20/20 Hindsight (Part 2)

When we posted last week's dive into unusual scores, we didn't think it would turn into a miniseries. But, hey, hindsight. And baseball!


12-0

Jose Ramirez of the Indians was already on an absurd spree of extra-base hits when, on Monday, he decided to collect a triple and two doubles as part of a 10-XBH team outburst and a 12-0 victory at Camden Yards. That made him the first player since (at least) 1900 to have 14 extra-base hits in a seven-game span, and also the first Clevelander with a double in seven straight games.

Amazingly, Ramirez managed to not drive in any runs with those three extra-base hits, the first Indians batter with a triple, two doubles, and zero RBI since Brad Komminsk did it against the Mariners on August 24, 1989. All told Cleveland piled up 10 XBH, the team's most ever in a game in Baltimore (either stadium) since the Browns moved there and became the Orioles in 1954.

Thanks to Corey Kluber, the Indians didn't actually need all those extra-base hits and runs. However, Kluber became the first Cleveland pitcher to hurl an individual shutout with 11 strikeouts, in a game the Indians won by 12 runs, since Herb Score did it against the Senators on June 2, 1956. (Score also walked eight but somehow avoided any of them scoring.)

The 12-0 final score matched the Indians' largest-ever shutout in the Charm City; Sonny Seibert threw a complete-game 3-hitter at Memorial Stadium on May 10, 1968.

And here at Kernels we always feel bad for the one player who's left out of such offensive outbursts (and most of the time there is one). On Monday it was Francisco Lindor, whose 0-for-6 was a first for a Cleveland leadoff hitter when the team scored 12 runs since Jerry Dybzinski did it against the Twins on June 15, 1980.


9-0 and 12-11

The Braves had an innocent-looking 2-0 lead on the Giants going to the 8th inning on Monday before the wheels fell off. Josh Osich got two groundouts but issued two walks (one intentional, to Matt Kemp) and an RBI single before Derek Law was summoned.

(Sidebar: Someone really needs to get Derek Law, Aaron Judge, and Red Sox triple-A guy Ryan Court all together on one team. Or at least in a "SportsCenter" commercial. Make this happen.)

The Law, unfortunately, was not on the Giants' side on this night; Derek became the first Giants pitcher to face at least six batters and get none of them out since Chris Hook, well, got the hook against Pittsburgh on September 16, 1995. Atlanta's 7-run inning was its biggest of the season, and the 9-0 final was (really) the biggest shutout dropped by the Braves against the Giants since September 15, 1975, at Candlestick Park (12-0).

The Braves then topped their 7-run inning with an 8-run 5th on Thursday as they won a wild finale with the Giants, 12-11. It was the team's first 8-run frame since April 19, 2011, at Dodger Stadium, the longest drought in the majors by nearly 3½ years. The Cardinals were the next-least-recent team to have an 8-run inning, and theirs was in the 2014 Division Series.

Lane Adams, batting in the pitcher's spot, had a three-run pinch-hit homer as part of that frame, the first such homer for the Braves since... Danny Santana did it in Monday's 7-run inning. The last time the Braves had a pair of three- or four-run pinch-hit homers in the same week was way back in July 1945; outfielder Butch Nieman hit both of those.

The Giants rallied for five runs in the last two innings, but stranded both the tying and go-ahead runs on base. The last time they stranded both runs in such a high-scoring affair was August 25, 2010, when Andres Torres, like Hunter Pence on Thursday, grounded to second for a 12-11 loss (this one to Cincinnati).

And the last time the Giants scored 11 runs against the Braves but still lost was on April 19, 1951, when the teams were still New York and Boston. Earl Torgeson's single gave the Braves a 13-12, 10-inning walkoff.


8-1

Okay, that part's not unusual. But what if we added "(F/11)"? The Cardinals and Phillies were tied 1-1 after regulation on Tuesday before St. Louis went on a seven-run spree in the top of the 11th, including a pair of two-run homers from Yadier Molina and Tommy Pham. Those two were the first Cardinals teammates to homer in the same extra inning since Skip Schumaker and Scott Rolen did it in Atlanta on July 22, 2007. (Both of those were also multi-run homers, though they "only" finished the inning with 5 runs.)

The game marked the first time the Cardinals had scored 7 or more, in an inning numbered 11 or higher, since beating the Boston Braves 10-3 on the final weekend of the 1928 campaign.

Pham would have two more homers on Wednesday as the Cardinals won another extra-inning affair, 7-6. He also contributed two outfield assists, gunning down Aaron Altherr at home in the 4th, and actually sending the game to extras by throwing out Odubel Herrera at the plate in the bottom of the 9th with what would have been a walkoff. He's the 14th player (and first Cardinal) in major-league history to have two homers and two outfield assists in the same game, the last being Jose Guillen of the Royals on June 7, 2008.



12-3 and 18-3

Despite only having the fifth-best run differential in the majors, the Nationals have put up a variety of weird numbers this year, including a 16-5, a 15-12, and a 23-5. Tuesday's 12-3 win in Miami was fairly tame, aside from the fact that those 12 runs were scored by six different players who had exactly two each. Thanks to all those high-scoring games, that was already the third time this year that the Nats had six players with multiple runs, setting a franchise record. It happened three times total in the 13 previous seasons dating to 2004.

It was also the team's seventh game with 12 total runs scored, tying the all-time mark set just two years ago. That would be fairly impressive if it were September. But this happened on June 20. The last team with seven 12-run games by June 20 was the 2011 Red Sox (who also got their seventh on that date), and the last with eight by the 24th was the 2007 Tigers.

