September 26, 2018 – Nats 9, Marlins 3 (7 innings) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/victor-robles-posts-four-hits-to-beat-marlins/c-296171248

 

Attendance: 28,680

Duration: 2:45

Weather: 84 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: SW 11 MPH

Umpires: HP: Whitson. 1B: Miller. 2B: Hernandez. 3B: Porter.

 

Section 318, Row F, Seats 14-16 – about halfway down the first-base line, back row

 

Final home game of the season – the good, the bad, and the mixed. Looking forward, and looking back.

 

Since Tanner Roark was with his family awaiting the birth of their third child, recent call-up Kyle McGowin got his first opportunity to start a major-league game. After retiring the first 11 Miami batters and holding the Marlins scoreless through 4 innings, he was forced to leave the game with a blister, unable to get the 5 innings of work that would have made him the winning pitcher.

 

Top prospect Victor Robles provided hope for the future with a monster offensive game, going 4 for 5 with a double, homer, and 5 RBI. Fellow rookies Juan Soto, Spencer Kieboom, and Adrian Sanchez joined Robles to account for all but one of the team’s 12 hits, while Robles and Kieboom combined for all 8 of the runs batted in. The Nats got all the runs they needed with 5 in the 2^nd off Wei-Yin Chen, and broke the game wide open with 4 more in the 5^th off Brett Graves.

 

The game’s ending was also fitting, as the threatened thunderstorms appeared with a vengeance just as the 7^th inning ended.

 

And Bryce Harper, in possibly his final home game as a National, went 0-4, striking out twice. He would have led off the 8^th inning with the chance for a more positive finale, but the game never resumed.

September 21, 2018 – Mets 4, Nats 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/nationals-loss-ends-nl-east-title-chase/c-295556846

 

Attendance: 37,895

Duration: 2:57

Weather: 75 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: S 13 MPH

Umpires: HP: Holbrook. 1B: Segal. 2B: Wolf. 3B: Reyburn.

 

Section 321, Row E, Seats 8-9 – last 300-level section down the right field line, next-to-last row from the top

 

Jacob deGrom vs. Joe Ross = predictable outcome

 

Game notes – the visitors took a quick lead when Jay Bruce singled in Amed Rosario, who had reached second when Victor Robles misjudged his leadoff fly to center … Nats tied things up in the bottom of the 2^nd as Rendon drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a Soto single, and scored on Zim’s sac fly … the Mets answered right back with 3 in the top of the 3^rd as Ross gave up 4 doubles and a single, with one run being unearned due to Rendon’s error … Ross exited after 6 without allowing further damage, while deGrom in all likelihood locked up the Cy Young with 7 innings of 1-run, 3-hit ball while fanning 8 … Washington drew closer in the bottom of the 9^th when Turner led off with a double and scored on Rendon’s one-out single, but New York closer Robert Gsellman retired Soto and Zimmerman to end the game

 

Other – the concession lines continue to be ridiculously long and slow, a situation not helped by keeping several stands closed despite the large crowd, and by the staff’s tendency to ignore fans waiting in the “express” eCash-only lines

September 14, 2018 – Royals 8, Twins 4 – Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City)

https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/salvador-perez-hits-walk-off-grand-slam/c-294683384

 

Attendance: 18,389

Duration: 3:15

Weather: 86 degrees, Clear

Wind: SSE 4 MPH

Umpires: HP: Cederstrom. 1B: May. 2B: Blaser. 3B: Scheurwater.

 

Section 311, Row G, Seat 14 – “Lexus Infield” section, second level, under the upper deck overhang, looking down the first base line

 

Game notes – Minnesota starter Jose Berrios struggled early, giving up a run in each of the first two innings, but collected himself to blank the Royals over the next 4 frames … Jorge Lopez, who took a perfect game into the 9^th inning in his previous start, scattered 5 hits over the first 4 innings, but ran into trouble in the 5^th after colliding with Hunter Dozier on a leadoff chopper, subsequently giving up RBI hits by Joe Mauer, Jake Cave, and Robbie Grossman before leaving with a left rib contusion … the Twins managed another run in the 7^th, but Adelberto Mondesi answered with a homer in the bottom of the inning … the 8^th saw former Phillie Ben Lively toss a scoreless top, while the Royals just missed tying the game when Ryan O’Hearn was thrown out trying to score from first with two outs on Jorge Bonifacio’s double … with one out in the 9^th, a double by Rosell Herrera followed by singles by Whit Merrifield and Mondesi tied the game and put the winning run on third … after the Twins intentionally walked Alex Gordon and deployed a 5-man infield, Salvador Perez fell behind 0-2, then worked the count full and blasted a hanging slider over the wall in CF to end the game

