September 27, 2015 – Phillies 12, Nationals 5 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/151934548/nats-stung-by-big-9th-in-loss-to-phillies

 

Attendance: 28,661

Game Time: 3:02

Weather: 69 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 6 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Bill Welke, First Base - John Hirschbeck, Second Base - John Tumpane, Third Base - James Hoye

Seventh-inning stretch song: Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson f/ Bruno Mars

 

Quite a Fan Appreciation Day, in the wake of the Nationals fragging their manager

 

Aaron Harang actually pitched well for the Phils, going 6 innings and only allowing back-to-back dingers in the second by Desmond and den Dekker … Gio blanked Philadelphia through 5, before exiting with the dreaded “Gonzalez pitched to 5 batters in the 6^th” (3 singles followed by 2 bases-loaded walks) … Nats retook the lead with 2 in the bottom of the seventh, but it quickly vanished half an inning later, when Casey (“I think I underachieved a little bit”) Janssen served up a two-run tater to Jeff Francoeur … Papelbon recorded the final out of the eighth, which meant he was in the dugout for the fateful tussle with Harper … Pap was sent back back out for the ninth and gave up a two-run shot by noted slugger Andres Blanco (10 HRs in 800+ major-league at-bats), as the Phils put up an 8-spot … in addition to the promotional item of the day (red Nationals gloves), I snagged one of the caps that they were tossing into the Red Porch area in CF after the game ended

September 20, 2015 – Nationals 13, Marlins 3 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/150648910

 

Attendance: 28,444

Game Time: 2:57

Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 3 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Adam Hamari, First Base - Angel Hernandez, Second Base - Chris Conroy, Third Base - Ted Barrett

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones

 

Highlights – Judy Collins did the National Anthem and God Bless America … another dominating start by Strasburg (7 IP, 2 runs, 10 Ks, 1 BB, plus a hit and run scored as a batter) … on the second Sunday of the NFL season, Nats put up 2 FGs and a TD, stranding only 4 runners in the process … 2-run double by Werth in the first … after Marlins pulled within 3-2 in the top of the sixth, Nats put it away with 7 runs in the bottom of the frame, keyed by a 3-run Tyler Moore HR and later a bases-clearing double by Escobar (both with 2 outs) … catcher Pedro Severino had a major-league debut to remember, doubling and scoring in the Nats’ 3-run 8^th

 

Other – Ichiro struck out 3 times against Stras, marking the first time since June of 2010 that he had fanned multiple times in consecutive games

 

Another blown promotion: Nats had been aggressively running ads for this series in the Post, including $1 ice cream coupons. (I cut out 4 of them.) 35 minutes before the game even started, I went to one Nats Dog stand – no ice cream. They sent me to the stand in back of Section 314, where I was informed that the ice cream (for the weekend, apparently) was “all gone”. They did give out free small bags of salty snacks on the way out, perhaps in an effort to kiss and make up.

September 18 – Rays 8, Orioles 6 – Tropicana Field

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20150918150351032?game_pk=415846

 

Attendance: 10,697

Game Time: 2:51

Weather: indoors

Umpires: Home Plate - Sean Barber, First Base - Dale Scott, Second Base - CB Bucknor, Third Base - Lance Barrett

 

Section 104, Row M, Seat 7 – just to the right of home plate, about 8 rows from the field, second row back from the obviously-retrofitted luxury seats (wider, padded, with waiters)

 

Highlights – fan favorite Carlos Pena was honored before the game, after signing an honorary contract and officially retiring earlier in the day … Tim Beckham’s two-run homer in the bottom of the second took much of the sting out of J.J. Hardy’s 3-run blast in the top of the frame … Rays took the lead for good with 6 in the bottom of the fifth, pounding Tyler Wilson and Chaz Roe with a single and 4 doubles, with the biggest blow a bases-clearing double by Grady Sizemore out of the cleanup slot … Rays bullpen held the Os to one run over the final 3.1 innings to seal the win … rookie Mikie Mahtook went 5-5 with two doubles for Tampa Bay