Yes, four days later on Saturday, the Nats did it again, this time hanging an 18-3 in our matrix. The last 18-3 game in the majors was on September 11, 2013 (Oakland over Minnesota), and every X-to-3 score up to 18 has now been achieved this year. The last season that happened was 2002. And the Nats are the first team to have an 18-run game and a 23-run game (exactly) in the same season since the 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers.

Trea Turner got everything started; although he didn't homer, the Nats' leadoff man collected five hits and scored four of the 18 runs. He's just the third leadoff batter in franchise history with that line, joining Denard Span (April 18, 2015 at Atlanta) and Tim Raines (August 16, 1987, versus Pittsburgh). Span's game being on the road, and Raines's team being in Montréal, the last leadoff batter to post that line in Washington was one Bubba Phillips of the White Sox, who did it against the original Senators on May 16, 1957.

Michael Taylor also chipped in four hits and four runs scored, making he and Turner the second teammates in franchise history to do it in the same game. The other pair was Gary Carter and Larry Parrish in a 19-0 beatdown of the Braves on July 30, 1978. If you look closely at our matrix below, you'll see 19-0 was last done in 2002 (by the Angels), but that 1978 contest is the last 19-0 before that.

And being that the Reds have only been coming to Washington since 2005, because the previous two teams were in the American League, Saturday also marked Cincinnati's worst loss in the nation's capital since June 7, 1892, when the National League Senators (who were disbanded after finishing a combined 101½ games out in 1898 and 1899) collected 31 hits and beat them 20-2.

The Nationals have inspired us to create The Matrix of every final score in MLB history and the last time it happened. (It doesn't even fit in one screenshot, but if we can figure out how to make it HTML-friendly, we'll post it here. Promise.) Dark green is this year, light green last year, then the yellows.

The lowest score that has never happened in MLB history is a 15-15 tie. The lowest missing score that would result in a decision is 19-18.



25 or 6 to 4
The "twenty" part is meant to modify both numbers, as in "25 to 4" or "26 to 4". If you can make out the matrix above, neither of those has happened in MLB since 1899. Intermission!
(For you purists who want the original, here. But no freaky video with it.)


16-5

Ridiculous scores at Coors Field are no surprise to anyone at this point, and the Diamondbacks won by this score there on Wednesday. However, if it looks a little familiar, that's because it's the third 16-5 game already this season, and the second just in Denver. The Nationals posted the first one back on April 27 (the other was Mets over Braves on May 3); it's the first time there have been three 16-5 games in a season since 2010. However, the Coors Field scoreboard operator(s) are the first to see that same final twice in a season since their counterparts at Crosley Field in Cincinnati in 1955. The Reds beat both Pennsylvania teams by that score that season (Phillies June 26, Pirates July 29).

The other interesting part of Wednesday's game was that the "1" in the Diamondbacks' "16" all came in one inning. The 4th was the third 10-run inning in Arizona's 20-season history, and actually the first time they've scored exactly 10 in a frame. They had an 11-run 2nd against the Phillies in 2015 and a team-record 13 runs in the 4th on April 11, 2010, versus Pittsburgh. That "10" filled out the Diamondbacks' version of a bingo card as well; they have already (on June 21!) scored every number from 0 through 10 in some inning this season. The last team to do that was the 2009 Yankees (and, yes, their season turned out okay).

And despite Coors Field's reputation, only two of those 16 runs came on homers; Nick Ahmed's two-run shot in the 7th was the D'backs' only longball in the game. Only once before had Arizona scored 16 runs in a game with a maximum of one homer; that was August 2, 1999, when they topped the Giants 16-6 at (then) Bank One Ballpark, and the tater was by Bernard Gilkey.


10-6

The Mets and Dodgers threw this score together in a Monday slugfest that featured eight home runs, one shy of the Dodger Stadium record for a game (set against the Cardinals in 2003). It was the first time in Mets history that they'd homered four times at Dodger Stadium and lost.

Jose Reyes became the third individual Met with two homers in a Dodger Stadium loss, joining Victor Diaz (August 12, 2005) and the great Dave Kingman (July 17, 1982).

Clayton Kershaw got the win despite all those Mets bombs. Only one other pitcher in the modern era (1900) has given up six runs and four homers, but also struck out 10 and won the game, and he was also a Dodger. Ben Wade did it in a 12-7 complete-game (!) victory against the Pirates on May 17, 1952. Three others had done it with only the "4 HR" qualifier, but in those cases all the homers were solo shots and they ended with less than six total runs allowed.

Zack Wheeler gave up three homers of his own and, unlike Kershaw, didn't come back out for the 3rd inning. He's the fifth starter in Mets history to give up seven earned runs and three homers while getting six or fewer outs. Tommy Milone did it back on May 21, marking the first time two Mets have done it in a season. The others were Pat Misch (2009), Steve Trachsel (2003), and Jack Fisher (1966).

It would end up being just the second game ever played at Dodger Stadium where both starters gave up six runs and three homers. Woody Williams of the Cardinals "matched" Odalis Perez in a 10-7 St. Louis victory on July 20, 2003.


