April 24, 2022 – Giants 12, Nats 3

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/giants-vs-nationals/2022/04/24/662539#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=662539

 

Time: 3:19

Attendance: 26,003

 

The low-80s weather was wonderful! While it was quite warm out in the sun, our seats were in the shade throughout, with an occasional breeze.

 

Traffic on the way down was even lighter than usual, with the slight disadvantage that the gate to our usual parking lot was still closed when I first arrived. Despite being cruelly abandoned at that point by “Gloria” (my navigator), I managed to circle around a bit until the attendant arrived and opened things up. After parking, I headed down to Rasa for lunch. The drive back included a much-longer-than-usual backup at the top end of the GW Parkway, but I still got home in plenty of time to watch home plate umpire Angel Hernandez infuriate both Milwaukee and Philadelphia batters on ESPN’s Sunday night game (won by Milwaukee 1-0).

 

As it was Kids’ Opening Weekend, around noon the line awaiting the opening of the centerfield gates stretched almost all the way back to the Metro station. (It turned out that, although only 5,000 Juan Soto kids’ jerseys were available, there were still some left by the time the game started.) The season ticket holder line was much shorter, so I wound up getting through in less than a minute. Once inside, there were long lines for the children’s attractions, and the line to buy items in the main Team Store extended almost all the way back to the entrance. The wait to buy concessions, however, wasn’t very long, at least before the game.

 

Ah, yes, the game. Things did not start well when third baseman Lucius Fox became ill after just a couple of pitches (Washington Post game story headline: “Sickening start leads to a sweep of the Nats”.) Backup catcher Riley Adams took over at first base, leaving Washington without any healthy position players on their bench for the rest of the afternoon. To make matters worse, leadoff hitter Joc Pederson ended his at-bat by knocking one of Joan Adon’s pitches out of the park, and the Giants tacked on another run later in the frame. The Nats got one run back in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Yadiel Hernandez. San Francisco added two more in the top of the second, which Washington answered an inning later on a two-run shot by Hernandez to keep the game close.

 

Unfortunately, that was pretty much it for Washington’s offense, as they managed only three more baserunners over the final six innings. The visitors tacked on single runs in the 5^th and 7^th, as Pederson added a double and a second home run for an elegant 3-3-3-3 box score line. The wheels completely came off in the top of the 9^th, when the Giants doubled their run total on a pair of walks, two hit batters, and a plethora of singles. The Nats needed 46 pitches by 3 pitchers (a total of 8 for the game) to record the final 3 outs.