 

Other – picked up on a BBQ sandwich ($9.25) and Dunkin’ Donut Munchkins ($5.75) for a snack afterwards … spoke to one of the parking lot attendants right after I parked, which helped me have a somewhat easier time getting out of the lot post-game … still, the location markers in the lots (at least Lot A) are few and far between, making finding your car after dark a challenge

 

Viewed as a club-type section, the “Lexus Infield” area was disappointing. The concourse was covered but not enclosed, with air-conditioning only in the small team store and the George Brett Lounge (which requires a special ticket). There were a few out-of-the-ordinary food items in the bar area at the end, but otherwise not much in the way of food variety, and there were almost no tables. On the good side, the area was not very crowded, and concession lines were short.

September 13, 2018 – Royals 6, Twins 4 – Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City)

https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/heath-fillmyer-posts-longest-start-vs-twins/c-294559756

 

Attendance: 18,745

Duration: 3:12

Weather: 81 degrees, Clear

Wind: SSW 11 MPH

Umpires: HP: Scheurwater. 1B: Cederstrom. 2B: May. 3B: Blaser

 

Section 133, Row E, Seat 7 – halfway down the first base line, 5 rows behind the home team dugout; not a “premium” seat, and a bargain at $50.00 (all seats were significantly cheaper than for the Friday game)

 

Game notes – Heath Fillmyer turned in a great outing for KC, giving up a 2-run homer to Jake Cave in the 2^nd but allowing only 2 more baserunners through the 7^th inning … Twins “opener” Gabriel Moya and Stephen Gonsalves held the Royals without a hit through the first 5 innings … the home team did waste a great scoring chance in the 4^th after the first two batters walked and advanced on a wild pitch … Kansas City did get a run without benefit of a hit an inning later, when Whit Merrifield walked with 2 outs and scored all the way from first on an error by Minnesota shortstop Jorge Polanco … the Royals finally broke out in the 6^th, when a Hunter Dozier double and back-to-back homers by Salvador Perez and Jorge Bonifacio sent Alan Busenitz to an early shower without retiring a batter, after which the home team tacked on one more run … Fillmyer departed in the 8^th with 1 down and runners on the corners … Brian Flynn allowed 2 straight singles to score a run and leave the bases loaded, after which Brandon Maurer allowed a sac fly before Jerry Vasto recorded the final out … Merrifield manufactured an insurance run in the bottom of the frame, as he drew a walk, advanced to 3^rd on a stolen base / overthrow of 2^nd, and scored on a grounder despite the drawn-in infield … KC closer Wily Peralta pitched a clean top of the 9^th, fanning pinch-hitter Joe Mauer to end the game

 

Other – the main and auxiliary video screens were good at providing batter statistics and pitch speed/type/counts, but they didn’t have (or I couldn’t find) a place to post scoring decisions or inform the fans about pitchers warming up in the bullpen … got a good grilled chicken sandwich for $8.00 and a generous bag of popcorn for $5.25 … shortly after parking I realized I had left my phone in the car and took at least 10 minutes to find it (the car, not the phone) … having made careful notes, I had no trouble locating my vehicle after the game, but getting out of the stadium complex was a free-for-all, and I then sat for 20 minutes without moving on I-70, due to an accident on a stretch that was down to a single lane because of road work

September 11, 2018 – Cardinals 11, Pirates 5 – Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/marcell-ozuna-backs-miles-mikolas-in-victory/c-294259286

 

Attendance: 37,187

Duration: 3:23

Weather: 67 degrees, Clear

Wind: N 0 MPH

Umpires: HP: Nelson. 1B: Fletcher. 2B: Diaz. 3B: Gonzalez.