12-0 (reprise)

The next day was another Mets-Dodgers slugfest, although it was only one team doing the slugging. And mostly one player, as Corey Seager smacked three home runs and a double, collected six RBIs, and was stranded on deck to end the game. The double didn't score any runs; instead that "6" was a combination of a three-run homer, a two-run homer, and a solo shot. Like Scooter Gennett just a couple weeks ago, Seager could have had the chance at the never-attained "home run cycle" had Logan Forsythe singled (walked, been plunked, whatever) to load the bases for him. Instead Forsythe struck out looking, making Seager the first 3-HR hitter stranded on deck to end the game (i.e., missing the shot at his fourth) since Kendrys Morales in September 2015.

Seager also became just the fourth Dodger ever to miss the home-run cycle by the slam, joining Yasmani Grandal (last July 8), Andre Ethier (June 26, 2009), and Duke Snider (June 1, 1955).

The score matched the Dodgers'-- who of course were one of the New York teams for their first 75 years or so-- largest shutout ever against a(nother) New York team. They also hung a 12-0 on the (then-New York) Giants on April 19, 1940, at Ebbets Field.

And that 12-0 score came one day after the Indians/Orioles 12-0 score that started this post. The last time that score popped up on back-to-back days was June 17 and 18, 1928! (To be fair, it has happened twice on the same day since then.)


12-6

The Dodgers finished off their homestand with a bizarre wild-pitch-fest on Sunday which resulted in a 12-6 victory. The score wasn't that unusual, but Adam Ottavino entered in the 7th with a 6-4 lead. He promptly walked the bases loaded and then uncorked two wild pitches that scored all three runners and gave the Dodgers the lead. In the 8th, Ottavino surrendered a leadoff double to Joc Pederson, then bounced two more wild pitches-- scoring Pederson and Chris Taylor who walked-- before Cody Bellinger hit his second homer of the game to knock Ottavino out.

Ottavino became the second pitcher in Rockies history to throw four wild pitches in one game (David Hale against the Mets, August 23, 2015), but the first for any team in the live-ball era to throw four and have all of them result in a run. Knuckleballer Phil Niekro once bounced in three runs in 1969.

And Ottavino wasn't the only one. Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy had bounced three of his own in the 2nd inning to advance Mark Reynolds all the way around after a leadoff walk. That made Sunday's contest the first game in the live-ball era (1920) where multiple pitchers recorded three of them. Rockies starter Tim Anderson threw in one for good measure, and thus also made it the first game since 1920 with eight total wild pitches. (A single pitcher threw 10 back in 1876, so we know it's not the all-time record, but boxscores pre-1910 aren't complete/or and easily searchable.)

And as for Bellinger, who tends to hit homers with such regularity that we run out of notes about them, that shot in the 8th inning marked his sixth multi-homer game so far this season. In Dodgers franchise history, which dates to 1884, no player has had six multi-homer games by the end of July, much less June. The previous record-holder for fastest to do it was Shawn Green, who got his sixth on August 3, 2002.



Bottom Of The Bag

⋅ George Springer & Jake Marisnick, Sun-Mon: First time in Astros history that the #1 and #9 batters both homered in back-to-back games (remember, pitchers were in that 9-hole for a lot of years).

⋅ Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Wednesday: Four "B" players each had an extra-base hit for Boston (who are sometimes called the B's locally to this day). Last time that happened was April 17, 1988; the hitters were Wade Boggs, Ellis Burks, Marty Barrett, and Todd Benzinger.

⋅ Josh Reddick, Thursday: Missed cycle by the single for second time this year (also April 19). Seventh player in live-ball era to do it twice in a season, joining Chris Owings (2014), Gregg Jefferies (1988), Eddie Mathews (1960), Stan Musial (1951), Joe DiMaggio (1937), and Travis Jackson (1929).

⋅ Whit Merrifield, Friday: First player in Royals history to have multiple doubles in a game with the last one being a walkoff.

⋅ Curtis Granderson, Wed/Thu: Second player in Mets history to hit a leadoff home run in consecutive team games. Kaz Matsui pulled it off on May 22 & 23, 2004.

⋅ Curtis Granderson, Wed/Thu: Second visiting player ever to hit back-to-back leadoff homers at Dodger Stadium. That honor previously belonged to then-Brewer Scott Podsednik, also in 2004 (June 1-2).

⋅ Joey Gallo, Wednesday: First player in Rangers/Senators history to have an inside-the-park home run and two other extra-base hits in same game.

⋅ Franklin Barreto, Saturday: Youngest player to homer in an A's uniform since Jose Canseco on September 28, 1985. Joined Matt Olson and Jaycob Brugman in hitting first career homers, first trio to do that in same game since 1914.

⋅ Mets, Friday: Second game in team history where the 2 through 5 batters all recorded three hits. The other was July 4, 1985, in Atlanta. Yes, the Rick Camp game.


Did You Know?

Butch Nieman was considered a replacement player during World War II, but was dangerously close to being drafted himself. His orders were sent on the same day the U.S. bombed Hiroshima, telling him to report on August 17... two days after Japan surrendered.

20/20 Hindsight

It was the kind of week that made you rub your eyes and say, wait, is that score right?