 

Other – after fanning the first 4 batters he faced, winning pitcher Drew Smyly gave up the 3-run homer to Hardy in the second, and was lifted after Steve Pearce belted a 2-run shot in the sixth

September 17 – Orioles 4, Rays 3 – Tropicana Field

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20150917150141360?game_pk=415836

 

Attendance: 9,617

Game Time: 2:56

Weather: indoors

Umpires: Home Plate - Lance Barrett, First Base - Sean Barber, Second Base - Dale Scott, Third Base - CB Bucknor

Musical highlight – Melting Pot by Booker T. & The MGs, played during an 8^th-inning mound conference

 

Section 102, Row Q, Seat 1 – directly behind home plate, maybe 11 rows back from the field

 

Highlights – great start by Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore (7 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 9 Ks) … Rays scratched out 3 runs in the first 6 innings, including a John Jaso HR that got stuck in one of the catwalks hanging from the dome … former Nat Steven Souza Jr. played the whole game without an official at-bat, drawing 3 walks and getting hit by a pitch

 

Other – reliever Alex Colome wiped out Moore’s fine work in the eighth, giving up 4 singles with 2 out and 1 on as the Orioles took a 4-3 lead

 

Dome sweet dome -- It was good that the Rays could play ball indoors, as it was raining both when I walked to the Trop and after the game when I walked back to the hotel. The experience certainly wasn’t terrible: the seats were reasonably comfortable and the scoreboard actually provided more information (pitch counts for both pitchers visible at all times, type of pitch as well as speed) than at Nationals Park. The Cubano unfortunately was pre-made rather than grilled to order (pork BBQ Friday night was better), and the between-innings race between 3 bottles of different Pepsi products was not particularly inspiring. The fans who were there were enthusiastic; I imagine the noise level for a postseason game would be impressive.

September 7, 2015 – Mets 8, Nationals 5 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/147870556/mets-rally-tops-nats-to-extend-nl-east-lead

 

Attendance: 34,210

Game Time: 3:26

Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 1 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Paul Nauert, First Base - Dana DeMuth, Second Base - Mike Estabrook, Third Base - Ed Hickox

Seventh-inning stretch song: Twist & Shout – The Beatles

 

Section 416, Row E, Seat 1 – exactly two rows behind my usual seat, seemed a little less breezy and hence more stuffy

 

Highlights – in the top of the first after Granderson reached third with no outs (double on a ball Werth lost in the sun followed by a pitch that got past Ramos), Scherzer kept the Mets off the scoreboard (medium fly to right by Wright, strikeouts of Murphy and Cespedes) … Nats erased an early 3-0 deficit with a 5-run bottom of the fourth, keyed by a Ramos grand slam

 

Other – after putting the Nats in an early hole by allowing solo homers to Conforto, Kelly Johnson, and Cespedes, Scherzer couldn’t hold the lead, giving up one run each in the fifth and sixth … Nats bullpen imploded again in the seventh, as 4 relievers conspired to give up 3 runs … Nats failed to score off the Mets bullpen over the final 5 innings after knocking out Niese

September 6, 2015 – Nationals 8, Braves 4 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/147724724/nationals-sweep-braves-gain-in-nl-east-race

 

Attendance: 29,281

Game Time: 3:06

Weather: 84 degrees, sunny

Wind: 6 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Andy Fletcher, First Base - Clint Fagan, Second Base - Paul Emmel, Third Base - Jerry Meals

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones

 

Highlights – following the bottom of the ninth in the Mets-Marlins game by cellphone, which Martin Prado won for Miami on a walk-off sac fly after fouling off 6 straight 3-2 pitches from Clippard … 5-run second inning for the Nats to take the lead for good, featuring 2-run double by Taylor and 3-run homer by Werth … solo homers by Harper in the third and Rendon in the fourth … bullpen held the Braves scoreless over the last 4 innings … tried TaKorean for the first time (half-and-half bowl with brown rice, kimchi, and pork, plus a Jarritos lime soda)

