July 3, 2026 [LINK / comment]
The Nats bounce back from adversity
After the horrendous series of stunning 9th-inning reversals against the Phillies on June 22, 23, and 24, one might wonder how the Washington Nationals would react. Pretty well, actually. Even though they lost the first game against the Orioles in Baltimore last Friday, they won the next two, thus winning yet another series on the road. On Saturday Foster Griffin had a splendid outing, striking out 10 batters over 7 innings, but then the bullpen blew it as usual, and the game was tied 2-2. In the top of the 10th inning, Daylen Lile batted in the "ghost runner" from 2nd base base, and the Nats held on to win. On Sunday Luis Garcia almost single-handedly won the game, with 2 home runs, a double, and 5 RBIs. Nats 6, Orioles 4.
On Monday the Nats headed to Boston, where the Red Sox had just beaten the Yankees in a thrilling 10-inning game that was broadcast on NBC. Unfortunately, the Nats starter Miles Mikolas was totally ineffective, while the Red Sox still had lots of momentum from the night before. Final score: 6-3. But on Tuesday there was a real pitchers' duel, with the score 1-1 after 6 innings. Then the Nationals unleashed their awesome offensive firepower, with multiple doubles and another home run by C.J. Abrams. Nats 8, Red Sox 1. In the game on Wednesday afternoon, Cade Cavalli had his best day pitching of his entire career, striking out 13 batters over 7 innings. The Red Sox' only runs came off relief pitcher Riley Cornelio. Final score: 10-2.
That series (and the one before it) erased any doubt about whether those adverse outcomes last week might have a lingering effect. The Nats may still be in 4th place in the NL East, but they are still in the running for a wild card spot. In tonight's game back home in Washington against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Nats have hit 3 home runs so far, and lead 5-1 after 4 innings. [UPDATE: The Nats built a 9-1 lead in the latter innings, as both Luis Garcia Jr. and Daylen Lile hit two home runs each, but the bullpen flinched once again and the Pirates scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th. Final score: Nats 9, Pirates 5.]
[I should have mentioned that Luis Garcia was named NL Player of the Week for the week of June 28. He hit 11 home runs in June, and has 18 for the year now, tied with C.J. Abrams and 2 behind James Wood, who is tied for 7th in the major leagues. Kyle Schwarber has 30 already, setting a Phillies club record for the first half of the year, and on his way to challenging Aaron Judge's MLB record* of 62.]
[* excluding the steroid era]
[That fracas in Boston]
[I also should have mentioned the unpleasantness in Fenway Park on Tuesday after Wilson Contreras struck out. There was an ugly glance and Cade Cavalli said "Sit down, boy," prompting Contreras to start fighting. Contreras had tossed his bat high in the air after homering on Monday, and that apparently angered the Nats. It took a few minutes for the melee to die down, and Contreras, Cavalli, and Miles Mikolas were all suspended for multiple games. Trash talk is often risky business, and Cavalli acknowledged his mistake. He'll only miss one game in the Nats rotation.]
Follow-up on the Phillies
To amplify what jaw-dropping feat the Philadelphia Phillies accomplished in Washington last week, it was the first time in MLB history that a team hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of three consecutive games. The "heroes" (from the visitors' point of view) were Bryson Stott on Tuesday, on an 0-0 count (final score 14-9), Derek Hill on Wednesday, on a 1-2 count (final score 5-4), and Bryce Harper on Thursday, on a 1-0 count (final score 10-5). I'm pretty sure it was the first time in many years that a team came back to win after being so many runs behind with two outs and two strikes in the 9th inning.
Follow-up on FIFA stadium names
I neglected to include a link to the article upon which much of my recent summary of FIFA stadium name changes was based. For the record, it was in the Washington Post. (For those who are trying to keep up with the World Cup, the U.S. national men's team beat Bosnia-Hercegovina on Wednesday, thus going to the Round of 16.)
Washington Nationals page update
The Washington Nationals page has been updated to include the month of June, just a couple days after I did the updates for May. It now includes the head-to-head records against all opponents the Nats have played during the first three full months of the 2026 season. The Nats' best record is against the Milwaukee Brewers (4-2), and their worst record is against the L.A. Dodgers (0-3) and the Miami Marlins (1-5).
Rate Field update
As noted on May 15, the name of Guaranteed Rate Field has been changed to simply "Rate Field." This was reported in December 2024 apnews.com. Accordingly, [the Stadium name chronology page has been updated] with the new name for Rate Field, "UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium," etc. I have made the usual tweaks to formatting [to the renamed Rate Field page], with a transitional photo section. In the interests of simplification, [there will be fewer photos on stadium pages in] the future. This is the composite "preview" [similar to what most stadium pages will eventually have]:
Views of what was then called "U.S. Cellular Field" when I saw a White Sox-Cardinals game there in July 2015.
City and stadium composite photos
In addition to the stadium composite photos, there are now [larger-size] composite photos for cities as well. [These will appear on most or all pages of stadiums currently in use.] Here is the one for Chicago, consisting of photos that I took in 2008 and 2014:
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Chicago River, downtown, the Calder steel sculpture, skyline from (Guaranteed) Rate Field, and one of the typical elevated trains.