20-7

If someone told you Minnesota scored 7 in the 3rd period and beat Seattle 20-7, you would probably think Vikings and Seahawks. Especially when another column of the boxscore says 28-14. It's the 7 more "points" in the 7th period that start to confuse things. But no, it actually happened on Tuesday, the first 20-7 score in MLB since the Padres won in Montréal on May 19, 2001. (And with the exchange rate, that's closer to 16-5. ☺)

Unlike Anthony Rendon's 10-RBI game or Scooter Gennett's four-homer outburst last week, this game came from everywhere. The 28 hits set a Twins/Senators team record, and the 42 combined hits (that's the 28-14, incidentally) obliterated the old Target Field record of 35. Number-nine hitter Eddie Rosario went deep three times, two of them with someone on base, just the third #9 batter in team history to have multiple multi-run homers in the same game. Catcher Mark Salas did so at Tiger Stadium on May 29, 1987; and Greg Gagne pulled it off the year before (August 22) against Toronto.

Kennys Vargas became the first Twins player this year with four hits and four runs scored in a game, and the first to do it without a homer since Jason Kubel in 2008 (August 17 vs Seattle). Jason Castro had four hits and four RBIs and didn't lead the team in either category, just the third player in team history to manage that (Danny Valencia in Joe Mauer's 7-RBI game in 2010, and Buddy Myer for the Senators in 1935).

Eduardo Escobar topped the hit column with five base knocks, all of which were singles. The last Minnesotan with a 5-hit game was... Eduardo Escobar in Detroit, August 22, 2014. He's the first player in Minnesota history to have two such games batting 6th or lower, and the first for the franchise since Cecil Travis in 1946.

All told the Twins had 22 singles among their 28 hits, with Escobar, Vargas, and Castro accounting for 13 of them. They became the first trio of teammates in the majors to each have four hits, but none for extra bases, since Pat Listach, Darryl Hamilton, and Scott Fletcher each did it for the Blue Jays in a 31-hit outburst on August 28, 1992. (Kevin Seitzer also had five hits in that game, but two were doubles.)

And not to be overlooked, Twins starter Kyle Gibson gave up 12 hits and 6 runs of his own, making this the first game since August 27, 1938, where three different pitchers got tagged for 10 hits and 6 runs apiece. Boston's Fritz Ostermueller threw a complete game 12-hitter (as you did in those days) and beat up on the White Sox 19-6.


14-3

The Cubs started a midweek series at Citi Field by unloading 14 runs on the Mets on Tuesday. Anthony Rizzo was moved to the leadoff spot for the first time in his career and promptly took the second pitch of the game to center field for the Cubs' first leadoff homer in Flushing since Reed Johnson hit one on July 6, 2012. Rizzo became the first Cubs 1B to hit a leadoff homer since Rick Monday had three in 1976.

In the 2nd inning Rizzo drew a bases-loaded walk which begat Ian Happ's first career grand slam. Despite the Addison Russells and Kris Bryants of recent years, Happ became the youngest Cub to hit a slam in a road game since Ron Santo went deep at (yes) Connie Mack Stadium on August 16, 1960. Three more hits chased Zack Wheeler from the game; he got the dubious honor of being the first starter in Mets history to allow eight earned runs and a grand slam and not make it out of the 2nd inning.

Bryant and Jason Heyward would go on to homer later in the game, making it the first contest in 14 years where the top four in the Cubs' batting order all went yard. Mark Grudzielanek, Alex Gonzalez, Corey Patterson, and Sammy Sosa each did it in a home win over Milwaukee on June 24, 2003.

Javier Baez homered in Rizzo's spot later in the game after some double-switches; it was the first time the North Siders had ever hit five homers in a game at Citi Field. Oddly, they also did it exactly once at Shea (April 11, 1980) and exactly once at Ebbets Field (July 13, 1951), but never at the Polo Grounds.

Tuesday was the first day in MLB history with both a 20-7 game and a 14-3 game. It's happened four times in the NFL (which might be the scoreboard you mistook it for), but even the most recent of those was on November 30, 1975.

Rizzo, incidentally, hit another leadoff homer on Wednesday, making him the first player with back-to-back ones at Citi Field (including the Mets). The only person ever to do it at Shea Stadium was at least a Met, Kaz Matsui on May 22 and 23, 2004.


13-2

Speaking of Wednesday, if you thought you saw 13-2 on that day's scoreboard, you'd be right. Twice. The Braves pounded Tanner Roark and the Nationals in an afternoon getaway game, while the Astros threw up a 9-run inning later in the night in the battle of the two Texas teams. Neither team did it via the longball either; Atlanta's only dinger was a two-run job by Kurt Suzuki. It was their first road game with 13 runs scored, but only one homer, since July 26, 2003, when they won 15-4 in Montréal.

Each of the Braves' top three hitters-- Ender Inciarte, Brandon Phillips, and Nick Markakis-- each had three hits, two runs scored, and an RBI (they combined for 10, 7, and 6 total), a first for the team in 20 years. On April 18, 1997, at Coors Field (of course), Kenny Lofton, Michael Tucker, and Chipper Jones each did it in a 14-0 shutout.

Tanner Roark got tagged for seven earned runs in five innings; he has two of the Nationals' three such starts this season (Jeremy Guthrie has the other). The Nats' last pitcher to do that twice by the end of June was Shairon Martis in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Astros only had two homers among their 13 runs, and those happened to be back-to-back to start their 9-run 7th inning. Derek Fisher and Jake Marisnick became the second pair of starting 8- and 9-hitters to go back-to-back in Astros history (thanks to the National League, there's been some pinch hitters in there). Bill Doran and pitcher Bob Knepper hit them in the 6th inning of a 3-2 win at Candlestick Park on June 14, 1983.