 

Section 254, Row 4, Seat 11 – Infield Redbird Club, 200 level, about halfway down the third-base line

 

Game notes – Miles Mikolas fanned an unusually high (for him) 7 batters in his 7 innings of work for St. Louis, allowing just a single run on 5 hits and 1 walk … the Cards plated 2 in the first on a two-run double by Marcell Ozuna, but didn’t manage another baserunner for the next 4 frames … they finally scored another 2 runs in the 6^th on a wild pitch by Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams and a sac fly by Paul DeJong, and widened their lead on another wild pitch an inning later … the home team broke it open with 6 in the bottom of the 8^th, ruining the major-league debut of Nick Burdi, who gave up a 3-run moonshot to Tyler O’Neill … the Pittsburgh offense finally came to life at the end, scoring 4 off Luke Weaver before Tuesday night’s winning pitcher John Brebbia was summoned to record the final out

 

Other – the “Infield Redbird Club” seemed more spacious and less crowded than the comparable area at Nationals Park, and they also had reasonably-priced pizza slices ($5.75 for cheese, pepperoni, or veggie)

September 10, 2018 – Cardinals 8, Pirates 7 – Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/matt-adams-clutch-hr-powers-cards-past-pirates/c-294095566

 

Attendance: 33,566

Duration: 2:55

Weather: 67 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: SSW 4 MPH

Umpires: HP: Gonzalez. 1B: Nelson. 2B: Fletcher. 3B: Diaz.

 

Section 147, Row 7, Seat 9 – Home Field Box, just to the right of home plate, seventh row behind several rows of premium seating

 

Game notes – long-time St. Louis stalwart Adam Wainwright got an extended standing ovation when he strolled in from the bullpen, returning from a 4-month stint on the DL, and breezed through the 1^st inning … he then allowed a solo homer in the 2^nd and 3 more runs in the 3^rd, but recovered to retire the final 8 batters he faced … Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams was perfect through the first 3 frames, but the Cards tied things up in the 4^th on 4 hits and a sac fly … the Pirates retook the lead in the 6^th, scoring one run each off St. Louis relievers Chasen Shreve and Dominic Leone … the home team struck for another 4-run inning in the bottom of the 8^th, with the big blow being a 3-run HR by Matt Adams … recently-announced closer Carlos Martinez did allow a run in the top of the 9^th, but the Cardinals survived when shortstop Paul DeJong threw out Francisco Cervelli on a grounder deep in the hole, on a play close enough that it was reviewed (and upheld) while the post-game victory fireworks were going off

 

Other – perfect short-sleeve weather throughout the evening, with no humidity and almost no wind … the hot dogs ($5.00) and chocolate éclair ice cream bars ($3.25) are both considerably cheaper than those in DC; other concession items not so much … in a cute touch, they played several seconds of “Who Are You” just before announcing the Pirates’ starting lineup … I wound up sitting next to perhaps the only person in the stands wearing the jersey of winning pitcher John Brebbia (said he liked the beard)

September 2, 2018 – Brewers 9, Nats 4 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/jefry-rodriguez-nats-fall-in-finale-to-crew/c-293019034

Attendance: 33,032

Duration: 3:22

Weather: 88 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: S 7 MPH

Umpires: HP: Hoberg. 1B: Knight. 2B: Whitson. 3B: Carlson. 

Game notes – Nats starter Jefry Rodriguez walked the first two batters of the game, both of whom scored on Mike Moustakas’s single … Nats narrowed the deficit an inning later on Difo’s homer, and took the lead with 3 in the in the 3^rd, on singles by Soto and Reynolds after loading the bases … the Brewers basically put the game away by scoring 7 runs with 2 out in the 5^th inning, starting when Rodriguez yielded a 3-run homer to Keon Broxton … things went from bad to worse when Tim Collins relieved Rodriguez with 2 on, walked the next batter on 4 pitches, then served up a grand slam to Christian Yelich … Washington pitchers tied a team record for a 9-inning game by walking 11 (7 by Rodriguez) … Austen Williams made his major league debut and provided 2 scoreless innings in relief of Collins 

Note – After the game, Davey said that several relievers were unavailable, which led him to keep Rodriguez (whose 100 pitches included 50 balls and 50 strikes) in the game even after the Broxton homer. There’s really no excuse for a major league team to be short of pitchers in September with the 25-man roster limit no longer in effect, but the team’s decision to delay calling up additional bullpen help (beyond Williams) is on management (and ownership?), not on Martinez.

August 22, 2018 – Nats 8, Phillies 7 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/ryan-zimmerman-hits-2-run-walk-off-homer/c-291475236

 

Attendance: 31,855

Duration: 3:45

Weather: 80 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: NNW 9 MPH

Umpires: HP: Gary Cederstrom. 1B: Eric Cooper. 2B: Ramon De Jesus. 3B: Stu Scheurwater.

