July 18, 2021 – Nats 8, Padres 7

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/padres-vs- nationals/2021/07/18/633300#game_state=final,game_tab=wrap,game=633300

 

Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 8 mph, out to RF.

First Pitch: 3:05 pm

Umpires: HP--Segal, 1B--Carlson, 2B--Hoye, 3B--Baker.

Time: 3:40

Attendance - 27,221

 

Trois étoiles:

#3 – Catcher Tres Barrera, 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the third, and another single in the ninth that sparked the game-winning rally.

#2 – Juan Soto. 3 for 4 plus a walk, including a double in the third and a two-run homer in the eighth to (temporarily) put the Nats ahead.

#1 – Alcides Escobar. The recent acquisition homered in the eighth, and knocked in the winning run an inning later.

 

Given the shooting just outside Nationals Park the previous evening, this was not exactly an ordinary day. Instead of the regularly-scheduled game beginning at 1:05 with the usual ceremonies, the suspended game from Saturday night resumed with no fanfare, in the bottom of the 6^th inning with the home team already trailing 8-4. San Diego gave the hometown fans nothing to cheer about for the next hour or so, tacking on two more runs for a 10-4 defeat, adding to the Nats’ recent woes.

 

The anticipated Scherzer-Musgrove matchup finally got underway two hours later than originally scheduled. Max started out like gangbusters, striking out the side in the first. Washington finally broke things open in the bottom of the third, scoring their first run on Josh Bell’s infield grounder with one out, then notching two-out RBI hits by Harrison, Stevenson, and Barrera. For the second game in a row – both against the Padres – Scherzer couldn’t put together a shutdown 4^th frame, giving up two singles in front of a massive homer by Eric Hosmer that cut the lead to a single run. Max recovered nicely in the 5^th and 6^th, while the Nats continued to get runners on base but could not get any insurance runs across. Jurickson Profar, however, led off the top of the 7^th with another homer to tie the score, and the Padres further quieted the crowd when Daniel Hudson gave up a two-run shot to Manny Machado in the top of the 8^th. The home team came right back, however, regaining the lead on an Alcides Escobar HR, followed immediately by a Turner double and then Juan Soto’s third homer of the series.

 

But closer Brad Hand couldn’t hold the lead, when after a one-out walk pinch-runner Jorge Mateo easily swiped second and third base and scored on Trent Grisham’s single to tie the score. Hand dug another hole when, after giving Fernando Tatis Jr. an intentional pass to face the left-handed-hitting Jake Cronenworth, he walked him as well, loading the bases for the dangerous Manny Machado. Fortunately, Machado took a called third strike to maintain the tie.

 

The Nats, however, had one final answer: after a Tres Barrera single, San Diego closer Mark Melancon hit human pincushion Victor Robles with a pitch, and Escobar drove a ball into the outfield to score Barrera with the game-winner.

 

Aside from the result of the game, the weather was great, traffic wasn’t bad either way, and we wound up getting free parking. (The lot was open, but an attendant was nowhere to be found.)

Max Weinberg’s Jukebox – Wolf Trap, 7/10/2021

Loge Center, Row L, Seats 101-103 (upper level, our own three-seat pod AND row, at the very top so we could stand up and/or dance whenever we wanted to without blocking anyone else’s view)

 

First in-person live music show in 17 months!

 

Given the difficulty in predicting the covid-19 situation in terms of both risk and government restrictions, Wolf Trap opted to offer a slate of in-person June and July shows with limited capacity, with pods of various sizes both inside the Filene Center and on the lawn. Since every other row was left vacant and there was plenty of space between pods in the same row, I’d estimate that capacity was no more than 20% of normal. This certainly had some advantages – concession lines were short, and it took almost no time to get out of the parking lot. We did encounter an unexpected (for a Saturday) amount of traffic on a stretch of the Maryland beltway on our trip getting there.

 

The “jukebox” consists of a scrolling video screen, listing in apparently random order 50-some songs that audience members can request (shout-outs, Max asking individual audience members, whatever). The repertoire was heavy on British-invasion and classic rock tracks; I’m not sure what the most recent song was, but I only noticed two that predated 1964.

 

Max started things off with “White Room” and “Rebel Rebel” before getting to the first audience request, which wound up being “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (the first of three Stones numbers to appear in the set). About halfway through, Max brought up his daughter, PBS news producer Ali Rogin, who provided lead vocals on “Piece Of My Heart” and “Somebody To Love”. The band concluded with “Glory Days”, as Max invited the audience (or as much of it as could fit, apparently) to join them on stage. Unfortunately, it proved to be a LONG way between Row L of the loge and the stage, particularly for someone encumbered by a walking boot.

 

It was definitely an enjoyable show, with great musicianship from Max and the other three members of his band. We were agitating for “Pink Cadillac” from our far-distant seats, and eventually were joined by some other folks in our neighborhood. He may or may not have heard our shouts, but he did get to the Springsteen classic towards the end of the show, to our delight. I was particularly pleased to hear them do “Louie Louie”, “Dead Flowers”, and “American Girl”. My podmates and I also agreed that Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” was a standout.

 

Setlist

‘Summer of Soul’ is not just a great music documentary but an exhilarating time capsule

https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/summer-of-love-movie-review/2021/06/29/c6953bec-d531-11eb-ae54- 515e2f63d37d_story.html

 

I completely agree with Ann Hornaday’s review. As far as I’m concerned, the contest for best movie of 2021 may be over already.

 

A few notes on my first in-person moviegoing experience in the past 17 months or so:

 

I initially went to buy my Tuesday-matinee bargain ticket online, but discovered that my $7.99 senior list price would be accompanied by a $2.00 “convenience fee”. So I canceled the transaction and used the kiosk in the lobby instead.

 

Since the movie started at 4:15, all I wanted concessions-wise was a bottle of water, and I was happy about that after looking at some of the other prices. The cheapest popcorn went for an eye-popping $8.00 (after tax), and the chicken tenders combo was around 17 bucks. Maybe I should stop complaining about the prices at Nationals Park.

 

There were 8 (!) trailers for upcoming attractions, most of which I will be happy to skip. They were, in order:

 

Dear Evan Hansen

Reminiscence

Snake Eyes

Joe Bell

Respect

West Side Story

The French Dispatch

The Eyes Of Tammy Faye (apparently with a recurring motif of “These Eyes” by the Guess Who)