May 21, 2026 [LINK / comment]
Tensions were high in Our Nation's Capital as the Washington Nationals welcomed the regional rival Baltimore Orioles to town. It was the official MLB Rivalry Weekend, when all 30 teams played against their cross-town, cross-state, or regional rivals -- except the Atlanta Braves, who played their long-ago cross-town rivals, the Boston Red Sox, and the San Diego Padres playing at the Seattle Mariners. Historically, since the Nationals' first series against the Orioles in 2006, they have won 46 games and lost 58, or 44.2% overall.
My friend Dave Givens and I arrived at Nationals Park about 20 minutes early, and we soon discovered it was a virtual sell-out game, as all of the promotional "Bad day to be a hot dog" hats had already been given away. (I didn't really care since it seemed like a dumb promotion to me, but with all those hats being worn around the stadium, I felt a little left out.) The early innings were relatively uneventful, with the Nationals wasting a leadoff double by Daylen Lile in the 2nd inning, and no hits by the Orioles until the 3rd inning. Finally the Nats scored a run on a sac fly by Brady House in the 4th inning, while the Nats starting pitcher Zack Littell kept racking up more scoreless frames. In the bottom of the 6th inning, while I was standing in line for over 15 minutes waiting to buy a fancy hot dog (why weren't they ready to handle all the customers??!!), Curtis Mead walked, and one batter later Daylen Lile knocked a home run into the corner to the left of the bullpen in right field. I was watching on a TV monitor but still felt a bit cheated not to get to see it in person. In the 7th inning the Mets had runners on 2nd and third base, but relief pitcher Andrew Alvarez struck out Gunnar Henderson to end the inning. In the 9th inning the Mets loaded the bases with nobody out, and Gus Varland came in to pitch. He got two outs and the Mets scored their first run on a sacrifice fly, but then Henderson singled in a second run, and another relief pitcher was called in. Tensions were soaring after Richard Lovelady walked Taylor Ward, but then he struck out Adley Rutschman to end the game. WHEW!
Scenes from the May 15 game at Nationals Park.
Attendance on Friday night was 38,912, which is 94% of capacity (41,376), which is technically considered a "sellout." On Saturday it was 40,559 (only the third games in Nationals Park with more than 40,000 fans this year), but dropped to 26,715 on Sunday. The last time I had been to a Nats game with so many fans was four years ago: June 18, 2022, when 42,730 attendees were there for the Ryan Zimmerman retirement ceremony. (That's the day that I shook Jayson Werth's hand.) I fact, that was the biggest attendance of any baseball game I had ever seen in Washington, including at RFK Stadium, which had a bigger capacity than Nationals Park.
| Date | Nationals' score | Visiting team | Visitors' score | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 18, 2022 |
1 | PHI | 2 | 42,730 |
| Aug. 18, 2012 |
0 | NYM | 2 | 42,662 |
| June 8, 2013 |
3 | MIN | 4 | 41,587 |
| Apr. 30, 2005 |
5 | NYM | 3 | 40,913 * |
| Sep. 22, 2012 |
10 | MIL | 4 | 40,493 |
| May 15, 2026 |
3 | BAL | 2 | 38,912 |
| Sep. 21, 2018 |
2 | NYM | 4 | 37,895 |
| Sep. 27, 2014 |
5 | MIA | 1 | 37,529 |
| Sep. 29, 2019 |
8 | CLE | 2 | 36,764 |
| Aug. 15, 2013 |
3 | SF | 4 | 36,719 |
* played in RFK Stadium. All Nats home games since 2008 have been played in Nationals Park.
One advantage of sitting in the lower deck on the third base side was that I had a great view inside the Nats' dugout, and therefore could see not only the players in that game but all of the starting pitchers who were awaiting their next turn in the rotation. Given the high turnover in the Nats pitching staff during the offseason, that was especially handy.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Zack Littell, Daylen Lile*, James Wood and Shane Baz (the Orioles' starting pitcher), Miles Mikolas, Mitchell Parker, Jake Irvin, Foster Griffin, and Cade Cavalli, at the game on May 15, 2026.