 

Game notes – Strasburg struggled in his return from the DL, giving up 2 doubles and a Maikel Franco HR in the first after fanning the first two batters, a Justin Bour homer in the third, and an RBI single by Roman Quinn in the fourth before being lifted … Nats answered back each time, with a run in the first, 3 to tie in the third (on RBI hits by Harper, Soto, and Wieters), and 1 more in the fourth … after Phillies starter Zach Eflin gave up 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, the Philadelphia bullpen held the home team scoreless until the eighth … Philadelphia took a 7-5 lead with a run in the sixth off Wander Suero and a solo HR by Cesar Hernandez an inning later … Washington narrowed the deficit to a single run in the bottom of the eighth when Wilmer Difo (replacing the traded Daniel Murphy) led off with a triple off Pat Neshek and scored on a sac fly by Andrew Stevenson (recalled Tuesday to replace the traded Matt Adams) … after Seranthony Dominguez retired Harper and Rendon in the bottom of the ninth, Soto dumped a double into RF and Ryan Zimmerman supplied the 11^th walk-off homer of his career, after review reversed the initial call of a double

 

Other – we started heading out after Rendon’s at-bat in the ninth to be sure of not missing the final Metro train of the evening

August 19, 2018 – Marlins 12, Nats 1 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/gio-gonzalez-rocked-in-nats-loss-vs-marlins/c-291032340

 

Attendance: 31,435

Duration: 2:40

Weather: 86 degrees, Partly cloudy

Wind: NNW 7 MPH

Umpires: HP: Will Little. 1B: Kerwin Danley. 2B: Ben May. 3B: Ted Barrett.

 

Boswell: After latest horror show, season feels officially dead

 

Game notes – Gio again dug a deep hole, allowing 3 runs in the 3^rd (two resulting from walks) and 3 more in the 5^th before being lifted … Greg Holland relieved Gio and allowed his two inherited runners to score … Tommy Milone absorbed the final 4 innings, allowing 3 Miami round-trippers … Harper contributed to the debacle by failing to reach 2 catchable balls in the 3^rd, and dropping one for an error in the 7^th … Turner booted an easy grounder in the 8^th, at which point we decided to leave … Nats “offense” consisted of doubles by Wieters and Eaton in the bottom of the 3^rd … Miami villain Jose Urena pitched a two-hit complete game, retiring the final 16 Nats after walking Soto for the second time in the 4^th

 

Other – our early departure from Rockville paid off, as we got one of the final remaining parking spaces along Half Street SW

August 17, 2018 – Nats 8, Marlins 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/bryce-harper-collects-500th-rbi-in-win/c-290787052

 

Attendance: 37,106

Duration: 3:03

Weather: 80 degrees, Overcast

Wind: SSW 7 MPH

Umpires: HP: Ben May. 1B: Ted Barrett. 2B: Will Little. 3B: Kerwin Danley.

 

Section 320, Row E, Seats 3-5 – next-to-last 300-level section down the right field line, next-to-last row from the top

 

Game notes – Scherzer got his 16^th win of the season, blanking Miami through 6 innings on 5 hits and 1 walk while fanning 7 … he also contributed at the plate, scoring from second on a Harper single in the 3^rd, doubling an inning later and scoring on Eaton’s double … Zim and Wieters hit solo homers in the 3^rd and 5^th respectively, and Bryce manufactured a run in the 4^th, hustling out a double, reaching third on a wild pitch, and scoring on Rendon’s sac fly … Trevor Gott gave up 2 runs in the top of the 7^th before Grace came in to end the inning … Nats got those 2 runs back plus 1 in the bottom of the frame, featuring 5 Nats singles and 2 Marlins errors

 

Other – a light rain fell through parts of the game, although the threatened thunderstorms never materialized

August 5, 2018 – Nats 2, Reds 1 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/tanner-roark-goes-7-nats-win-series-vs-red/c-289018082

 

Attendance: 33,486

Duration: 2:39

Weather: 90 degrees, Partly Cloudy

Wind: 5 MPH, L to R

Umpires: HP: Jeff Nelson. 1B: Chad Whitson. 2B: Manny Gonzalez. 3B: Andy Fletcher.

