The NFL has polled as America’s most popular sport for the last 30 years, but baseball is still America’s pastime, so it seemed fitting to go watch this pastime while on vacation in the U.S. capitol. Completely coincidentally (completely, I swear), the Rockies were playing the Washington Nationals during our trip.
The Nationals began as the Montreal Expos in 1969 and then moved to D.C. in 2005, so the team is a relatively young franchise. However, D.C. has a long history with baseball including past franchises and a Negro League team in the 1940s.
Today’s Nationals are within striking distance of the National League East division title or possibly even one of two wild card berths. Supported by strong starting pitching (Max Scherzer, Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez) and power bats like Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman (no relation to the pitcher), the Nats are having a much better year than the Rockies. The Rockies have an abysmal road record this year, so I didn’t have high expectations for my 45-61 team (their record before the game on August 7). However, the Rockies’ best pitcher, Jorge De La Rosa, was on the diamond, so this was probably their best shot. Either way, I just wanted to enjoy watching my team and the post-game fireworks on a beautiful Friday night, not knowing that the Rockies would bring some fireworks of their own.
We got there early enough to see both the Nationals and the Rockies take batting practice, though I managed to miss the (in)famous Presidents Race in the fourth inning in which Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington race each other in mascot form around the field. However, I did get to watch a crowd of 33,000+ people discover that Nolan Arenado really is that good.
The game didn’t start out promisingly; both Jordan Zimmerman and De La Rosa were pitching good games, but the Nationals had a 4-0 lead by the sixth inning. The Rockies finally scored in the top of the seventh when Ben Paulsen (who has been great lately as a more than sufficient replacement for the injured Justin Morneau) scored Arenado. But it was still 4-1 Nats and the team’s fans thought they had the game in the bag—until the top of the eighth inning.
Drew Storen pitched the eighth for the Nats, a role he didn’t begin the year with. He was their closer until Washington added Jonathan Papelbon to become their new closer. Since then, Storen has struggled, and these issues were highlighted in the top of the eighth, to the Rockies’ (and Rockies fans’) delight. To be honest, it was nice to see someone else’s bullpen struggle for a change.
With two outs, the bases were loaded and Carlos Gonzalez—the July Player of the Month—was up to bat, representing the winning run. All I wanted was a base hit to clear the bases and tie the game up. And then the miracle happened: a line drive shot into the Nationals’ bullpen. The few Rockies fans in attendance jumped to their feet and Nationals fans seemed to deflate. Not that the drama was at all over.
John Axford, who was recently demoted out of the closing role, managed to get through the bottom of the eighth without giving up any runs, leaving Tommy Kahnle to try and close the game out. With a strikeout of Bryce Harper, Kahnle—on his 26th birthday—recorded his first save. Storen got his first loss of the year. His second loss would also come against the Rockies later in the series.
Unfortunately, this game wasn’t the greatest representation of how the Rockies’ season has been going. While the Rockies won the road series 2-1 basically on the back of Carlos Gonzalez, they’ve struggled against the Mets’ top-tier pitching on the road in New York, and their bullpen is the second worst in the MLB, saved from last place only by the Texas Rangers.
Nevertheless, it was heartening to see the Rockies win, especially in such a beautiful place. Situated on the Anacostia River on the southwest side of Washington, D.C., Nationals Park is a true baseball cathedral. Built from 2006-08, the stadium is totally modern, environmentally friendly enough to be LEED-certified, and has seriously good food, though I have to say the Coors Field sunsets and fireworks are better than Washington’s.
Vacations are always a little bit of an escape from reality, and for the Rockies, the beginning of this road trip seemed like an escape from their usual road troubles. Unfortunately, they returned to their losing ways in New York. This season may be another season to try and forget about, but there are sparks; like beating the Nationals on the road, like younger players getting their feet in the big leagues that show that maybe—just maybe—next year, the Rockies going on “vacation” won’t be such a depressing experience.
Notes
OF Drew Stubbs has been designated for assignment and OF/1B Matt McBride recalled from Triple-A. The Rockies have 10 days to either trade or release Stubbs.
2013 first round draft pick Jon Gray made his major-league debut on August 3, but really showed his stuff against the Mets in his second start on August 9, but was pulled after six innings due to pitch-count limits.
The Toronto Blue Jays are 14-3 since acquiring Troy Tulowitzki.
