April 10, 2022 – Nats 4, Mets 2

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/mets-vs-nationals/2022/04/10/662570#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=662570

 

Time: 3:01

Attendance: 23,158

 

We won!!!

 

Start with the pitching. Erick Fedde became the first Washington starter to complete 5 innings, holding the Mets to a pair of runs in the 4^th. The Nats’ four top relievers (Steve Cishek, Sean Doolittle, Kyle Finnegan, and Tanner Rainey) combined to blank the visitors over the final 4 frames.

 

After getting off to a relatively fast start with a Nelson Cruz homer and a Josh Bell single in the bottom of the first, the home team offense reverted to its early-season futility, failing to get a single hit in the following 6 innings off Carlos Carrasco and Chasen Shreve. Things finally changed in the 8^th, when the Nats placed runners on the corners with no outs on singles by Yadiel Hernandez and Maikel Franco. Shortstop Lucius Fox, making his major-league debut, then brought the crowd to its feet with a perfect bunt that plated the tying run. Two outs later, Cruz singled up the middle to score Fox and César Hernández.

 

The weather wasn’t the greatest – no rain, but low 50s temps and a strong wind that led me to keep my gloves on for most of the afternoon. (This may have led to some ticketholders staying away altogether, as the number of people in the park seemed well short of 20,000.) Our experiences with Nats Park concessions were actually positive, probably because we stayed away from online ordering. That was fortunate, given our lunch debacle at a well-known (and heavily patronized) sports bar across the street from the stadium. Suffice it to say we arrived around 11:30 and left shortly after 1:00, without my sandwich order making an appearance.