 

Game notes – the Nats scored their only runs early, on a second-inning HR by Matt Wieters and a two-out RBI double by Harper an inning later … Tanner Roark had another strong outing, lasting 7 innings after surviving a 4^th inning that started with 4 straight singles … Madson and Herrera finished things off by retiring all 6 batters they faced

 

Other – the actual crowd appeared to be significantly smaller than the announced attendance on an extremely hot, humid afternoon … our old go-to parking area was fenced off due to impending demolition/construction, so apparently we will need to find somewhere else

July 22, 2018 – Nats 6, Padres 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/kelvin-herrera-bryce-harper-lead-nats-to-win/c-286907108

 

Attendance: 39,063

Duration: 3:26

Weather: 76 degrees, Partly Cloudy

Wind: 4 MPH Varies

Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Chris Conroy. 2B: Brian O'Nora. 3B: Fieldin Culbreth.

 

Game notes – Nats took a quick lead in the bottom of the first on an Eaton leadoff single, Harper walk, 2-run triple by Rendon and an RBI groundout by Juan Soto … Scherzer allowed 8 hits and ran up a high pitch count through the first 4 innings, but was able to go 6 and depart with a 3-2 lead … the home team added insurance runs in the sixth (consecutive 2-out singles by Eaton, Turner, and Harper), seventh (RBI single by Matt Adams following a Soto double), and eighth (Harper round-tripper) … meanwhile, 4 Nats relievers allowed 6 more Atlanta hits but no runs over the final 3 frames, with Kelvin Herrera recording the 5-out save … Nats defense was stellar, robbing two Atlanta hitters of extra bases and rubbing out two runners at second base

 

Other – after all-day rain forced the postponement of Saturday night’s game, this one had a 1:55 delay (featuring a major storm in the middle) before finally getting underway at 3:30, as well as a 1:38 delay at the end of the 6^th inning (we left partway through the latter)

July 17, 2018 – American League 8, National League 6, 10 innings (All-Star Game) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/news/american-league-wins-all-star-game-in-extras/c-286288460 

Attendance: 43,843

Duration: 3:34

Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy

Wind: 3 MPH Out to Center

Umpires: HP: Ted Barrett. 1B: Jim Reynolds. 2B: Alfonso Márquez. 3B: Andy Fletcher. LF: Mike Muchlinski. RF: Cory Blaser. 

Section 312, Row D, Seats 18-19 – great seats, on the aisle and almost directly behind home plate. Not sure how we managed that … 

Overall summary – It was the perfect game for 2018, with almost half of the plate appearances ending in one of the Three True Outcomes (strikeout, walk, homer). The 10 home runs obliterated the previous All-Star record of 6, and there were more strikeouts (25) than hits (20). Only one run scored on something other than a four-bagger. Somewhat unexpectedly, relief aces for both leagues were pounded, and a starting pitcher got the save. Beyond that, it was actually a calm game for the first 7 innings, and an offensive explosion for the final 3. 

Game notes (innings 1-7) – hometown hero Max Scherzer got the start for the NL, fanning Mookie Betts and Jose Altuve to begin the evening, adding Ks of Jose Abreu and Salvador Perez to end his outing in the second after an Aaron Judge homer … Mike Trout added to the AL lead with a round-tripper off Jacob deGrom an inning later, but Willson Contreras got the home team on the board in the bottom of the frame by taking Blake Snell deep on his first pitch … the NL finally tied it following the seventh-inning stretch on a shot by Trevor Story off Charlie Morton … other than that the pitchers were in control, with Phillies ace Aaron Nola tossing a scoreless 5^th … Bryce Harper struck out in both of his plate appearances

Game notes (innings 8-10) – in the top of the 8^th with 2 on and 1 out, Joey Votto dropped a pop fly for an error (drawing boos and sarcastic cheers for the rest of the game), and Jean Segura made him pay by homering on the next pitch for a 5-2 AL lead … Christian Yelich got one back in the bottom of the inning with a HR off Morton … in the bottom of the 9^th, pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett electrified the crowd with a one-out, two-run homer of AL saves leader Edwin Diaz to tie the game at 5 … the hometown good feelings wouldn’t last long, as the visitors scored 3 in the top of the 10^th, starting with back-to-back longballs by Houston teammates Alex Bregman and George Springer off Ross Stripling … Votto only partially atoned for his earlier miscue by homering on the first pitch from J.A. Happ, who nevertheless earned the first save of his career

 

Other – there was a big storm earlier in the day, but only a brief, relatively light rain during the game … we were able to get going quickly on the Green Line after the game (which ended just before midnight), and a Red Line train was just arriving when we got to Gallery Place, but we then had a lengthy wait there waiting for a problem ahead of us to be cleared up

