Blog post

April 17, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Nats manage a split in Pittsburgh

The Washington Nationals had some real momentum going after sweeping the Brewers in Milwaukee over the weekend, and it lasted for exactly one inning as they took on the division-leading Pirates in Pittsburgh on Monday. Cade Cavalli lost command of his pitches in the 2nd inning, and the Pirates capitalized on a bases-loaded situation by scoring 4 runs. He was replaced, and the damage was contained, but in the 5th inning Jackson Rutledge gave up 7 runs, and Brad Lord gave up 3 more. (Rutledge's ERA soared to 47.25 before being sent down to the minors.) Final score: 16-5. But the Nats bounced right back in Game 2, with 3 runs in the first inning and 2 more later, one of which came on C.J. Abrams' 6th (!) home run of the year. This time the bullpen held tight, and te Nats won, 6-5. Wednesday's game was a genuine pitchers' duel, and the Pirates won it, 2-0. Yesterday was one heck of a wild ride, with the Nats scoring 4 runs in the 5th inning and the Pirates quickly matching that. From there it was back and forth, and the the Nats were one strike away from winning it in the bottom of the 9th, but the Pirates tied it. In the top of the 10th inning a single by James Wood scored the "ghost runner" on 2nd base, and then the Pirates grounded into a double play to end it on a triumphant note. Nats 8, Pirates 7. Getting a 2-2 split against a 1st-place team was a nice accomplishment. The Nats are now tied with the Miami Marlins for 2nd place in the NL East, 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves.

Tonight the Nationals welcome the San Francisco Giants to Washington, with one of the new Nats' pitchers Zach Littell facing Logan Webb. And thanks to the recent broadcast rights deal between the Nationals and Gray Media, I'll be watching on our local WHSV TV station!

Minor league (AAA) affiliates

One of my long-standing projects has been to tabulate the minor league teams and stadiums at the next level below the majors, i.e., the AAA teams. There are 20 AAA teams in the International League and 10 AAA teams in the Pacific Coast League. Some of them seem questionable in my mind, however. Eventually I will create a brand new web page with a more elaborate (and accurate) version of the table below. As I took a preliminary look at the stadiums that the 30 minor league teams currently call home, it occurred to me that I have actually visited a few of them. In particular, I have seen (and photographed) Sahlen Field in Buffalo, Victory Field in Indianapolis, Goodmon Field in Durham, NC, and Louisville Slugger Field -- the latter this past January, in fact. In addition, while passing by (in car or train) I also caught brief glimpses of Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA and Southwest University Park in El Paso, TX.

RED borders indicates minor league affiliates that are "too far" from their major league counterparts, and BLUE borders indicate those that are "too close."
"IL" = International League; "PCL" = Pacific Coast League
SOURCE: The above information was derived from www.mlb.com, and the respective AAA pages linked therein.

To summarize, the Rochester Red Wings (WSH), Nashville Sounds (MIL), Indianapolis Indians (PIT), Oklahoma City Comets (LAD), El Paso Chihuahuas (SD), Durham Bulls (TB), Charlotte Knights (CWS), and Salt Lake Bees (LAA) are "too far" from their major league counterparts, in my humble opinion. Meanwhile, the Gwinnett, GA Stripers (ATL), Tacoma Rainiers (SEA), and Sugar Land Space Cowboys (HOU) are "too close" to their MLB counterparts. In the former case ("too far") the situation is sometimes almost unavoidable, given the lack of suitable alternatives. But there are some cases where a mutually-beneficial "trade" could be made:

• The Washington Nationals should adopt Richmond, whose team ("Flying Squirrels") would be upgraded to AAA status, leaving another team for possible "demotion."
• In that case, the Pittsburgh Pirates would get the Rochester Red Wings.
• In that case, the Milwaukee Brewers would get the Indianapolis Indians.
• In that case, the Atlanta Braves would get the Nashville Sounds, relegating the Gwinnett Stripers to AA status.
• Also, the Houston Astros should adopt the El Paso Chihuahuas, relegating the Sugar Land Space Cowboys to AA status.
• In that case, the San Diego Padres could adopt either Oakland (a dicey political situation) or Portland, Oregon as a new AAA franchise.
• In the former case (Oakland), the Seattle Mariners should adopt Portland, Oregon as another new AAA franchise, relegating the Tacoma Rainiers to AA status.

Those changes would substantially rectify the problem of AAA affiliates being either too far or too close from their MLB counterparts. It would be a complicated game of "musical chairs," for sure. As I strive to reach out with baseball fans after a rather pathetic lapse in communication spanning the last two or three years, I invite responses, either via email or comments on this blog post. (Let me know if the registration process isn't working.)

For the record, here is a complete list of all the Washington Nationals's minor league franchises:

• Triple-A: Rochester Red Wings
• Double-A: Harrisburg Senators
• High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks
• Single-A: Fredericksburg Nationals

And now, live and in living color, PLAY BALL!

[UPDATE: Well, this locally-televised game isn't much fun to watch, so far at least. The Giants scored 6 runs in the 2nd inning, and are ahead 8-3 in the middle of the 6th inning. I had meant to draw attention to an interesting factoid: As of yesterday, the Nationals led the major leagues both in total runs scored (107) as well as in total runs scored by the opposing team (117). Lots of excitement! Also, I made some corrections in the minor league "musical chairs" scenarios above.]