The 9-run inning was the Astros' biggest at Minute Maid Park since July 10, 2003, when they laid one on the Reds and won 11-2. And Wednesday was the first day with a pair of 13-2 scores since August 23, 2003. Both of those games involved Chicago; the Sox beat the Yankees while the Cubs lost by the same score to Arizona.


10-9 and 10-8

The Giants and Rockies played a four-game set in Denver this weekend, and well, Coors will be Coors. It opened on Thursday with Colorado taking an 8-1 lead after three innings, and the Giants answering with eight of their own runs in the final three frames. Raimel Tapia's single in the 9th broke a 9-9 tie for the walkoff win. Tapia became the fifth-youngest in Rockies history with a walkoff hit, behind Nolan Arenado, Troy Tulowitzki, Juan Uribe, and Roberto Mejia. In the past nine seasons it was the fifth time the Giants had scored nine or more runs in a road game and ended up losing... and all of those were at Coors Field. And four of them were by a 10-9 score (the other was 14-11).

Arenado, for his part on Thursday, had three extra-base hits and four runs batted in, but no homers; all the hits were doubles. Only one other batter in Rockies history had pulled that off, catcher Charles Johnson in San Diego on June 1, 2004. And Giants starter Matt Moore got bailed out when his team tied the game in the 9th; he's the first pitcher in Giants history to give up 11 hits and eight earned runs in three innings or less and not get tagged with the loss.

There was no dramatic comeback and walkoff on Friday, though the Giants did get from 10-5 back to 10-8 in the last two innings before stranding the two tying runs on base to end the game. In that one it was Giants 2B Joe Panik who had three extra-base hits (two doubles and a homer) and three runs scored; he's the first Giant to do that in a loss since Pablo Sandoval was part of that same 14-11 game at Coors Field on August 22, 2009. Denard Span had a homer and a triple for seven total bases, marking the second consecutive game that San Francisco had two players with 7 TB and lost. In their west-coast history they'd never done that in back-to-back games; in fact, they hadn't had two games like that in a season since 1995.

It didn't get a whole lot better Sunday when Arenado hit a walkoff three-run homer, topping the two-run pinch-hit homer by Hunter Pence in the top of the 9th (the first PH HR of his career, incidentally, mainly because he almost always starts). That walkoff was Arenado's fourth hit of the game, and yes, they were single, double, triple, homer (not in that order). In the past 30 years, three players have had a walkoff hit to complete the cycle, and all of them are Rockies. Carlos Gonzalez also did it with a homer on July 31, 2010; while Dante Bichette singled to complete his on June 10, 1998. The last non-Rockie to do it was Boston's Dwight Evans, also via homer, in 1984.

Three of this year's four cycles have come at Coors Field; in the live-ball era (and probably ever), no stadium had ever before tallied three in a season.


867-5309
It's never been a baseball score. Just a musical one. Intermission!


11-2 and 15-7

Camden Yards has always been a homer-happy ballpark, but when the Cardinals showed up this weekend it got a real big smile on its face (as did they). St. Louis clobbered five homers in the opener on Friday, one each by five different players, the first time they've ever done that in an American League park (regular or postseason). Their only other game with five was last June in Seattle, and Matt Carpenter and Tommy Pham each had two in that game.

Paul DeJong added two singles to his homer on Friday, and thanks to that designated-hitter rule, he became the first #9 batter for the Cardinals to have three hits, three runs scored, and three driven in, since legendary pitcher Bob Gibson did it at Candlestick on September 29, 1965.

The homerfest swung the other way on Saturday with the Orioles hitting five homers, including two by Jonathan Schoop. That was Schoop's second multi-homer game against an NL opponent this month; he went deep twice against Pittsburgh on the 6th, and is the first Oriole ever to do it twice in a season. The Cardinals hit three more dingers of their own, however, marking the 18th game in the 25-year history of Camden Yards to feature eight or more homers. Since it opened, it's third in that category among all ballparks (current or former); you probably didn't need too many guesses to get Coors Field (with 33!), but second is actually the friendly confines of Wrigley Field with 22 such games.

The 15-7 win on Saturday was the first by that exact score in Orioles/Browns/original Brewers team history. The last Baltimore team to win by that count was the old American Association Orioles, who beat the Columbus (Ohio) Solons by that score on May 22, 1891.

The score calmed down to 8-5 in Sunday's finale, but not before the teams combined for eight more homers (four each). Cardinals starter Lance Lynn surrendered all four Baltimore taters, the first to do so in under five innings since Sterling Hitchcock against the Rockies (at Busch, not Coors) on September 11, 2003.

Dexter Fowler homered in all three games of the series, becoming the first Cardinal to have three career homers in the Charm City, much less in one weekend (or three games in a row).

And all told, the three games saw 22 home runs, tied for the most ever in any three-day span at Camden Yards. The O's and Astros had a series with eight, nine, and five last August. The next-highest three-day total is 18, from May 31 to June 2, 1998.


13-4

Nick Castellanos offered up a triple, a double, and 4 RBIs as Detroit beat up on the Rays by this score on Saturday. No Tiger had posted that line in 367 days; Justin Upton (who had 3 RBI as well on Saturday) did it in Chicago last June. But the last Tiger to do it at home was Carlos Guillen on July 29, 2011. (All three players also batted 6th, for whatever that's worth.)

Rather than quibble over the definition of "batting around", we'll just say that the Tigers sent nine men to the plate in both the 4th and 5th innings, each time scoring five runs and stranding one. The last time the Tigers had back-to-back 5-run innings was September 17, 2008, at Texas (5th and 6th). Earlier that same year (May 24 vs Twins) was the last time they did it at Comerica.