 

July 15, 2018 – Team USA 10, Team World 6 (All-Star Futures Game) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/news/usa-defeats-world-in-futures-game/c-286024578

 

Attendance: 38,071 (many disguised as empty seats)

Duration: 3:01

Weather: 86 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 9 mph, Out to LF

Umpires: HP: Malachi Moore. 1B: Edwin Moscoso. 2B: Kyle McCrady. 3B: John Mang

 

Section 306, Row C, Seats 3-5 (still on the 3B side, but down the LF line)

 

Game notes – back and forth game, with most of the runs scoring on the 8 home runs, 2 of them courtesy of Dodgers OF prospect Yusniel Diaz (World) … 18-year-old fireballer Hunter Greene (USA) of the Reds, who was the 2^nd pick in last year’s draft, hit triple digits with each of his 19 fastballs, one of which (at 102.3 mph) was turned around for a 2-run HR by White Sox OF Luis Alexander Basabe … the US finally took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh off Philadelphia pitcher Adonis Medina, a last-minute addition to the roster (he replaced Enyel de los Santos, who wound up as the starting pitcher for the Phillies earlier in the afternoon) … frequent mid-inning pitching changes contributed to the length of the game

July 8, 2018 – Marlins 10, Nats 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/tanner-roark-struggles-as-nats-fall-to-marlins/c-284840526

 

Attendance: 30,464

Duration: 3:43

Weather: 77 degrees, Clear

Wind: 9 MPH In From Right

Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: John Tumpane. 2B: Mike DiMuro. 3B: Mark Wegner.

 

Beautiful weather, lousy ballgame

 

Game notes – Tanner Roark’s struggles continued, as he required 102 pitches to get through 4 innings, allowing 15 baserunners and 4 runs … the short outing forced Grace, Miller, Kintzler, and Madson to each throw at least 17 pitches despite plenty of other recent work … Mark Reynolds had to record the last out in the top of the 9^th, after Madson retired only 2 of the 8 batters he faced … going into the 9^th, Miami had 18 hits, all of which were singles … Nats drew 9 walks but managed only 5 hits, leaving 13 on base (the Marlins stranded 17) … Nats scored 14 and 18 runs in the 2 games of the series we did NOT attend

July 6, 2018 – Nats 3, Marlins 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/mark-reynolds-hits-pinch-hr-for-walk-off-win/c-284551684

 

Attendance: 32,652

Duration: 3:13

Weather: 85 degrees, Mostly Cloudy

Wind: 11 MPH In From Center

Umpires: HP: Mike DiMuro. 1B: Mark Wegner. 2B: Jim Reynolds. 3B: John Tumpane.

 

Section 318, Row C, Seats 3-5 (about halfway between home and first base)

 

Game notes – Gio struggled with his pitch count from the outset, finally giving up a run in the top of the 3^rd … Nats took the lead an inning later when Rendon and Harper drew walks to start the inning, followed by RBI singles from Eaton and Difo … Gonzalez issued a bases-loaded walk in the top of the 5^th to tie the score, but then finished his 114-pitch outing by fanning Justin Bour and Garrett Cooper … Rendon and Harper also led off the bottom of the 8^th with walks, followed by a Matt Adams infield single, but Washington stranded all 3 runners … Mark Reynolds pinch-hit for Doolittle to lead off the 9^th and hit a walk-off HR to left

 

Other – comfortable evening after several days of intense heat and humidity … long concession lines despite a less-than-sellout crowd for the Bryce Harper bobblehead

July 2, 2018 – Red Sox 4, Nats 3 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/max-scherzer-records-1000th-nats-strikeout/c-283970100

 

Attendance: 39,002

Duration: 3:15

Weather: 95 degrees, Clear

Wind: 10 MPH Out to Center

Umpires: HP: Jerry Layne. 1B: Vic Carapazza. 2B: Jordan Baker. 3B: Jeremie Rehak.