* In the dugout behind Daylen Lile are Manager Blake Butera (in red) and Bench Coach Michael Johns (in blue).
NOTE: I had not previously photographed four Nationals players whose names are underlined.
I got much-improved photos of a few Nats players who have played in previous years, but somehow I neglected to get good photos of two of the new ones: Curtis Mead and Jorbit Vivas. Also, I still don't have one of Jose Tena, the usual designated hitter. (He didn't play that day.) In any event, the Washington Nationals page now has much fuller photographic coverage of the team. In one of my ultra-zoom photos, I noticed that Daylen Lile has a Bible reference tatooed on his right arm: Proverbs 3: 5,6.
Since last Friday, the Nationals twice reached the .500 win-loss level, and both times they then fell back again. In the Saturday game, Keibert Ruiz led the Nationals' offensive onslaught, with a single, double, and a home run, batting in 5 runs altogether. Jacob Young also homered, as the Nats cruised to a 13-3 victory, giving them a 23-23 record for the year. But on Sunday the Orioles scored early and often, winning by a score of 7-3. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies continued their recent surge, so the Nats fell into third place.
On Monday the Mets began a 4-game series in D.C. with a back-and-forth contest that went into extra innings thanks to a clutch RBI double by Nats utility player Curtis Mead in the 8th inning. Neither team scored in the 10th, as the Nats squandered a golden opportunity to win with the "ghost" runner on third base and only one out. Both teams scored 1 run in the 11th, and then all hell broke loose in the top of the 12th. Relief pitcher Paxton Schultz was charged with 6 earned runs plus an unearned run, and only got one out before he was replaced by ... Jorbit Vivas, the Nats' usual 2nd baseman! He gave up 3 more runs, as the Nats must have set some kind of record with the opposing team scoring 10 runs in an extra inning. Final score: 16-7. That game will regrettably go down in Nats history as a negative "memorable moment."
On Tuesday the 19th, the Nats' best pitcher was on the mound, Foster Griffin, but he uncharacteristically allowed 5 runs to score in the first two innings. But the Nats loaded the bases in the bottom of the 2nd, and with two outs James Wood smashed a long ball to the fence in left field. Nick Morabito failed to grab it, and center fielder Tyrone Tyler just stood there for a moment, either out of confusion or concern for his team mate, while Wood sprinted around the diamond in just 15 seconds. It was an inside-the-park grand slam, the second such feat in Nationals history! (Michael A. Taylor had done likewise on Sept. 8, 2017.) The Nats took the lead one inning later, and a late home run by former Nat Juan Soto proved irrelevant as the Nats won it, 9-6. After Monday's debacle, that comeback win was a much-needed tonic! That game will qualify as a positive "memorable moment."
The Nats won again on Wednesday, as a 3-run homer by CJ Abrams in the 1st inning put them ahead for good. After a couple days on the Injured List due to a hit-by-pitch, Jacob Young hit another home run in the 8th inning (his 6th this year), another example of his big improvement as a hitter. Starting pitcher Zack Littell got his second win of the year, and Andrew Alvarez got his first career save, pitching four full innings. Nats 8, Mets 4. But late this afternoon, the Nats' bats fell mysteriously flat once again, with multiple run-scoring opportunities coming up empty. In the 3rd inning, the Mets' Bo Bichette hit a bases-loaded single to give his team the only 2 runs they would need to win the game. In the 5th inning, a double by James Wood put two runners in scoring position with nobody out, but Wood ended up stranded at third base. The Nats' starting pitcher Cade Cavalli went a full 7 innings and struck out 9 batters, but was credited with the loss. What a shame. So, the Mets pulled off a 2-2 split in that series.
Only two of the Nats' seven series wins this year have been at home, whereas five of their seven series losses have been at home. They have split one four-game road series (at Pittsburgh) and one four-game home series. Even with today's low-scoring game, the Nationals still lead the major leagues both in runs scored (280) and in runs allowed (296)! Tomorrow they begin a road trip in Atlanta, where the first-place Braves are in second place in runs scored (276)!