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Opening Day backups frustrate Nats fans who didn’t get in line early enough

Crowds for opening day at Nationals Park are massive Thursday. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Crowds for Opening Day at Nationals Park were massive Thursday. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Huge crowds of fans gather at the gates to Nationals Park for opening day in April 2018. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Huge crowds of fans gather at the gates to Nationals Park for Opening Day Thursday. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Throngs of Nationals fans gather at the gates to Nats Park. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Throngs of Nationals fans gather at the gates to Nats Park. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
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Crowds for opening day at Nationals Park are massive Thursday. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Huge crowds of fans gather at the gates to Nationals Park for opening day in April 2018. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)
Throngs of Nationals fans gather at the gates to Nats Park. (СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ/Julia Ziegler)

WASHINGTON — Inside the ballpark, Stephen Strasburg was throwing heat as the Nationals opened their home season Thursday against the Mets.

Outside the ballpark, some Nats fans were throwing a fit — and they took to social media to voice their frustration about backed-up lines.

It was a scene somewhat reminiscent of last year’s opener against the Miami Marlins.

СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ’s Julia Ziegler said a line was wrapped around the stairwell in the Geico Garage. And one Twitter user wrote that the garage backup was “trapping” people in elevators as well.

According to the team, the center field and right field gates, which are closest to that garage, had the worst backups.

When asked about the situation, the Nats front office cited a late-arriving workday crowd (possibly due to the chilly weather).

“Opening Day is one of — if not the — busiest games of the regular season,” wrote Jennifer Mastin Giglio, the Nationals’ vice president of communications. “And we staff appropriately for a maximum-capacity crowd.”

The lines outside had “completely dissipated by the top of the second inning,” Giglio added.

And regardless of whether they made it inside for the first pitch, fans had to have hated how the game ended: The Metropolitans triumphed, 8-2.

Jack Pointer

Jack contributes to СÂÜÀòÓ°ÊÓ.com when he's not working as the afternoon/evening radio writer.

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