Nationals Lose Shootout to Cubs 8-6

The Washington Nationals’ 3-game winning streak came to an end courtesy of the visiting Chicago Cubs. Each team slugged 3 home runs but the Cubs scored more total runs and went on to win the game 8 to 6.

The game turned into a contest between their relief pitchers and ours. Each team used 4 hurlers from the bull pen. There’s were just a little better.

The Nationals started fast in the bottom of the 1st. With 2 outs, Brady House singled to right field. CJ Abrams followed with a home run to right field, his 29th. 2-0 Washington.

The Cubs got one back in the top of the 2nd. Alex Bregman walked and went to 3rd on a single from Ian Happ. Nico Hoerner brought Bregman home with a sac fly to right. 2-1 Nats.

The Nationals countered in the bottom of the inning when Jacob Young homered to center field, his 10th. 3-1 good guys.

Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the top of the 3rd with his 27th home run. 3-2 Washington.

Chicago took the lead in the top of the 4th. Ian Happ walked and when to 3rd off a double from Nico Hoerner. Michael Conforto sent Happ home with a sac fly to center field. Carson Kelly then hit into a force out scoring Hoerner. Dansby Swanson was hit by a pitch sending Swanson to 2nd. Seiya Suzuki then doubled to left scoring Kelly. 5-3 Cubs.

Jake Irvin started the game for the Nationals, pitching a mere 3 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits while striking out 4.

The Cubs struck again in the top of the 5th as Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner both singled. Michael Conforto walked, loading the bases. Dansby Swanson also drew a base on balls scoring Bregman. 6-3 Chicago.

Shota Imanaga went 4 2/3rd innings for the Cubs, surrendering 6 hits and 4 runs with 5 strike outs.

The Nats got one back in the bottom of the 5th inning courtesy of Dylan Crews’ 10th home run. 6-4 Cubs.

The Cubs came back again in the top of the 6th as Alex Bregman homered to left field, his 13th. 7-4 Chicago.

Seiya Suzuki homered to center field, his 20th, in the top of the 8th, giving Chicago an 8 to 4 advantage.

The Nationals got a couple back in the bottom of the 8th as Brady House walked and Harry Ford doubled to left, sending House to 3rd. Jorbit Vivas brought House home with a single to left. Nasim Nunez later singled to center, scoring Ford. 8-6 Cubs.

And that’s the way it ended.

The Nationals did tie a team record today when Jacob Young hit his 10th home run. There are now 4 Nationals with at least 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases this season. Young has 13 steals, Dylan Lile has 11, James Wood has 17, and CJ Abrams clocks in with 22. Lile has 15 home runs, with Abrams hitting his 29th this evening. James Wood is sitting on the injured list with his 30 homers. Young is still scheduled to return to the lineup before the end of August.

The Cubs won their 70th game of the season tonight and are safely entrenched in the first wild card slot.

The Nationals are still struggling to get back to .500. Their loss today leaves them with 59 wins and 62 loses.

Game 2 of the series is tomorrow evening at 6:45 ET.

Dave’s Dime…Babe Ruth…The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

One rule change and one big man combined to put an end to the dead-ball era.

The rule change had to do with the appearance of the baseball. We talked last week about baseballs being quite expensive in the early 1900’s and how one ball would be used for an entire game and would end up scuffed and spat on and full of tobacco juice and muddy and a total mess.

Well, starting in 1920, umpires are now required to put a new baseball in play whenever the current ball became unrecognizable and hard for the batter to see. No matter the cost of the baseball, the safety of the players became a matter of utmost importance.

On August 16th, 1920, a player by the name of Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitched ball that he couldn’t see due to its discoloration and scuffed exterior. He died a day later. Never again would such a ball be allowed on the field of play. But it is tragic that a young man had to lose his life playing the game he loved in order for MLB to come to its senses.

So now hitters were better able to see the ball and pitchers had to rely on their athletic skills, not on their spitting ability or choice of chaw. Pitchers experimented with arm angles and different grips and a ball’s trajectory. Pitching became an art form.

And that brings us to the story of Babe Ruth.

The Man…

George Herman Ruth Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1895. His Major League Baseball career lasted 22 seasons, from 1914 to 1935.

Interestingly, Ruth started his major league career as a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. From 1914 to 1918, Ruth twice won 23 games in a season and participated in 3 World Series. In 1917, Ruth pitched a league leading 35 complete games! Thirty-five…

Also, in 1917, the United States entered World War I. Most baseball players were of draft age and that left many teams scrambling for players. Ruth always wanted to play on a daily basis and the crowds in Boston were more substantial on the days that Babe participated. He now began to play first base or the outfield on days he didn’t pitch.

Ruth was quite the hitter and was known for the occasional towering home run, which was unusual during the dead-ball era.

In 1919, with more playing time in the batters’ box, Ruth broke the current MLB single-season home run record with 29.

In 1920, Ruth was traded to the New York Yankees by the owner of the Red Sox, Harry Frazee. Frazee had a propensity for selling off his players to help finance theatrical productions. He ended up selling quite a few Red Sox players to the Yankees and dooming Boston to an 86-year World Series drought brought on by the “Curse of the Bambino.”

Babe Ruth played with the New York Yankees from 1920 to 1934. That first year with his new team completed his transition from a successful pitcher to a power-hitting outfielder. He played over 2,000 games with New York, but interestingly, during those years he made 5 appearances on the pitching mound, winning every game.

Ruth hit 659 of his 714 home runs while player for the Yankees. He was on four World Series title teams. His career slugging percentage was .690. A record that stands to this day. He hit his record 60 home runs in 1927. That total stood until it was broken in 1961 by Roger Maris. Ruth led the American League in home runs 12 times. His batting average during those 15 seasons was .349.

Babe Ruth ended his career in 1935 with the Boston Braves.

At the time of his retirement, Babe Ruth held 54 major league records.

The Myth…

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