 

Other – Joe Ross, showing signs of fatigue after a long season, wasn’t able to last 5 innings to get the victory … sloppy game overall, with 4 errors charged, plus a passed ball on a third strike

August 29, 2015 – Trenton Thunder 3, Altoona Curve 1 – Peoples Natural Gas Field

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150829&content_id=146184048&fext=.jsp&vkey=recap&sid=t452

 

Umpires: HP: Dan Merzel. 1B: Brian Peterson. 3B: Alex Tosi.

Weather: 83 degrees, clear.

Wind: 9 mph, Varies.

T: 2:36.

Att: 8,120.

Seventh-inning stretch song: Just “God Bless America” (Kate Smith recording) and “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

 

Highlights – nice post-game fireworks show for the large, appreciative crowd … very good grilled chicken sandwich … excellent late summer weather … Curve scored in the bottom of the seventh on an Adam Frazier double and a Max Moroff single to avert the shutout

 

Other –Thunder nicked starter and LP Matt Benedict for single runs in the 3^rd, 5^th, and 7^th … Curve stranded 12 base runners

August 27, 2015 – Nationals 4, Padres 2 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/145787146/joe-ross-strong-for-nationals-in-win

 

Attendance: 28,908

Game Time: 3:01

Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 6 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Hunter Wendelstedt, First Base - Marvin Hudson, Second Base - David Rackley, Third Base - Bob Davidson

Seventh-inning stretch song: Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson f/ Bruno Mars

 

Highlights – just when we had given up on any 400-level love, everybody in our section (416) won free buffet tickets from Maryland Live Casino … another excellent start for Joe Ross, who in 6 innings allowed just 1 (unearned) run and 1 (questionable) hit, while walking 2 and fanning 7 … Nats started off the bottom of the fifth by loading the bases with nobody out, then grabbed the lead by scoring two runs … Werth and Zimmerman added solo blasts in the sixth and seventh … great play by Rendon at 3B to save a run and end the top of the seventh … bullpen held the lead for the final three frames, with Pap converting a rare save opportunity … spent most of the game socializing with our “pet calendar” friends … was bold enough to drive down and back on a weekday (with navigational help), with both trips and the parking being blessedly uneventful

 

Other – Escobar left the game after getting hit on the wrist, and Taylor departed after running into the outfield wall … with Span unavailable (and later placed back on the DL), Nats were forced to use Fister as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, and finish the game with a defensive alignment that included Espinosa in LF

August 25, 2015 – Nationals 8, Padres 3 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/145349540/stephen-strasburg-strong-in-nationals-win

 

Attendance: 34,199

Game Time: 3:08

Weather: 82 degrees, clear

Wind: 5 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - David Rackley, First Base - Bob Davidson, Second Base - Hunter Wendelstedt, Third Base - Marvin Hudson

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones

 

Section 106, Row N, Seats 10-13 (left field, just on the fair side of the foul pole)

 

Highlights – another strong post-DL start for Strasburg (6 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 7 Ks), marred only by a 2-run second-inning homer by Jedd Gyorko … 2-run homer in the bottom of the second by Ramos to tie the game … grand slam by Zim in the 6^th to pretty much ice things … great weather once again … arrived in time to get the Anthony Rendon Garden Gnomes, despite spending about 15 minutes figuring out how to get DC to take our money for parking

August 23, 2015 – Nationals 9, Brewers 5 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/144856846/nationals-win-second-straight-over-brewers

 

Attendance: 28,039

Game Time: 3:03

Weather: 81 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 1 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Rob Drake, First Base - D.J. Reyburn, Second Base - Joe West, Third Base - Clint Fagan

Seventh-inning stretch song: I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown

 

On a perfect day for baseball, the struggling Nats desperately needed a win, coming off a disastrous 3-7 West Coast road trip and a split of the first two games of the series against the woeful Brewers. Things certainly did not start off well, as Nats-killer Scooter Gennett led off with a single to center and Jonathan Lucroy followed with a round-tripper, putting the home team in an immediate 2-0 hole off Jordan Zimmermann.

