The circumstances were different, but the feeling was the same.
Nationals fans were treated to a taste of 2019 on Sunday, bitten with a reminder of that championship season when Gerardo Parra came to the plate in the seventh.
Needing a backup outfielder with Andrew Stevenson on the shelf (oblique strain), Washington selected Parra's contract before the game on Sunday, calling the 34-year-old up from Triple-A Rochester for its series finale against the Mets.
As Kyle Finnegan's turn came up in the order, Dave Martinez — looking for an offensive spark with his club holding a razor-thin 3-2 edge — called for his secret weapon off the bench.
Parra stepped the plate and the Nationals' crowd of 30,371 — their largest of the season — was immediately reminded of that magical World Series run. With 'Baby Shark' blaring throughout the park, cameras cut to Josh Harrison and Josh Bell, newcomers to the experience, laughing as they looked around to see the wave of shark chomps.
And just like in 2019, Parra delivered, drilling an 0-1 breaking ball to left field for a double, causing Nats Park to erupt.
For Parra, who played for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan in 2020, it was his first taste of the big leagues since 2019.
"I almost cried," Parra said afterwards, according to Jessica Camerato. "If I compared my first at-bat in the big leagues and that one, I felt more nervous right now. My legs shook a little bit and [I was] happy, happy to see all the fans stand up and play 'Baby Shark.' It felt like a return to 2019 again. I'm happy for that."
Parra was exactly the spark the Nationals needed. After a pitching change, Kyle Schwarber stepped to the plate and smashed a homer — his third of the day — to left center to give Washington a 5-2 lead.
The Nats, who had won six of seven coming into Sunday, held onto that lead to creep within five games of the Mets in the NL East.
