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June 22, 2016 [LINK / comment]
Nationals choke in Los Angeles
After the Nationals' disappointing final two games in San Diego, everyone was hoping that the Nationals would rise to the occasion in the big pitching showdown in L.A. between Stephen Strasburg and Clayton Kershaw. After all, there was a Strasburg mini-poster in the Sunday Washington Post! Alas, that did not come to pass, as Strasburg had a tight muscle in his back and decided to give it a rest rather than risk a serious injury, as he has done in the past. His replacement on the mound, Yusmeiro Petit, did a very good job, going six innings while giving up just three runs. But that wasn't good enough, as the Nationals could only manage to score one run during the [seven] innings that Kershaw pitched. Dodgers 4, Nats 1.
But last night's game was a different story. Bryce Harper hit a solo homer in the first inning, his second of the past week and 15th of the year. Is he finally back on track? In the fifth inning, Danny Espinosa did likewise -- his 13th homer of the year. He has the second-most home runs in the majors since May 29, if I read that caption on MASN right. But the rest of the Nats batters were inconsistent, getting [just one out of ten] hits with runners in scoring position. They actually out-hit the Dodgers 11 to 7, but all that mattered was the three-run home run by Yasmani Grandal (who?) in the bottom of the eighth. That spoiled what had been a magnificent outing by starting pitcher Tanner Roark. Part of the problem was base-running mistakes: Roark was thrown out at third by second baseman Chase Utley, wasting the double he hit right after Espinosa's homer. Also, Wilson Ramos was thrown out at home on a single (by Tanner Roark!) to left field after being waved ahead by the third base coach. [That was the one hit with RISP.] That was just stupid; everybody knows Ramos can't run. But in general it was the wasted opportunities for hitters, especially Ryan Zimmerman who struck out (after doubling in his previous at bat) with the bases loaded to end the top of the fifth inning. Argh-h-h! Final score: 3-2. I asked on Facebook, "When is the last time a team has hit five doubles, none of which resulted in a run?"
Tonight the Nats try to avoid being swept, with Joe Ross facing Julio Urias. Ross is good (6-4 record, compared to 0-2 for Urias), and the Nats should win. After a day of rest, the Nats head to Milwaukee for a three-game series agains the Brewers.
Odds 'n ends
I added a second football diagram to the Roosevelt Stadium page, since the first one (with the gridiron extending from the infield out to center field) was extremely far from the seats. It is more likely that the second such diagram (with the gridiron parallel to the first base line) was the standard arrangement.
I added four new photos (which I took [two days ago]) to the Davenport Field page, including the one below. While there, I noticed that the distances to the outfield fence have been reduced slightly since the last time I saw a baseball game there in 2011: from 335 feet to 332 along the foul lines, and from 377 feet to 370 to the power alleys. (I previously indicated my belief that the power alley distances were exaggerated, and that is probably still the case, but it may simply be a matter of where the distance markers were placed.
The back of the right field bleachers at Davenport Field, home of the University of Virginia Cavaliers, the 2015 National Champions.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 22 Jun 2016, 3: 35 PM
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Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007: 
Category archives:
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Baseball
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Latin America
War
Wild Birds
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 10, 2016 ~ Cooperstown calls Griffey, Piazza
January 17, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland (& Bath!) County
January 21, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Glenn Frey
January 26, 2016 ~ Sweet Briar College is saved!
January 31, 2016 ~ Presidential campaign begins
February 6, 2016 ~ Fall bird migration season 2015
February 20, 2016 ~ Life bird: Virginia Rail!
February 21, 2016 ~ 2016 primaries: populists propel polarization
March 10, 2016 ~ Yes, another Wrigley Field update!
March 26, 2016 ~ Trump triumphs, Republican Party implodes
April 4, 2016 ~ Opening Day(s) in America, 2016! (& Sportsman's Park update)
April 18, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Alan L. Clem
April 21, 2016 ~ Flying out to So. Dak. (& back)
April 30, 2016 ~ Trump & Clinton take commanding leads
April 30, 2016 ~ Migration season reaches peak
May 7, 2016 ~ Trump secures victory; Sanders fights on
May 21, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Reddish Knob
June 7, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland County
June 9, 2016 ~ FOD [first-of-decade] Prothonotary Warblers!
June 14, 2016 ~ Birding on Hite Hollow Road
June 16, 2016 ~ Holy $#!+ -- Nationals win big showdown with Cubs
July 1, 2016 ~ Nationals sweep the Mets, widen NL East lead
July 3, 2016 ~ Kentucky Warblers, and more!
July 8, 2016 ~ Soras breeding in the Valley!
July 13, 2016 ~ Redistricting reform movement is growing
July 16, 2016 ~ The Nationals' starting rotation
August 5, 2016 ~ New page: Stadium profiles!
August 7, 2016 ~ Magical mushroom tour*
September 7, 2016 ~ To the northeast: Baseball road trip, 2016
September 18, 2016 ~ East by Northeast: Big city scenery travelogue
September 25, 2016 ~ Nationals win National League East Division
September 27, 2016 ~ Lucky! 13 warblers on Betsy Bell Hill
October 2, 2016 ~ Nationals' regular season ends on a high note
October 5, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park birding (II)
October 14, 2016 ~ Nationals flinch, Dodgers advance to NLCS
October 14, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park getaway
October 16, 2016 ~ World War II aircraft show (II)
October 25, 2016 ~ Holy cow: Cubs beat Dodgers, win NL pennant!
November 3, 2016 ~ The Cubs win the World Series!!!
November 4, 2016 ~ New month arrives, & new birds too
November 6, 2016 ~ Campaign 2016 grinds to a nasty, ugly end
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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)