 

The Nats got one back in the bottom of the inning. Werth led off with a double, and Rendon got him to third with a grounder to second. Matt Garza then fanned Harper for the second out, but Zim picked him up with a double to center, scoring Rendon to cut the lead in half.

 

The Nats took the lead for good in the third, which started inauspiciously as Garza fanned the first two batters. He then walked Rendon with Harper on deck – generally not a good idea. Bryce doubled down the left field line, sending Rendon to third. Garza then walked Ryan Zimmerman (semi-intentionally?) on four pitches to bring up Desmond. Ian hit a high chopper to the right of the mound which Garza couldn’t handle to tie the score, and Danny Espinosa had the biggest hit of the game, just missing a home run on a double to right-center that cleared the bases.

 

The Nats extended their lead with another 4-spot in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Ramos homered, Michael Taylor drew a walk, and Zimmermann sacrificed him to second. The Brewers’ decision to lift Garza at that point backfired, as reliever Corey Knebel walked Werth on four pitches, then served up a homer to Rendon.

 

Zimmermann wasn’t at his sharpest but managed to get the win, giving up single runs in the fifth (a Gennett homer) and sixth before being taken out with two down in the sixth. Rivero, Janssen, Storen, and Papelbon got the Nats to the finish line, with the only damage being a Khris Davis four-bagger on the first pitch Drew threw in the eighth.

 

The Clara Barton Parkway route (leaving at 11:15) again worked reasonably well; despite a bottleneck on Independence Ave. (the Kutz Bridge was down to one lane) and a wrong turn on my part which took me onto Maine Avenue, I still made it in 40 minutes.

August 9, 2015 – Rockies 6, Nationals 4 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/142135252/carlos-gonzalez-leads-rockies-past-nationals

 

Attendance: 33,157

Game Time: 3:24

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 2 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Alan Porter, First Base - Mark Ripperger, Second Base - Jeff Kellogg, Third Base - Brian O'Nora

Seventh-inning stretch song: I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown

 

Highlights – Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth led off the bottom of the second with back-to-back home runs … Zimmerman went deep again in the third … new no-VA route to the park worked well (37 minutes)

 

Other – Max Scherzer was touched for 4 runs in 6 innings, including two solo dingers by the hot-hitting Carlos Gonzalez and one by the light-hitting Daniel Descalso … Storen gave up the deciding runs in the eighth inning for the second time in the series

 

If the Nats want an appropriate James Brown song for the seventh-inning stretch, perhaps they should go with “Talking Loud And Saying Nothing”, given that they’re a mere 4 games over .500 with more than 2/3 of the season now in the books. (Boswell’s column this morning, however, references Toots and the Maytals instead.) The safest prediction of the year is that, if the Nats are out of playoff contention going into their season-ending series in New York, Bryce will be hearing loud chants of “where’s my ring” from all of the Mets fans in attendance.

August 5, 2015 – Diamondbacks 11, Nationals 4 – Nationals Park

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/141445316/d-backs-capitalize-take-off-to-rout-nationals?game_pk=415252

 

Attendance: 37,572

Game Time: 3:56

Weather: 87 degrees, clear

Wind: 5 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Gabe Morales, First Base - Tripp Gibson, Second Base - Brian Gorman, Third Base - Mark Carlson

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones

 

