The Washington Nationals hosted baseball’s best on Tuesday night in the All-Star Game. And it’s fair to say that they nailed the festivities this week.
Although the National League ended up dropping the game in extra innings, the Washington Nationals ended up hosting a damn good All-Star Game. They even had two of their own hometown players take part in a memorable occasion for the capital.
Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper came out to huge cheers during the player introductions. Even Sean Doolittle got his ceremonial “DOO” chant, despite being injured and unable to participate in the game.
Mookie Betts and Jose Altuve were the first two hitters to face Scherzer in the game, both going down on strikes. Those two at-bats brought back memories of Pedro Martinez pitching at Fenway Park in 1999. Sadly the rest of the Nats’ starters day wasn’t quite as smooth as Martinez.
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He allowed the first run of the game to Aaron Judge who took him deep into the visitors’ bullpen. But we saw the ace touch 98 mph on the radar gun for the first time this season, which is always a thrill.
Unfortunately, Harper couldn’t follow up his Home Run Derby heroics from the previous night. He struck out in both his ABs, swinging to Luis Severino and looking to Blake Snell.
Those guys are hard enough to hit usually, let alone when they can let loose for an inning. Harper will still be looking to bounce back in the second half of the season.
Ex-Nats get a huge ovation
There were a few ex-Nationals lurking on both teams, who the Nats Park crowd rightly gave huge ovations to during the introductions.
Wilson Ramos would’ve been the American League’s starting catcher were it not for a hamstring injury. But the Buffalo will always have a special place in D.C. baseball fans’ hearts for the many years he served with the team.
Blake Treinen also got a huge hand from the crowd, and after the game, he admitted even he was a little surprised. He told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post that he expected a mixed reception. Although he had an unceremonious exit from Washington, all he needed was a change of scenery, and it’s good to see there are no ill-feelings among Nats fans.
The last former Nat was Felipe Vazquez for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Much like Treinen, Vazquez needed a fresh start elsewhere after an up and down couple of years in D.C. as a reliever.
The applause that these players got just goes to show how receptive the fan base was over the last few days. Another reason why D.C. nailed the event this year.
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The Washington Nationals head back to the grind on Friday against the Atlanta Braves. However, this All-Star Game was one for the ages with all the long balls and strikeouts, and Washington had a blast with the mid-summer classic.