October 7, 2019 – Nats 6, Dodgers 1 (NLDS Game 4) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/max-scherzer-nationals-force-nlds-game-5-vs-dodgers

 

Weather: 80 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 3 mph, Out To CF.

Umpires: HP--Eddings, 1B--Marquez, 2B--Gibson, 3B--Little, LF--Baker, RF--Barrett.

Time: 3:24

Attendance: 36,847

 

Since none of the superstitious behaviors we carried over from the wild card win worked for the NLDS, we changed direction for the win-or-go-home Game 4. Took Metro instead of driving. Brought in subs rather than eating before the game. Different attire. New rally towels. Something seemed to work.

 

In some ways, this was the mirror image of the loss the previous night; this time it was the Nats who put up one big inning after the opposing starter had left the game. Rich Hill, as expected, didn’t last long, leaving with 2 outs in the 3^rd, although the Nats failed to take advantage of the 3 walks he issued in the inning, plating only a single run. Their explosion came in the bottom of the 5^th, when Julio Urena replaced Kenta Maeda on the mound for the Dodgers. A Turner single, Eaton sacrifice, and Rendon single gave the Nats the lead. After Soto popped out, Kendrick singled Rendon to third, finishing the outing for Urias. Zim then sent the crowd into a frenzy by greeting Pedro Baez with a three-run homer to center. Rendon finished the scoring an inning later with his third RBI of the game.

 

On the pitching front, Max brought back memories of his wild-card-game struggles when he served up a home run to Justin Turner with two outs in the top of the first. He recovered nicely, however, getting through the next 5 innings without much difficulty while keeping his pitch count down. He did struggle in the 7^th, walking two men with one on and one out, but he retired the next two batters, completing his mission nicely. Doolittle and Hudson finished things off, sending the series back to LA for a winner-take-all Game 5.

 

As predicted, the weather took a turn around 8:00, with quickly falling temps, quite a bit of wind, plus off-and-on rain for the rest of the evening. Fortunately it was never bad enough to stop the game, although many of us sought out shelter in various covered areas of the park.

October 6, 2019 – Dodgers 10, Nats 4 (NLDS Game 3) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/patrick-corbin-nationals-fall-to-dodgers-in-game-3

 

Weather: 72 degrees, Overcast.

Wind: 3 mph, R To L.

Umpires: HP--Barrett, 1B--Eddings, 2B--Marquez, 3B--Gibson, LF--Little, RF--Baker.

Time: 3:58

Attendance: 43,423

 

Well, we tried to keep as much as we could the same from our routine for Tuesday’s wild card game win. Same restaurant, same food/drink orders, mostly the same attire. We again switched seats during the seventh-inning stretch and brought out our “magic mints” in the eighth. It wasn’t nearly enough.

 

The evening started off well. Juan Soto got the home team off to a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 1^st, making a winner of the game’s “Dinger Of The Day” contestant in the process. Anibal Sanchez mostly baffled the Dodgers with his eclectic pitch assortment, fanning 9 and not allowing a run until Max Muncy hit a solo shot in the 5^th. Admittedly, the Nats failed to take advantage of scoring chances in the 4^th and 5^th, but they still held their one-run lead after 5.

 

Inasmuch as Washington possesses only two trustworthy relief pitchers, no one was surprised to see Patrick Corbin (who started Game 1 on Thursday, tossing 107 pitches) start to warm up in the 5^th and come in for the 6^th; after all, Stephen Strasburg had fired 3 scoreless frames in the Wild Card Game, and Scherzer struck out the side in the 8^th inning of NLDS Game 2 in LA. Ideally Corbin could go for two innings, followed in some order by Doolittle and Hudson, to finish off the victory and give the Nats a 2-1 series lead.

 

Things looked promising when Corbin fanned the next two batters after a leadoff single by Cody Bellinger, but they then collapsed with a thud, the key blows being a two-run Russell Martin double to give the visitors a 3-2 lead, and a pinch-double two batters later by Enrique Hernandez to extend the lead to 5-2. Following an intentional walk to Muncy, Wander Suero entered the game to face Justin Turner, who promptly put one out of the park to double the lead.

