September 27, 2025 [LINK / comment]
Richmond bids farewell to The Diamond
Sunday September 14th marked the very last ballgame ever to be played at The Diamond, in Richmond Virginia. So, of course, I just had to be there for the special occasion! The weather was fine, mostly sunny and mild, with variable breezes. The Richmond Flying Squirrels were hosting the Hartford Yard Goats.
The Flying Squirrels' pitcher Ryan Murphy got himself into and then out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, the first of several tense moments he overcame. Just after he was relieved in the fifth inning, Hartford scored the first run of the game on an RBI single. Hartford scored again in the seventh inning, but then Richmond tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth. The home team had a golden opportunity to take the lead, but the game went into the tenth inning. With two outs, Hartford players hit an RBI single and then a 2-run double, while Richmond failed to score in the bottom of the inning, and thereby lost it, 5-2. See the box score for all the details. Nevertheless, Richmond won 4 of the 6 games in that final series of the season. Attendance was 9,810, an overflow crowd that exceeded the number who attended (8,778) that day in Sacramento, where the Athletics beat the Cincinnati Reds. It was also greater the game played the following day (8,972) in Tampa, where the Rays fell to the Toronto Blue Jays. For the fourth year in a row, the Flying Squirrels had the greatest attendance of any AA league ball club. (That's a fairly clear indication that Richmond really ought to host a AAA club!)
The AA Flying Squirrels ended the year with a 35-33 record, 3 1/2 games out of first place in the Eastern League Southwest Division. See milb.com
Panorama of The Diamond from behind home plate.
Montage of scenes from the final game at The Diamond.
As one might expect, several new photos have been added to The Diamond page.
Nationals show (un)steady improvement
What a difference a new month makes! During the months of June, July, and August, the Washington Nationals recorded the very worst win-loss record in all of Major League Baseball: 25-53, or .321. During the first nine days of this month, in contrast, the Nats racked up a 7-1 record, which happens to be the very best in the majors! James Wood, Luis Garcia, Josh Bell, and Dylan Crews all started hitting home runs once again, and things looked much brighter. The Nats swept the Marlins to start the month, helped by an excellent debut by rookie starting pitcher Andrew Alvarez on September 1, and then took 2 out of 3 games from the Cubs (in Wrigley Field), thanks to an incredible 5-run rally in the top of the 9th inning on Sunday, September 7. Over the next two days in Miami they beat the Marlins twice, but then things went awry on September 10, Jake Irvin had a shaky outing that day, and took the loss. Likewise for Mackenzie Gore the next day, as the Marlins earned a 2-2 series tie.
Back in D.C. on September 12, the Nationals edged the visiting Pirates 6-5, as their closing pitcher Jose Ferrer got the save even though he gave up 2 runs in the 9th inning. The next day Andrew Alvarez threw 6 shutout innings, but the bullpen let the team down in a 5-1 loss. The Nats managed to eke out a win on Sunday (when I was watching the game in Richmond), thus taking the third series of the month.
That's when things really went bad again. On September 15 the Braves came to town, and they were ready for a fight. The Nats' starter Mitchell Parker pitched 3 scoreless innings but then lost control, exiting in the sixth inning way behind. Final score: Braves 11, Nats 3. The Braves won both games of a double-header the next day, with all 5 runs scored in the latter game coming in the 10th inning! Yes, neither team scored at all in the first 9 innings!!! On Wednesday the Braves completed a four-game sweep of the Nationals.
After a day of rest, the Nats began a series against the Mets up in New York, and this time Andrew Alvarez was flummoxed by the Mets' batters. A 3-run homer by Juan Soto (former Nat!) in the 4th inning was the defining moment in a 12-6 loss. But somehow, after losing five in a row, the Nats pulled themselves together and won the final two games of that series. Jose Ferrer pitched both the 8th and 9th innings, and gave up 3 runs to the Mets, who tied the game. But in the top of the 11th inning rookie Daylen Lile smashed an inside-the-park home run to give the Nats a 5-3 lead that they would not relinquish. What an incredible moment!! I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Daylen Lile has a huge future potential as a clutch player for the Nationals. Thanks to some surprisingly good relief pitching on Sunday, the Nats won the final game of that series 3-2, thus putting the Mets in a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild card spot in the National League. Spoiler alert!
The Nats then traveled to Atlanta, dropping the first game by a wide margin and then coming up just short (3-2) on Tuesday. It looked like they might lose 7 straight games to the Braves, but solid pitching by Andrew Alvarez and clutch home runs by Josh Bell and James Wood (who hit two) proved to be just enough to win the game, 4-3.
Last night the lowly Chicago White Sox (with a 58-101 record) came to Washington, and a combination of sloppy defense and/or bad luck in the 1st inning found the Nationals quickly behind, 4-0. Josh Bell quickly responded with a solo homer, but the White Sox tacked on 4 more runs in the middle innings. The Nationals didn't give up, however, as Luis Garcia hit the first of THREE (3) home runs, along with CJ Abrams and Daylen Lile, who tied the game with a 3-run blast in the bottom of the 8th. The Nats had a 9-8 lead going into the top of the 9th, but closing pitcher Jose Ferrer allowed a runner to reach base on a weak weak dribbler, and then gave up a home run to the next batter, Colson Montgomery, as the White Sox retook the lead. The Nationals' excellent, gutsy comeback effort was totally squandered, as the visitors won it, 10-9. DRAT!
Tomorrow the Nats are supposed to play at 4:05, but rain is forecast, and all bets are off. It's supposed to be a big farewell event for Bob Carpenter, who has been the main play-by-play TV announcer for the Nats for virtually their entire 20-year history. He is a great guy, a true professional, and is chock full of earnest enthusiasm. "SEE ... YOU ... LATER!!!" I might go see that game or the one on Sunday, but weather makes planning things very difficult.
RFK Stadium: "See you later!"
One reason for me to go up to Washington is to see the remnants of RFK Stadium, where demolition work rapidly accelerated in the late summer. I have a feeling that the progress in demolition was somehow connected to the final decision by the D.C. Council to partially fund a new football stadium for the Washington Commanders on that site.
Pennant races heat up
Elsewhere in MLB, the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, and L.A. Dodgers have locked up their division titles on the National League side, while the Seattle Mariners have won the American League West Division for the first time in two decades. However, there is a deadlock in both the AL East (where the Yankees have finally caught up to the Blue Jays, who were in first place for many weeks) and the AL Central (where the Tigers have staged a late-season slump almost as bad as the 1969 Cubs, now sharing the lead with the Indians). After holding a commanding divisional lead for the first 4 months of the 2025 season, Detroit may not even make it to the postseason!
Home run race heats up
Last year a rookie for the Seattle Mariners starting attracting attention, and this year he is dominating the sports headlines. Cal Raleigh reached the epic 60-home run plateau on Wednesday, smashing the ball into the upper deck in right field in the 1st inning (HR # 59) and then hitting #60 in the 8th inning. Can he match or exceed Aaron Judge's AL record (2022) of 62 home runs this weekend?? With 52 homers, a .330 average, and 111 RBIs this year, Judge is favored by many to be named as AL MVP this year, whereas Raleigh has a lower average (.248) but a higher RBI total (125).
On the National League side, Kyle Schwarber continues to amaze fans with his 56 home runs and 132 RBIs, but an average of just .245. His main rival is Shohei Ohtani, with 54 home runs, 101 RBIs, and an average of .279. One thing is for sure: It has been quite a thrilling year, and it will probably a thrilling final weekend of the regular season!