Wow, this game had no interest in pacing itself.
After a clean first inning on both sides, everything fell apart, or came together, depending on your viewpoint. The Nationals struck first with a pair of runs in the second, but Jo Adell quickly answered with a solo shot to right-center. 372 feet. No-doubter. The kind of swing that makes you sit up a little straighter in your seat.
The third inning? An explosion. Taylor Ward launched a two-run homer to left. Then Nolan Schanuel, not even finished watching Ward’s, decided to send one out himself on the very next pitch. Back-to-back jacks. Suddenly it was 4–2 Angels, and they weren’t done. Mike Trout and Luis Rengifo chipped in with RBI singles later in the frame to make it 5–2. The bats were alive, the vibes were high.
That lasted about ten minutes.
In the top of the fourth, the Nationals came right back with a three-run inning to tie it 5–5. But the Angels stayed hot. Zach Neto led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, and Schanuel brought him in with a clean base hit. Then Rengifo who’s been quietly one of the most consistent hitters on the roster came through again with a two-run single. The lead was back, 8–5.
Of course, that lead didn’t last either. The fifth inning brought another Nationals push, and by the time the dust settled, it was tied again at 8–8. So, naturally, the Angels countered again.
Mike Trout drove in Rengifo with a sharp single in the bottom of the fifth, and a would-be double play turned into a defensive meltdown for Washington, scoring another run and pushing the Angels ahead 9–8. It wasn’t exactly clean baseball, but the Angels weren’t in the mood to be picky.
By now, you’d think someone would blink. But the sixth inning had more to say. A sac fly from Washington tied the game yet again at 9–9. Nine runs, thirteen hits for the Angels, and we’re not even into the seventh. This one’s already a classic. We’ve got bombs, back-to-backs, botched double plays, and a scoreboard operator begging for mercy.
The Nats broke a 9–9 tie in the 7th with a Bell run off House’s double. The Angels threatened in their half, but stranded two.
In the 8th, another Washington run scored on a double and groundout. The Angels couldn’t answer, Schanuel struck out looking and the bats stayed cold. They trail 11–9 heading into the 9th. Just when it looked like the Angels might keep it within reach, the Nats kept pressing. The hits keep coming, just not for the Halos. After Adams drove in another, Young laid down a bunt to perfection, plating Lile. It’s now 13–9 with still no outs and the bases still loaded. What started as a slugfest is turning into a meltdown.
The wheels are off. The Nationals tacked on two more with a bases-loaded single from García Jr., making it 15–9. The top of the 9th has become an avalanche, and the Angels are buried under it.
What started as a back-and-forth slugfest turned into a meltdown by the end. Despite early fireworks and multiple lead changes, the Angels couldn’t hold on, as the bullpen unraveled in the 9th. A tough one to swallow after such a wild ride. 15-9 Nats.