 

The Nats were given a great chance to get back in it in the bottom of the inning thanks to Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly, who gave up a single, three walks and a wild pitch, finally exiting with no outs, the bases loaded and one run in. Asdrubal Cabrera delivered a sac fly off Julio Urias to score another run, but Kendrick managed to kill the rally by getting caught between second and third for the second out. Washington could scrounge up only one more baserunner during the final 3 innings, and Hunter Strickland put the punctuation mark on the team’s bullpen woes by giving up a 2-run homer to Martin in the ninth (his 9^th HR allowed in 13 post-season innings).

 

We wound up parking at L’Enfant Plaza: quite a hike, but easy to get into, and surprisingly easy to get out of.

October 1, 2019 – Nats 4, Brewers 3 (NL Wild Card Game) – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/nationals-win-2019-nl-wild-card-game

 

Weather: 83 degrees, Clear.

Wind: 4 mph, Out To CF.

Umpires: HP--Everitt, 1B--Danley, 2B--Nelson, 3B--Blaser, LF--Rackley, RF--Torres.

Time: 2:55

Attendance: 42,993

 

Section 301, Row C, Seats 7-8

 

Previously, the Nats played winner-take-all playoff games at home in 2012, 2016, and 2017. They lost all three. Things were different tonight – we won’t quibble that this win just gets them to the NLDS, which they had already reached previously by virtue of winning the NL East.

 

The much-discussed decision to start Scherzer rather than Strasburg at least initially looked misguided, as Max walked the leadoff hitter in the top of the first, promptly served up a two-run homer to Yasmani Grandal, then gave up a solo shot to Eric Thames an inning later. As in some of his other post-return starts, he wasn’t consistently sharp with his location, although his fastball started out in the 98-99 mph range, at least a few mph higher than his typical early-inning offerings.

 

Trea Turner brought some life back into the park with a third-inning shot off Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff, but the Nats had only two other hits through the first 7 frames off Woodruff, Brent Suter, and Drew Pomeranz. Although Max settled down to last 5 innings, and Strasburg kept the visitors off the board for the next 3, the Nats faced a formidable task when the Brewers’ relief ace Josh Hader came in for the bottom of the 8^th.

 

Although Hader was throwing as many balls as strikes, things still seemed bleak three batters later, as he fanned Robles and Turner, with a Michael A. Taylor hit-by-pitch in between. But Zim pinch-hit for Eaton and blooped a broken-bat single into the outfield, and Rendon drew a walk to load the bases.

 

Juan Soto then sent the crowd into a frenzy with a clean single to right, with all three baserunners scoring as the ball got by the charging Trent Grisham. Daniel Hudson came in to pitch a scoreless ninth, as chants of “Beat LA!” started to fill the stands.

September 29, 2019 – Nats 8, Indians 2 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/nationals-will-play-brewers-in-wild-card-game

 

Weather: 86 degrees, Partly Cloudy.

Wind: 4 mph, In From RF.

Umpires: HP--Blaser, 1B--Cooper, 2B--West, 3B--Dreckman.

Time: 2:50

Attendance: 36,764

 

Having already secured the home field for their upcoming Wild Card game against the Brewers, the Nats had nothing particular to play for on Sunday, but nevertheless extended their end-of-season winning streak to 8 games heading into the playoffs. The afternoon had a spring training feel, with Anthony Rendon getting the day off and other regulars exiting at some point during the game. Consequently, part-timers Brian Dozier and Gerardo Parra, plus the seldom-seen Michael A. Taylor and Wilmer Difo, each accounted for two of the team’s 14 hits. Washington never trailed, sparked by an RBI double by Soto in the 1^st  and a 2-run homer by Suzuki in the 3^rd. They pretty much put things away three innings later on a 2-run Dozier single and a 2-run pinch double by Parra.

 

Joe Ross needed only 78 pitches to get through the first 6 innings, fanning 8 while allowing only one run. Comeback kid Aaron Barrett received a deservedly warm reception as he came in for the 7^th (which he battled through despite allowing Cleveland’s second run to score), and Erick Fedde finished things off.

