Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Insitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, threw out the first pitch prior to the first game of the 60-game 2020 regular season. Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle received the pitch, but it was -- to quote the great Bob Uecker -- juuust a bit outside.
Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch before the Nationals-Yankees game. pic.twitter.com/04Tbkh7Voa
— ESPN (@espn) July 23, 2020
Fauci, an avowed Nationals fan, appeared happy to have the honor nevertheless. Thankfully, no fans were in attendance to chide him on the wide offering.
The offense came early on Opening Day. Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run home run off of Max Scherzer in the top of the first inning. Adam Eaton got one of those runs back with a solo homer off of Gerrit Cole in the bottom half. Aaron Judge made it a 3-1 game with an RBI double in the third.