That also meant Alex Avila got the odd experience of leading off three consecutive innings (and, by extension, Ian Kinsler of ending them). The last Tiger to do that was Yoenis Cespedes in Seattle on July 6, 2015. Like Avila, he also went homer-single-out in those three appearances.

Friday's game was also the first time in Rays history that three different players recorded a triple. The Reds would promptly do the same thing (three players tripled in a loss) on Saturday, the first time it's happened on back-to-back days since July 9-10, 1966 (Indians and Athletics, against each other).

And while we're here, on Thursday Miguel Cabrera's walkoff homer sent the Rays packing. The score of 5-3 didn't make our headlines, but the notable thing is that it was the first time the Tigers had ever hit a walkoff homer against Tampa Bay. And aside from combos involving the Astros, who just moved to the AL four years ago, the American League grid of such a thing is now complete. I.e., every current AL team has now hit a walkoff homer against every other current AL team. There are about 12 such combos remaining in the NL, all involving the 1990s expansion teams.

You too can now keep the list of which teams have never walkoff-homered against each other. Since we figured it out. Cross off DET-TB as your free space.


1-0

We haven't spent much time on 1-0 games lately, especially considering there's only been 10 of them the entire year (which is an amazingly far cry from the 69 just three years ago; there were 47 last year and 45 in 2015). But Chris Sale spun one of the gems of the season on Thursday, going the distance with 10 strikeouts and also chipping in an extra-base hit at the plate since the Red Sox were in Philadelphia and the pitchers had to bat. Sale was the first Boston pitcher with 10 K and an XBH since Ken Brett (brother of George) did it against the Senators on September 19, 1970.

Thanks to throwing a complete game and still being in the lineup, Sale also got his double as the leadoff batter of the 8th inning, the latest into a game that any Red Sox hurler has gotten a hit since 1997. On June 21 of that year, SS Mike Benjamin wound up position-player-pitching in a blowout by the Tigers. The previous year (May 23, 1996) saw the last 8th-inning hit by a true Boston pitcher, when the team gave up the DH against Seattle and Roger Clemens ended up batting.

There's just one problem here. It's the Red Sox who have the 0. Pinch-hitting journeyman Ty Kelly doubled in the only run of the game in the bottom of the 8th inning, and it was the Phillies who took the 1-0 victory against Sale. He became the first Red Sock with 10 strikeouts in a complete-game loss (never mind the double) since Tim Wakefield against the Yankees on September 11, 2005.

It was just the second 1-0 interleague win in Phils history, the other being June 24, 2011, against Oakland, on a Ben Francisco walkoff single. The Phillies' last 1-0 win over Boston was in the next-to-last season of the Braves' stay there; Dick Sisler singled off Warren Spahn in the bottom of the 15th inning to score Richie Ashburn with the walkoff on August 7, 1951. (And no, Spahn did not pitch a 15-inning CG. That game. He did earlier in the year, and again in 1963).


Bottom Of The Bag

⋅ Cody Bellinger, Tuesday: Second player in Dodgers history with a multi-homer game against Cleveland. Bob Caruthers did it against the old National League Spiders on June 12, 1888.

⋅ Gary Sanchez, Wednesday: First Yankee catcher to have 3 hits and 3 RBI in a loss since... Gary Sanchez did it twice last August. Only other Yankee backstop with three such games in his career was Yogi Berra (1951-54).

⋅ Khris Davis, Thursday: Two-run single in 10th inning was first time Athletics beat Yankees on an extra-inning walkoff when trailing (so, multi-run play) since June 1, 1932. Max Bishop homered in the 16th after Babe Ruth had a go-ahead single in the top half.

⋅ Jacob deGrom, Sunday: Fourth pitcher in Mets history to throw eight innings, allow no earned runs, and also hit a home run. Joins Johan Santana (2010), Dwight Gooden (1985), and Pete Falcone (1981).

⋅ Aaron Judge, Friday: First Yankee with a homer and a triple in same game since Brett Gardner, August 31, 2014. Had been longest drought in the majors by nearly a year (Marlins).

⋅ Jake Arrieta, Saturday: First Cubs pitcher to hit a home run in Pittsburgh since Rick Sutcliffe on April 23, 1985.

⋅ Brandon Phillips, Sat-Sun: First Braves hitter with a walkoff anything in back-to-back games since Ozzie Virgil on September 18-19, 1988 (singles vs Padres and Giants).

⋅ Trea Turner, Sunday: First player in Nationals history (2005) with four stolen bases in one game. Last for Expos was Marquis Grissom in 1992. Turner is first in franchise history to do it and still not score a run.

TV Land

Scooter found himself heavily involved with Kernels this week.
(Catherine Bulinski on Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0)


The Muppet Show

We confess we didn't know the story behind Ryan Gennett's nickname until Tuesday night. But whether Ryan or Scooter, Gennett added his name to one of MLB's most exclusive clubs on Tuesday, becoming the 17th player ever to homer four times in one game, and very nearly the first ever to accomplish the elusive "home run cycle".

Gennett dropped a 2-out RBI single in the 1st inning for Cincinnati's first run of the night, but when he hit a grand slam in the 3rd we started paying attention. The Reds would eventually pile up nine earned runs off Adam Wainwright, tying a career high which was also set against Cincinnati (August 28, 2013) and knocking him from the game after Eugenio Suarez cleared the bases with a 4th-inning triple.