Highlights – in the top of the first, Nats took maximum advantage of leadoff Escobar double and subsequent walks to Rendon and Harper, scoring 2 runs on sac flies by Zimmerman and Werth … Gio battled out of trouble throughout, fanning 7 and allowing the Diamondbacks to cross the plate only once before being lifted after yielding a leadoff single in the top of the sixth … Tyler Moore came in to face Paul Goldschmidt with one out in the ninth and got him out, then finished the inning without allowing a hit

 

Other – in short, one of the longest and ugliest games of the season … after taking the lead in the bottom of the first, Nats offense failed to score again until the bottom of the ninth, when they were 9 runs down … Aaron Barrett and Tanner Roark allowed the D-backs to take a 5-2 lead in the sixth after Gio’s departure, featuring a thrown-away bunt by the former and two consecutive walks to force in a run by the latter … Thornton and Rivero completed the bullpen meltdown by giving up 3 runs each in the 8^th and 9^th, respectively

July 19, 2015 – Dodgers 5, Nationals 0 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/137408936/zack-greinke-extends-scoreless-streak-in-win

 

Attendance: 40,293

Game Time: 3:14

Weather: 93 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 0 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Bill Miller, First Base - Doug Eddings, Second Base - Jim Wolf, Third Base - Adrian Johnson

Seventh-inning stretch song: Cantina Theme (Star Wars)

 

Highlights – Scherzer had to work out of trouble a few times, but held the Dodgers to one run in 6 innings … the bullpen kept the game close until the 9^th inning … Thomas Jefferson looked fetching in his Princess Leia outfit … there will still R2-D2 Can Coolers left when we got to the game (around 12:25)

 

Other – the Nats allowed Zach Greinke to extend his remarkable scoreless-inning streak to 43⅔ innings, nicking him for only 3 singles and a walk during his 8 innings of work while fanning 11 times (after striking out 14 times against Kershaw on Saturday) … the since-demoted Blake Treinen allowed 5 hits and 4 runs in the top of the ninth while retiring only one batter … the dark side won the Presidents’ Race as well as the ball game … Metro worked well on the trip home, but on the way down we had to wait 15 minutes at Gallery Place before a Green Line train arrived … it was a bit on the warm side, despite the shade and occasional breeze in our seats

July 5, 2015 – Nationals 3, Giants 1 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/134968464

 

Attendance: 33,157

Game Time: 3:02

Weather: 83 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 3 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Phil Cuzzi, First Base - Gerry Davis, Second Base - Pat Hoberg, Third Base - Will Little

Seventh-inning stretch song: Higher Love – Steve Winwood

 

Highlights – 7 effective innings by Jordan Zimmermann (3 hits, 1 walk, 8 Ks, 100 pitches), with the only blemish being a fourth-inning homer by Brandon Crawford on a 3-0 pitch … 2^nd-inning RBI single by Michael A. Taylor after leadoff walks to Ramos and Espinosa … 6^th-inning solo homer by Ramos to restore the Nats’ lead … 8^th-inning insurance run on Harper double and Ramos single … another home save (and free Chick-Fil-A sandwich) courtesy of Drew Storen … periodic updates on the U.S. Women’s World Cup championship win over Japan, which elicited enthusiastic crowd chants of U-S-A

 

Other – beat the traffic by leaving Rockville 5 hours before game time (we wanted to arrive early enough to eat at Nando’s and get to the stadium in time for the Strasburg bobbleheads (no, they didn’t portray him clutching some body part on the way to the DL))

June 21, 2015 – Nationals 9, Pirates 2 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/132070802/nationals-cruise-to-sweep-with-rout-of-bucs

 

Attendance: 40,015

Game Time: 2:34

Weather: 87 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 11 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Sean Barber, First Base - Mark Wegner, Second Base - Mike Winters, Third Base - Mike Muchlinski

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones (excellent choice!)

