Group Game Observations | VISC 404

This past weekend was the start of the MLB playoffs. Being from Chicago, I paid very close attention to the Cubs vs Washington Nationals games. In the first game that happened on Friday, the first half of the game felt like it was leaning towards the Nationals because of the pitching, even though no one had scored on either side. The Nationals pitcher had a no hitter going through 5 innings which made it look like the game could go to the Nationals once they started to score some runs. Once the Cubs had gotten their first hit, the momentum of the players shifted bringing them more hits and runs. They had scored 3 runs to end up winning the game thanks to their pitcher who was just as good as the one for the Nationals and ended up shutting them out. When they showed the players on the Nationals and the fans of the Nationals, it seemed like everyone was dead in their tracks and nothing they would do could help them out at all.

Going into game two which was on Saturday, it started off just as the first game had ended with the Cubs starting strong in the first few innings to take a 3-1 lead which stuck around for most of the game. Just like the first game, many on the Nationals looked as if they were done and had nothing left in them at all. One of the better and well known players on the Nationals, Bryce Harper, looked like he had been attacked by a group of people and it really looked like there was nothing left in him. In the 8th inning, when it looked like Cubs players and fans could take a breath and go back to Chicago with a 2-0 series lead, Bryce Harper tied the game with a 2-run home run that brought the Nationals hopes and dreams back to life and really gave them more positive emotions. The team was jumping in and out of the dugout, cheering along with the fans, and waving the rally towels in excitement. After another home run, this time a 3-run home run to put the Nationals ahead, the Cubs looked to have been hit with a baseball to the gut. It had felt like those home runs by the Nationals were out of nowhere and now, what looked like a definate 2-0 series lead for the Cubs, now is a split series, tied 1-1 with the next game happening in the Cubs home.