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May 5, 2016 [LINK / comment]
Nationals flush the Royals
After a disheartening loss like on Tuesday, when the Nationals let the Royals come from behind with a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning, the rubber game on Wednesday was a true test of character. In fact, the Nats passed with flying colors, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning, with help from two K.C. infield errors to start the game. Three consecutive Nats had RBI doubles -- Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, and Jayson Werth -- and Royals pitcher Kris Medlen threw 38 pitches before getting his first out. Ouch! The Nats added four more runs in the third inning, and one in each of the three innings after that, until the final score reached 13-2. Along the way, Bryce Harper broke out of his slump, with an RBI single and a solo home run (#10), while Daniel Murphy went four for five, Ryan Zimmerman hit two doubles, and Wilson Ramos went 3 for 5. Stephen Strasburg raised his record to 4-0. (Full details at MLB.com and the Washington Post) So now Murphy's batting average is back up to nearly .400, while Ramos is batting .364 -- hot, hot, hot!
With a record of 19-8 (second only to the Cubs' record of 20-6), the Nats begin a four-game series tonight against the Cubs in Wrigley Field. The outcome of this HUGE matchup will set the tone for the rest of the month, at least.
I forget the exact numbers, but the Nationals have far more first-inning runs than any other MLB team this year. Tonight both the Blue Jays and the Reds did their best to catch up to the Nats, both scoring five runs in the first inning.
Nationals page update
I should have previously mentioned that I updated the Washington Nationals page with data for the first full month of the 2016 season, including the head-to-head matchups. The Nats' 16-7 record (.696) was their best-ever win-loss percentage for the month of April. (Their best month ever was September 2014: 19-8, or .704.) That page also shows two new grand slams (both by Bryce Harper) and one new walk-off home run, by Clinton Robinson.
If the Nats keep flirting with the .700 mark, I'm going to have to recalibrate the winning percentage charts for each year on that page. That's the current upper limit, which few teams reach after April.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 05 May 2016, 8: 34 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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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.)
