All the Hits

So - baseball is back. I spent Tuesday night at; in my humble opinion, one of the happiest places on Earth (another is Disney World...of course..)..my beloved Nationals Park!

Blossoms & Baseball - April 11,2017

The first of what I hope will be many games this season was on a lovely and unseasonably warm April night - as a point of reference, the game we were supposed to attend at this time last year got...for lack of a better description - frozen out. Eighty degrees, a gentle breeze off the Anacostia River and the crack of the bat made for an almost perfect night of baseball. The crazy people sitting behind us made it slightly less perfect...but hey, at least they were amusing, right? I suppose...

Tuesday night's game was the second of three games against the St. Louis Cardinals - a team we did not beat once during Spring Training! The Nationals had an offensive explosion at Monday night's game and won 14-6 and so we (my Mom and I) arrived at the game hoping the offense would still be feeling hot - a game is always a little more exciting when you get to see actual hits!

A dark picture...but a quick (sort of) dinner at The Budweiser Brewhouse.

Mad Max - He's got his eye(s) on you.

Perfect Baseball Weather - I'd Say Yes!

After a delicious but tedious meal at the Budweiser Brewhouse - our waitress was not only on the struggle bus, she may have been the driver - and a quick walk through the Team Store; which I made it out of without purchasing anything (miracles happen!), we made our way to our seats. And we were...delighted (???) to discover that two people sitting behind us were a father and son duo that would be; for lack of a better word, entertaining...for the rest of the night. An example of that brand of entertainment? Loudly asking his toddler over and over and over..."did you fart?" Loudly. So very loudly.

Back to the baseball...

It wasn't called Blossoms & Baseball for nothing...

The Cherry Blossoms at Nationals Park - hanging in there...

Trying to be "artsy"...ha!

The weather was perfect and the warmer it is - the smaller a ball park plays, so with the temperature hovering just above 80 on Tuesday night there was potential for the long ball. The game started off a bit slow...not a lot of hitting was happening, but the Cardinals did manage to strike first - in the first inning no less - Dexter Fowler can smoke a baseball! There was some back and forth and the game was all tied up at the bottom of the fourth...and that's when things really started...popping...

All the Home Runs - Yes Please!

Jayson Werth came to the plate and destroyed a baseball, sending it arcing across left field and into the visiting team's bullpen - which was right in front of our seats. A Werthquake gave the Nationals the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth...and from there the Nationals never looked back. Literally four minutes later (I know this because of the time stamps on my pictures) the Nationals catcher, Matt Wieters demolished a baseball and sent it flying over right field and into the National's bullpen - he made the score 4-2 and it was his first home run as a National. I think we'll keep him, ha-ha!

Gio Gonzalez pitched an excellent game of baseball, allowing only one earned run in the seven innings that he pitched - when he left the mound after the seventh, the Nationals had a 6-2 lead. The additional two runs were added in the bottom of the fifth when Daniel Murphy smashed a two run home run into that just barely cleared the edge of the field and brought Bryce Harper home with him.

The view from the foul ball zone...

This picture - taken moments after my Mom admitted she did not know that was a foul ball pole...

Hey Matt Wieters - hit another home run!

The Racing Presidents - racing around on bicycles... Abe won (but he sort of cheated)...

I will confess - my Mom and I exited the game shortly after the seventh inning got underway. It was a "work night" and the journey out of DC via the combined efforts of the metro and my car took about an hour and half...we didn't really want to roll up to the house after midnight...and as it was, we rolled into the driveway at 11:30! I think knowing I'll be right back at Nationals Park on Friday afternoon placated my baseball needs. Well; that and the fact that I really love to sleep, ha-ha!

The Nationals pulled out a win on Tuesday night, beating the Cardinals 8-3 behind Gio's excellent pitching outing and some stellar offense. The season is off to a fairly decent start; after playing nine games the Nationals are at 5-4, so they are hanging out just above .500, today is an off day and the Phillies come to town this weekend - so hopefully we'll add a few more wins.

The line-up for the Nationals on Tuesday the 11th.

Adios for this time...

A wonderful night at the ball park - and I'm just so very glad that baseball is back!