Shuffle #119 (September 28, 2019)

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones

Closer To Me – Dar Williams

Heartbreaker – The Crystals

I Feel Lucky – Mary Chapin Carpenter

Numb – Linkin Park

A Face In The Crowd – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Boogie Oogie Oogie – A Taste Of Honey

He Will Break Your Heart – Jerry Butler

Take My Love With You – Bonnie Raitt

The Chariot – The Cat Empire

Favorite Musical Artists: Gordon Lightfoot

Speaking of musical genres, I’m not sure whether Gordon Lightfoot was held back by their boundaries or transcended them – I prefer to think the latter. Although his earliest material had a decidedly country sound (and his later “Sundown” actually hit #13 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart), he first gained attention as a folk artist, with performers such as Peter, Paul & Mary recording some of his material. Because of that background, I was always surprised when I found his albums in stores filed under Pop/Rock rather than in the Folk section. Similarly, I could never quite understand why he didn’t get nearly as much attention as did others (Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carole King, fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell) during the 1970s “singer-songwriter” craze. Was it because he didn’t live in or hang around L.A.? Was it because his music leaned more “adult contemporary” than rock? (Although JT was certainly never known for rocking out.) Maybe it was because his songs never felt all that introspective: allmusic.com refers to typical singer-songwriter lyrics of the era that “were personal, although … often veiled by layers of metaphors and obscure imagery.”

 

All that aside, I’ve always had this somewhat fanciful notion that there’s some supernatural power that assigns all of us some fixed number of great songs. (For most of us, of course, that number is zero.) During his prime years during the 1960s and 1970s, Gordon Lightfoot certainly came up with far more than his share.

 

Favorite songs:

 

Canadian Railroad Trilogy

The Way I Feel (version from the album of the same name)

The Last Time I Saw Her

The Circle Is Small

Early Morning Rain

 

Summer Side Of Life

Did She Mention My Name

If You Could Read My Mind

10 Degrees & Getting Colder

Song For A Winter's Night

 

For Lovin' Me

Crossroads

Softly

Same Old Loverman

Endless Wire

 

Pussywillows, Cat-Tails

Sundown

Can't Depend On Love

Sit Down Young Stranger

That Same Old Obsession

September 15, 2019 – Nats 7, Braves 0 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/howie-kendrick-sparks-nationals-win

 

Weather: 81 degrees, Sunny.

Wind: 5 mph, In From LF.

Umpires: HP--Welke, 1B--Muchlinski, 2B--Drake, 3B--Timmons.

Time: 3:03

Attendance: 29,350

 

After being outscored 15-1 in the first two games of the weekend series, pretty much extinguishing any faint hope the Nationals had of catching the first-place Braves, Washington got a small measure of revenge Sunday afternoon and kept pace in the standings with their Wild Card challengers. Former Brave Anibal Sanchez was brilliant, going 7 innings and not allowing an Atlanta runner to reach second base other than Freddie Freeman, who doubled with two outs in the first. Hunter Strickland handled the 8^th, while Doolittle pitched a 1-2-3 9^th, albeit with all 3 outs coming on long fly balls.

 

Atlanta lefty Max Fried had owned the Nats 10 days earlier, allowing only one baserunner in his 7 scoreless innings. This Sunday, however, the tables were turned. The onslaught started in the second, when Kendrick singled, Robles doubled, and Yan Gomes got a ground ball through the infield to score both. Fried would be gone an inning later, after Kendrick’s two-run single with the bases loaded and a walk to Brian Dozier. Reliever Jeremy Walker then walked Robles on 5 pitches to force in Washington’s 5^th run. Kendrick continued his big day with a solo homer two innings later, and Robles scored on an odd inning-ending double play in the 6^th to finish the scoring.

September 13, 2019 – Braves 5, Nats 0 – Nationals Park

https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/max-scherzer-nationals-lose-opener-to-braves

 

Weather: 71 degrees, Overcast.

Wind: 5 mph, In From RF.

Umpires: HP--Drake, 1B--Timmons, 2B--Welke, 3B--Muchlinski.