Gennett greeted Josh Gant with his second homer, a two-run blast to score Suarez, and already making him just the second Reds batter ever to have two homers and drive in seven runs against St. Louis. The other was none other than Johnny Bench in a 12-5 win on July 26, 1970, less than a month after the opening of Riverfront Stadium.

When Scooter hit a solo shot in the 6th he became the fourth player in Reds history with a 3-HR, 8-RBI game, the most recent being Forrest "Smoky" Burgess (nicknamed, most likely, after North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains from which he hailed) on July 29, 1955. After the Reds went 1-2-3 in the 7th, Scooter would be up fourth in the next inning; two baserunners and one out would give him the chance at history.

Arismendy Alcantara grounded out. Scott Schebler walked. Alas Suarez whiffed to take the three-run homer out of play. But the walk extended the inning instead of leaving Scooter on deck to end the game. And sure enough, a liner to right-center just cleared the wall and "scooted" Gennett into the record books.

The two-run shot gave him 10 RBI, joining Mark Whiten in 1993 as the only players with four homers and ten driven in. Oddly, Whiten did it for the Cardinals against the Reds; Gennett did it for the Reds against the Cardinals. Anthony Rendon had the season's other 10-RBI game back in the Nationals' 23-5 lovefest on April 30; since RBI became an official stat in 1920, there have never been two such games in a season.

The Twittersphere couldn't help but notice that Gennett "called" his historic performance by wearing jersey number 4. Only one of the other 4-HR hitters can claim that, and that was Lou Gehrig (who hit his on June 3, 1932). (Partial credit to Mike Cameron who was #44 when he did it in 2002.)

And remember that inconspicuous RBI single from the 1st inning? That made Gennett just the sixth player ever with five hits and 10 RBI in a game (never mind the four homers). Rendon is another; before them were Fred Lynn (1975), Reggie Jackson (1969), Walker Cooper (1949), and Jim Bottomley (1924).

For a kid who didn't want to wear his seat belt, he certainly buckled down and made a name for himself.


Touched By An Angel

Anaheim leadoff batter Cameron Maybin collected three hits in Friday's 9-4 win over the Astros, but it was what he did after reaching base that got our attention. Maybin stole second base three times, and then third base once, to become just the fourth player in Angels history-- and first since Chad Curtis in 1993-- to swipe four bags in a game. He's the first of those four to also score four runs.

Oddly Maybin never had anyone on base before he came up, so he also got the dubious note of being the third leadoff batter in Angels history with three hits, four runs scored, but zero driven in. Mike Trout did it in June 2012, and David Eckstein was the first on September 5, 2002.

On Sunday Maybin was at it again, reaching three times (two singles and a walk), stealing twice, and scoring on all three trips as the Angels doubled up Houston 12-6. Add in his May 27 game against the Marlins, and Maybin has three games already this season where he reached three times, scored three times, and stole at least two bases along the way. The only other player in Angels history to post that line thrice in a season was Luis Polonia in 1991.


Wander Over Yonder

This is an animated Disney show about an "intergalactic traveler" who fights "Lord Hater"'s attempts to put the kibosh on people's fun. And what's more fun than a scheduled doubleheader? Before Saturday there hadn't been one since 2011, so the Athletics and Rays decided to even add one extra inning before Evan Longoria walked off Game 1 in the 10th. Obviously Longoria's most famous walkoff hit will forever be his line-drive homer to end the 2011 regular season, but this was his fourth in extra innings to give him the all-time Rays lead in that category. Travis Lee, Greg Vaughn, and Ben Zobrist each had three.

Although they lost the first game, Yonder Alonso went 3-for-5 with two doubles among the Athletics' 16 hits. Turns out he was just getting started. In Game 2, he recorded four singles for a total of seven hits on the day. The Athletics banged out 16 more hits, their first time reaching that mark in both games of a twinbill since August 30, 1942 (at Washington).

As for Yonder, it was only last season that Josh Reddick also had seven hits in a doubleheader (May 7 at Baltimore), but only one went for extra bases. The last Oaklander with seven hits and two extra-base knocks in a DH... wasn't an Oaklander. That would be Jerry Lumpe of the Kansas City Athletics, who also did it on August 20 and also against the Senators. That year was 1963, the Washington team was the second-iteration Sens, and Lumpe's second XBH was a walkoff home run to win Game 2 in the bottom of the 14th.


Twin Peaks

The Twins and Giants started a three-game set in San Francisco on Friday night, with Ervin Santana dominating his way to a four-hit shutout and the fourth "Maddux" of the year (a Maddux, named for Greg who did it at least 16 times, is an individual shutout on fewer than 100 pitches). Edinson Volquez's no-hitter last Saturday was one; Ivan Nova and Masahiro Tanaka have the others. Santana never faced more than four batters in a frame and never had an inning longer than 15 pitches. (For reference, most pitchers hope to average 15 an inning, not max out at it.)

Santana has already thrown three shutouts this season; no other pitcher has more than one. The last Twins hurler with three, allowing no more than four hits in any of them, was Scott Erickson in 1992. And thanks to being in the other league, only one other pitcher in franchise history ever threw an individual shutout against the Giants. That was Earl Whitehill in Game 3 of the 1933 World Series, when the Twins were the Washington Senators and the Giants were in New York.

