Time: 3:31 (1:16 delay)
Attendance: 35,052
This was not exactly an auspicious start for the Nats’ 2022 season, either baseball-wise or otherwise. Fill-in
Mets starter Tylor Megill kept the home team off-balance
for the first 5 innings with high-90s heat and a mix of offspeed
stuff, allowing no walks and just 3 hits while fanning 6. The visitors’ top 4
relievers pitched an inning each to finish off the game, with the only damage
being a massive shot by Juan Soto in the bottom of the sixth. (Three innings
earlier, however, the face of the franchise fanned with runners on first and third
and only one out.)
Washington starter Patrick Corbin, coming off two rough
years following his 2019 heroics, started off well but failed to retire anyone
in the top of the fifth, hitting James McCann with his final pitch to force in the
first run of the game. Victor Arano did well in his Nationals debut, inducing two quick ground balls to limit
the damage to one more run. The New Yorkers subsequently padded their margin by
tacking on 3 more runs off Austin Voth and Andrés Machado.
The Nats’ defense did look solid,
especially shortstop Alcides Escobar and catcher Keibert
Ruiz. Ruiz was certainly the player of the game for Washington, throwing out
leadoff hitter Starling Marte attempting to steal
second and three innings later making a great play at the plate to tag out New
York slugger Pete Alonzo trying to score from first on a two-out double. He
also brought his hot bat back from Florida, doubling in the second for the home
team’s first hit of the season and adding a sixth-inning single.
The game was originally scheduled to kick off at 4:05, but
the team wisely announced Wednesday night that the start would be pushed back
to 7:05, which was approximately when the day-long rain was expected to end. We
left at 3:15, had a relatively uneventful drive, parked in our usual lot, enjoyed
an early dinner (taco platters) at the nearby Él Bebe restaurant, and got to Nats
Park around 5:45, all while staying dry. Unfortunately, the rain was not done
with us; one more shower was on its way, and so the start time was again
delayed, with the game finally getting underway at 8:20 after the usual Opening
Day ceremonies. Of course, it was in the 50s with wind, so even without getting
wet – I didn’t actually open an umbrella once all day – it was a pretty
miserable experience weather-wise. And not surprisingly, given our past history,
glitches abounded in ordering and paying for food, beverages, and Team Store
items. (In their defense, the new clear-bag entry process went well, as did the
distribution of free bags to us season plan members.) The actual crowd was well
short of the paid attendance, and it dwindled steadily, pretty much in line
with Washington’s chances for a win. We left at the end of the eighth and made
it back in a record 27 minutes.
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