Time: 3:16

Attendance: 39,730

 

Section 419, Row M, Seats 1-2 – one row below the top of the stadium, although we were so used to our top-row seats from previous “extra” games that we actually sat in Row N instead

 

A decent-but-not-great start from Scherzer, two more runs surrendered by the Bullpen From Hell, and an almost-complete lack of offense produced the expected result, as the Nats (Naughts?) fell once again to the 2019 NL East champs-to-be. Most of the members of the sellout crowd were left to hope that their Tony Two-Bags bobbleheads would not be the final Washington giveaway item honoring the wildly popular pending free agent.

 

Despite inconsistent command, Max battled the Braves successfully for the first three innings, most notably in the second when he struck out the side after a Nick Markakis single and a Matt Joyce walk. Things didn’t go as well in the 4^th, when Atlanta scored their first run on a Markakis double and a Joyce single, and a second when Dansby Swanson doubled two batters later. Markakis, in his first game back off the IL, struck again an inning later with a bases-loaded sac fly to make the score 3-0. The Braves added what proved to be unnecessary insurance runs in the 7^th (when Ozzie Albies went yard on Tanner Rainey’s first pitch of the inning) and 8^th (when Hunter Strickland retired only one of his four batters faced, before Javy Guerra came in to limit the damage).

 

There isn’t much to say about the Washington “offense”. They wasted scoring opportunities in the 2^nd and 4^th against Braves starter Mike Soroka, who gave up just one hit, along with three walks, in his six innings of work. Doubles by Robles in the 8^th and Soto in the 9^th were too little, too late.

Kacey Musgraves w/ Yola – Wolf Trap, 9/7/2019

Row C, Seat 37 

 

With “Old Town Road” dominating the cultural conversation for the past several months (as well as the Billboard charts on which the powers that be have allowed it to appear), 2019 is a big year for defining, or disregarding, musical genre boundaries, specifically what is or is not “country”. Saturday evening’s sold-old show provided two excellent examples.

 

Kacey Musgraves’s latest album, Golden Hour, accomplished a rare trifecta by winning top album awards from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, and the Recording Academy (Grammies for both top country album and top album overall). She did this with virtually no support from country music radio, which I was tempted to point out to those staffing the WMZQ booth at the concert. To be fair, Lil Nas X probably had at least as many “elements of today’s country music” in “Old Town Road” as appear in most of “Golden Hour”; banjos do turn up now and again, and there is of course “Space Cowboy”, but most folks playing the album would probably file it under Pop rather than Country, if they felt compelled to make a choice at all.

 

Over the course of her 90-minute set, Musgraves did two covers (including an energetic version of “I Will Survive”), two songs from each of her first two albums, and all 13 tracks (!) from Golden Hour. (Since it was one of my favorites from last year, I certainly didn’t complain.) The crowd (many of whom seemed to know all the words to every song) was justifiably enthusiastic throughout; my favorites were “Lonely Weekend” (with a particularly psychedelic light show) and “Love Is A Wild Thing” from Golden Hour, plus “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” from her debut, Same Trailer, Different Park.

 

Setlist

 

Opening act Yola – black, British, and billed as the “Queen of country soul” – is if anything even less likely than Musgraves to get airplay on country radio; even when that genre was at its peak in the 60s, people like Ray Charles, Solomon Burke, and Joe Simon got airplay on R&B and Top 40 stations but were ignored by country outlets. Labels aside, she did a nice 45-minute set that generated an appreciative reaction from the crowd, especially with her note-perfect rendition of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”. “Walk Through Fire” and “Shady Grove” were my personal favorites. The “soul” side mostly dominated, particularly with the smoking ballad “It Ain’t Easier”, although “Love All Night (Work All Day)” and “What You Do” both had enough traditional country to them to possibly be hits, if they were recorded by someone (probably white, alas) with some pre-existing country cred.

 

Setlist

Shuffle #118 (August 31, 2019)

If You Don’t Want My Love – Robert John

American Woman – The Guess Who

Sally – Sade

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John

He – The Righteous Brothers

A Matter Of Minutes – Shawn Colvin

I.G.Y. – Donald Fagen

The Way -- Fastball