Richmond Flying Squirrels stay hot, extend winning streak to eight

The Richmond Flying Squirrels opened CarMax Park with a six-game sweep of the Altoona Curve, completing the sweep on Sunday with a 2-1 win.

The Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have won eight in a row, tying a franchise record, and stand at 8-1 on the young season.

Darien Smith, who pitched in the Valley League with the Charlottesville Tom Sox in 2023, didn’t allow a baserunner until a one-out walk in the fifth by Shawn Ross.

Smith (1-0, 2.16 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) set a career high with nine strikeouts over his 4.1 innings in his first Double-A start.

Smith is now 9-0 in his brief minor-league career – after going 6-0 with a 1.55 ERA in Low-A San Jose and 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA in High-A Eugene in 2025.

Attendance note: 49,409 fans attended the six games at CarMax Park this week, averaging 8,234 fans per game.

Richmond leads all 120 MiLB teams in average attendance this season.