April 16, 2023 – Nats 7, Guardians 6

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202304160.shtml

 

Time: 2:32

Attendance: 21,929

 

Some days are better than others, and Sunday was definitely better than Saturday in almost every possible way. The weather (79⁰ at game time) was wonderful. We avoided the perils of the concessions stands by eating at Silver Diner before the game and bringing our own water and snacks. And, of course, the Nats got just their second home win of the season. We have been fortunate enough to witness both of them in person. (Of course, we’ve also seen them lose twice, but this year we’d take a .500 home record.) Going by car for the first time this year, we had a very pleasant drive down, going across the Chain Bridge to avoid any possible GW Parkway construction delays. The trip back was much slower, but still not too bad.

 

The Nats pecked away early, wound up going down by three, and rallied late for the win. They scored a single run in each of the first three frames, notching six hits against Guardians ace Shane “I’m Not Justin” Bieber, with RBI hits by Jeimer Candelario in the first and Lane Thomas in the second, along with a Candelario homer leading off the third. Unfortunately, Candelario’s blast was preceded by a nightmare top of the 3rd, with the visitors using three doubles, a single, a stolen base and two Washington errors to put up four runs against Patrick Corbin.

 

Both Bieber and Corbin completed six innings without further damage. The Guardians scored twice in the top of the 7th off Hobie Harris, but the Nats came right back after the stretch when, with two outs, Candelario produced his fourth hit of the game and Luis García hit one out to deep right.

 

After Mason Thompson pitched a scoreless top of the 8th, Washington completed the comeback in the bottom of the inning, starting with a Stone Garrett single, a CJ Abrams walk, and a perfect sacrifice bunt by Victor Robles. Garrett was finally ruled safe at home on a Thomas fly ball to center, when the replay review ruled that Cleveland catcher Mike Zunino had illegally blocked the plate. Following a pitching change and a walk to Dominic Smith, Joey Meneses singled in Abrams for what proved to be the winning run. Kyle Finnegan kept the Guardians off the board in the 9th to send most of the crowd home happy.

April 15, 2023 – Guardians 6, Nats 4

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202304150.shtml

 

Time: 2:55 (1:40 delay prior to actual start)

Attendance: 24,909

Section 319, Row J, Seats 1-2 – not a bad view, although we were behind first base rather than home plate as usual

 

Things briefly looked good for the home team, as they jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead on run-scoring hits by Meneses, Candelario, and Ruiz. By the middle of the second, Cleveland had gotten one run back, having notched a walk, two singles, and three stolen bases; Washington starter Chad Kuhl’s pitch count had already reached 40. He required another 19 pitches in the top of the 3^rd, although he did retire the side in order. The next inning saw Kuhl walk two of the first three batters, both of whom scored to tie things up. The Nats started the bottom of the frame with a Garcia single and a Ruiz double to regain the lead, but were unable to score Ruiz from second. Cleveland immediately responded with an Amed Rosario triple and a homer by José Ramírez. Kuhl exited the scene a couple batters later, having thrown 98 pitches, only 52 of which were strikes.

 

That was pretty much it for offense. Cleveland starter Zach Plesac lasted 5 innings. Washington managed to get two runners on base twice against the Guardians’ bullpen, but couldn’t score either time. Former Nat Josh Bell doubled in what proved to be an unnecessary insurance run in the top of the 9^th.

 

Coming and going via Metro was uneventful, and there were still plenty of Josiah Gray bobbleheads when we entered the ballpark around 3:20 for the scheduled 4:05 start. The hard rain that delayed the start of the game was not unexpected, given the weather forecast. By 7:00, however, when I attempted to get an evening meal, concessions were a mess, with stands either out of featured items or closed altogether.