 

Game notes – after retiring the visitors 1-2-3 in the 1^st, Scherzer ran into trouble the next inning, when a single, hit batter, and a wild pitch gave Boston runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with 2 out … Nats elected to walk the light-hitting Jackie Bradley Jr., which backfired spectacularly when pitcher Rick Porcello doubled to clear the bases … Max ran into more trouble in the 3^rd, with his pitch count mounting, but recovered to last 6 innings and prevent further damage … Porcello limited Washington to solo homers by Rendon in the 4^th and Murphy in the 6^th, but Kintzler entered in the top of the 7^th and gave up a leadoff Mookie Betts shot to negate Murphy’s blast … Joe Kelly allowed a leadoff HR by Harper in the 8^th, but fanned the next 2 batters, and Boston closer Craig Kimbrel did the rest

 

Other – our drive down was relatively slow, meaning that our usual parking area was full, so we had to go back to The Lot Formerly Known As HH as a backup … despite the extreme heat, the Nats didn’t appear to open a cooling room, to my great surprise

June 25, 2018 – Bethesda Big Train 8, Silver Spring-Takoma Park Thunderbolts 4 – Shirley Povich Field

http://www.bigtrain.org/news/?article_id=606

 

Duration: 2:46

Plate Umpire: Eric Sloser    Field Umpire #1: Don O'Shea    Field Umpire #2: Simon Markovich

Attendance: 502

 

On the aisle, second row, halfway between home and first (general admission)

 

Game notes – Big Train scored without a hit in the bottom of the first, on 2 walks followed by a fielder’s choice and a sac fly … loaded the bases the next inning on 2 hit batters and a single, and took a 4-0 lead on a bases-clearing double by Alec Burleson … the T-Bolts notched 3 runs to tie things up in an ugly top of the 6^th, but Bethesda immediately regained the lead on an Andrew Shebloski homer and an RBI double by Burleson … added some insurance in the bottom of the 7^th on back-to-back-to-back doubles

 

Other – fundraiser for the Metropolitan Washington Ear

June 24, 2018 – Nats 8, Phillies 6 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/daniel-murphy-sparks-nationals-vs-phillies/c-282781362

 

Attendance: 29,314

Duration: 3:47

Weather: 83 degrees, Partly Cloudy

Wind: 4 MPH In From Left

Umpires: HP: David Rackley. 1B: Mark Wegner. 2B: Chris Guccione. 3B: Larry Vanover.

 

Game notes – Phils drew first blood in the top of the 3^rd, when Rhys Hoskins homered following a base hit by pitcher Nick Pivetta … Pivetta struggled in the bottom of the 4^th, yielding a leadoff HR by Rendon followed by 3 straight singles to tie the game … following a 38-minute rain delay, Pivetta returned to strike out the side and prevent further damage … Nats starter Jefry Rodriguez exited after giving up a walk and a HBP to start the 5^th, and the visitors took a 6-2 lead off Sammy Solis on a 2-run triple by Odubel Herrera followed by a Nick Williams homer … Nats staged a 2-out rally in the 6^th, on a pinch single by Eaton, followed by a Turner triple and back-to-back doubles by Harper and Rendon … Nats won it with another 3-run inning in the 8^th, on a 2-out bases-loaded single by Murphy, followed by Michael A. Taylor’s RBI single … Kelley, Grace, Madson, and Doolittle held Philadelphia scoreless over the final 4 innings

 

Other – early arrival led to some spirited table tennis and a stop at B-Dubs … courtesy of some friends, we got to spend the rain delay and the remainder of the game in one of the club-level suites

June 18, 2018 – Mahoning Valley Scrappers 4, State College Spikes 1 – Medlar Field at Lubrano Park (State College PA)

https://www.milb.com/state-college/news/spikes-late-rally-not-enough-in-loss-to-scrappers/c-281868164

 

Umpires: HP: Edwin Jimenez. 1B: David Cruz.

Weather: 81 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 12 mph, Out to CF.

Time: 2:48.

Attendance: 2,005.

 

Section 202, Row 18, Seats 1-2 (main level, just beyond third base, aisle seats in the top row just below the concourse)

 

Game notes – very quiet game through 8 innings, as the Spikes managed only one hit, while the Scrappers scored their only run on a 2^nd inning homer by Elvis Perez … Mahoning Valley broke it open with 3 runs in the top of the 9^th, the big blow a 2-out, 2-run single by Gian Paul Gonzalez … State College did make things mildly interesting in the bottom of the frame, scoring one run and bringing the tying run to the plate before the Scrappers retired the final 2 batters

 

Other – actual attendance appeared to be maybe one-quarter of the announced figure … Monday night promotion featured one-dollar hot dogs and one-dollar small sodas (are you listening Nats?) … pleasant evening weather-wise, although it was a hot, humid afternoon