleasantly steamy. Traffic was pretty much par for the course; the Legion Bridge back-ups on the way home are starting to resemble those of pre-pandemic days. Fast-casual Indian restaurant Rasa provided a nice lunch, despite the shade-free outdoor tables.