 

Highlights – 2-run Harper homer, 3-run Escobar shot, double by Gio, all in a 9-run first inning off poor Charlie Morton, who was lifted before getting the third out and saw his ERA rise from an excellent 1.62 to a pedestrian 3.97 … 7 shutout innings by Gonzalez in an efficient 85 pitches … Pirates outfielder José Tabata, who ruined Scherzer’s perfect game bid Saturday by managing to get plunked by a pitch with two out in the ninth, was booed lustily by the sellout crowd every time he came to the plate

 

Other – inbound traffic worse every game; left home at 11:30, got to the bridge that replaced the old Humpback Bridge on the GW Parkway just before noon, took 25 minutes to make it the rest of the way

June 7, 2015 – Cubs 6, Nationals 3 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/129218082/cubs-grind-out-third-win-in-washington

 

Attendance: 40,939

Game Time: 3:12

Weather: 79 degrees, overcast

Wind: 4 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Kerwin Danley, First Base - Gabe Morales, Second Base - Rob Drake, Third Base - Joe West

Seventh-inning stretch song: Twist & Shout – The Beatles

 

Highlights – perfect baseball weather … sellout crowd … Metropolitan Washington Ear recognized on the scoreboard at the end of the fourth inning … Desmond 2-run homer in second gave Nats a two-run lead … after Cubs took a 4-2 lead, Nats rallied in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit in half … bullpen held Cubs scoreless over last 3 innings

 

Other – Jordan Zimmermann struggled, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings … Blake Treinen let Cubs expand lead to 6-3 in top of the sixth, giving up 2 hits, 3 walks and a wild pitch … Nats lost their 8^th game in the last 10 and fell behind the Mets into second place in the NL East

May 24, 2015 – Nationals 4, Phillies 1 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/126328426/timely-hits-strong-gio-lift-nationals-over-phillies

 

Attendance: 41,044

Game Time: 2:45

Weather: 76 degrees, sunny

Wind: 8 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Ben May, First Base - Bruce Dreckman, Second Base - Alfonso Marquez, Third Base - Dan Bellino

Seventh-inning stretch song: Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson f/ Bruno Mars

 

Bryce Harper didn’t hit one out today but positively impacted the game in other ways. He drove in the Nats’ second run in the bottom of the fifth with a groundout, scoring Escobar who had just tripled. Two innings later, with Span on third and two outs, he singled in Span and then scored on Ryan Zimmerman’s double. In the top of the inning, he threw out the Phils’ Odubel Herrera at second on what looked like a single to right.

 

Gio Gonzalez held the Phils down for 6.1 innings, and Matt Williams played his bullpen cards perfectly, using Barrett, Grace, and Janssen to bridge the gap to Storen, who notched his 14^th save and won free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches for all of the 40,000+ in attendance. (This is getting to be an expensive promotion, which I don’t expect to be repeated next season.)

 

Phils manager Ryne Sandberg’s bullpen moves didn’t work out nearly as well for him. In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs and Denard Span on third, he elected to bring in LHP Jake Diekman to pitch to Harper, rather than simply walking him and keeping the right-handed Justin DeFratus in to face Ryan Zimmerman. Harper foiled the strategy by singling in Span, and then Zimmerman added insult to injury against Diekman by doubling in an additional insurance run.

 

Worst traffic ever getting to the stadium, with the GW Parkway backed up almost all the way to the Memorial Bridge. Left home at 11:30, didn’t get to my parking lot until an hour later.

May 15, 2015 – Nationals 10, Padres 0 – Petco Park (San Diego)

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/124620866/bryce-harper-hits-13th-homer-as-nationals-rout-padres

 

Umpires: HP: Pat Hoberg. 1B: Gerry Davis. 2B: Phil Cuzzi. 3B: Tony Randazzo.

Weather: 64 degrees, clear.

Wind: 17 mph, L to R.

T: 2:43.

Att: 26,166.

