https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WAS/WAS202409290.shtml
Start time: 3:05pm (the common starting time for all games
on the final day* of the regular season)
Time: 2:40
Attendance: 26,729
Start Time Weather: 69° F, Wind 6mph in from Rightfield,
Overcast, No Precipitation.
* - OK, not quite the final day THIS year …
This was a much drearier day for the hometown team, in terms
of crowd size, result, and weather (at least it didn’t rain, but the sun went
back into hibernation for the day), as the NL East Champion Phillies avoided
the ignominy of being swept by a sub-.500 team in its final series before
heading into the postseason.
Jake Irvin dug a hole for himself right away, sandwiching
full-count walks to Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos around a Trea Turner
single to load the bases. Infield grounders by cleanup hitter (!) Bryson Stott
and Alec Bohm each plated a run to give the visitors a quick lead, which the
Nats immediately cut in half on a leadoff home run by Luis García Jr. off Aaron
Nola.
Irvin then settled down, retiring the Phillies in order over
the next three innings. Washington also failed to score, although they made it
interesting in the 3rd when, with runners on first and third and one out, Dylan
Crews was caught attempting to steal home. Irvin walked the leadoff hitter
again in the top of the 5th, however, before two singles again produced a
bases-loaded, no outs situation. This time Philadelphia took full advantage,
with a two-run Schwarber single and a two-run double by Weston Wilson that
ended Irvin’s outing.
The Nats again answered back in the bottom of the inning, scoring a pair of runs on four base hits off Nola. That would prove to end the scoring, despite mild threats by Washington in the 6th and Philadelphia in the 8th. The Nats did make things interesting in the bottom of the 9th against Phillies’ closer-for-the-day José Ruiz, loading the bases (walk-single-walk) with no outs. Ruiz recovered to fan García Jr. and James Wood, and Kody Clemens made a leaping catch at the left-field wall to retire Juan Yepez for the final out of Washington’s season and provide Ruiz with the first save of his 8-year major league career.