Section FI108, Row 32, Seat 1 – not nearly as close as last night (Friday nights are more expensive), but certainly not bad (lower level, about halfway between home and third base)

Seventh-inning stretch song: Twist & Shout – The Beatles

 

Highlights – rain finally stopped mid-afternoon, so had a much more pleasant (although somewhat chilly) evening … first inning started with 4 consecutive singles and a bases-loaded walk to Zimmerman … added two more first-inning runs on a double-play grounder and then a Desmond single … widened lead to 7-0 before anyone was retired in the top of the third on 3 singles and a 2-run Espinosa double … added single runs in the 4^th (Harper homer), 6^th, and 7^th … 10 different Nats had hits, including all 9 starters … JZimm blanked the Padres for the first 6 innings, and rookie A. J. Cole allowed only one hit over the final 3 frames to “save” the 10-run lead

Other – Jayson Werth had to leave the game in the second inning after being hit by a pitch on his left wrist
 

May 14, 2015 – Padres 8, Nationals 3 – Petco Park (San Diego)

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/124455786/after-rain-delay-padres-derek-norris-has-five-rbis-in-win-over-nationals

 

Umpires: HP: Tony Randazzo. 1B: Pat Hoberg. 2B: Gerry Davis. 3B: Phil Cuzzi.

Weather: 60 degrees, drizzle.

Wind: 4 mph, Varies.

T: 2:44 (1:56 delay).

Att: 22,710.

Section FV101, Row 11, Seat 15 – just a bit down the first base line, just a few rows behind the 4-5 rows of “Lexus Home Plate Club” super-premium seats – great location (and one that would be unaffordable in Nationals Park), but no particular perks (sitting in one of the “Field VIP” sections, I had at least expected an usher to offer to wipe off my seat)

Personal choice for song of the day: It Never Rains In Southern California – Albert Hammond

 

Highlights – no rain on the one-mile walk through the Gaslamp Quarter to the park, either coming or going … the rain that started once I got to the stadium stopped in time for them to remove the tarp around 6:30, and there was some blue sky for the next half-hour … after 3 innings of nonexistent offense, Nats broke through against Padres starter Tyson Ross for single runs in the 4^th and 5^th … strong relief work by Treinen and Grace held San Diego to just one run over the last 6 frames

 

Other – rain resumed as the game started, and play was halted after Ross struck out Nats leadoff hitter Denard Span … the ensuing almost 2-hour rain delay was the first at Petco since April 2011, and only the fifth since the park opened in 2004 … after retiring the first two Padres batters in the bottom of the first, Fister yielded 3 runs on two singles and a Derek Norris homer … San Diego struck for 4 more runs in the second, capped by a two-run Norris triple … started raining again in the bottom of the 4^th; I held out until the Nats were finally retired in the top of the 5^th, making it an official game

May 10, 2015 – Nationals 5, Braves 4 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/123524096/wilson-ramos-caps-nationals-rally-in-8th-to-edge-braves

 

Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: Manny Gonzalez. 2B: Paul Schrieber. 3B: Fieldin Culbreth.

Weather: 80 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 4 mph, Out to CF.

T: 2:51.

Att: 31,938.

Seventh-inning stretch song: I Can’t Help Myself – The Four Tops

 

Highlights – 3-run Nats first inning, featuring a mere double to deep center by Bryce Harper … 2-run game-winning rally by Nats in bottom of the eighth (Desmond single, Werth walk, Zimmerman single, Ramos double) … scoreless top of the eighth by Sammy Solis to get his first major-league win … 1-2-3 ninth by Storen to save it and win everyone Chick-Fil-A sandwiches

 

Other – Nats (Uggla, Werth, Ramos) made 3 unnecessary outs on the bases … Jordan Zimmermann struggled with his command all day, making the Nats 3-run lead vanish by the middle of the third, and giving up 3 hits to Atlanta starter Alex Wood (matching his previous career hit total) … despite Zimmermann’s problems, Matt Williams let him lead off the bottom of the fifth, despite being at the 90-pitch mark