Santana made just as many headlines on Friday for his bat. Playing in the NL park, he stepped to the plate for just the third game since joining the Twins, and the first time ever at AT&T (including his 2014 season with the Braves). In the 4th inning he ripped a bases-loaded double, the third XBH of his career, and plated three of Minnesota's ultimate total of four runs. Even in the 20 years of interleague play, no Twins pitcher had driven in three runs in a game since before the designated hitter rule was added. The last to do it was Luis Tiant against the newly-minted Milwaukee Brewers on May 28, 1970.

And Santana is just the sixth pitcher in franchise history to throw an individual shutout and drive in three runs at the plate. James "Mudcat" Grant did it against Cleveland on August 27, 1965. Since we're all about the nicknames today, "Mudcat" got his moniker at a minor-league tryout when another player thought he was from Mississippi (he's not) and called him that as somewhat of a pejorative. The other Twins/Senators to do it, incidentally: Jim Kaat (1963), Dean Stone (1954), Bob Porterfield (1953), and Irving "Bump" Hadley (1928).


Saved By The Bell
(Because we couldn't find a note involving Austin Slater and not go there.)

The Giants and Twins finished that series at AT&T Park with a Sunday slugfest in which the orange-and-black prevailed by a 13-8 count. Only once before had the Twins scored eight runs in an NL park and lost; that was an 11-10 affair at Wrigley Field in 1999.

The Giants collected 17 hits, nine of them for extra bases, but despite the hitter-friendly confines of South Beach, exactly zero of those hits were homers. The Giants hadn't had 9 XBH in a game without at least one homer since August 5, 1922, against the Cubs, and naturally at the Polo Grounds (with its 483-foot center field fence).

Buster Posey and (here he is) Austin Slater each had three hits and four runs batted in, but obviously neither of them homered. Only two other sets of Giants teammates had ever pulled that off in the same game: Marvin Benard and Matt Williams on June 5, 1996 (at Cincinnati); and Matty Alou and Harvey Kuenn in Pittsburgh on July 25, 1961.

Hunter Pence added three doubles, the first Giant to have two-baggers against three different pitchers in one game since Dave Roberts on August 3, 2007 (at San Diego).


Intermission
You know you have the theme song in your head now. Indulge the earworm.


Judge Aaron
(It may not have the title, but it's definitely a show.)

The Yankees unloaded on Orioles starter Chris Tillman on Saturday, batting around in a 6-run 1st inning that included homers by Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius. Starlin Castro went deep in the 2nd to knock Tillman out of the game after nine earned runs and only four outs. Only one other pitcher in franchise history had that disastrous a start for the Orioles/Browns, Kurt Ainsworth against the Angels on May 14, 2004. And Tillman was only the fourth pitcher ever to allow 9 ER and three homers against the Yankees in 1⅓ or less; all did it in the Bronx. Jeremy Guthrie (2015) and Brian Bannister (2008) both did it as Kansas City Royals, and Travis Harper of the Rays was the first, in 2005.

Things wouldn't get a whole lot better against a parade of Orioles relievers; Gary Sanchez would also collect three hits and four RBIs en route to a 16-3 thumping. He, Judge, and Castro each ended with a home run, a double, at least three RBIs, and at least two runs scored. They were the first trio of Yankees to do that in the same game since RBI became an official stat in 1920. And the Yankees' total of 11 extra-base hits were the second-most by any team at the current Yankee Stadium; the Indians had 13 in the first homestand there in 2009, a game where they famously had a 14-run inning.

Court was in session again Sunday as the Yankees collected four more homers-- two by Judge-- and blew out Baltimore again, 14-3. The tallies marked the first time the Yankees had scored 14+ in consecutive games since July 21-22, 2007, against the Rays; and the first time the Orioles had given it up since June 15-16, 2001, to Philadelphia.

Just when the scoreboard operators at Yankee Stadium had put away the "6" from Saturday, they needed a "5" for Sunday's 1st inning as well. That marked the first time the Bronx Bombers had posted consecutive 5-run 1sts since August 25, 1939, when they swept a doubleheader from this same franchise (then the St. Louis Browns) at Sportsmans Park, 11-0 and 8-2.

Kevin Gausman, doing his best Chris Tillman impression, surrendered eight hits, six walks, and seven runs, the first Orioles starter to pull that off since Rick Sutcliffe against the White Sox on April 27, 1993. Throw on two wild pitches and it was a first in Orioles history (1954). Ned Garver was the last to do it for the Browns, in a complete-game win over the Tigers on May 15, 1949.

Judge added a double and a single on Sunday to become the first Yankee since Hideki Matsui in 2009 (August 13 at Seattle) with four hits, four runs scored, and two homers. And his friends Castro and Sanchez both homered again as well, creating a first in major-league history. The trio each had a homer and 3 RBIs on Saturday, then the same three players each had a homer and 3 RBIs on Sunday. No three players had ever done that in consecutive games. In fact, only two teams (the 1950 Red Sox and 1925 Pirates) ever had consecutive games where three teammates homered and drove in three, but in both those cases it was a different set of players in each game.


Max Headroom

We were still digesting Scooter Gennett's four-homer game when Max Scherzer decided to go on another strikeout spree in Los Angeles. Although the Dodgers got two singles, an error, and an unearned run in the 1st, Scherzer would record the first six outs of the game via the K, and then have a bizarre 3rd inning that involved a passed ball on strikeout number eight. By the 4th he had pitched 3⅔ innings with 11 K, but with a Corey Seager lineout mixed in. Only four other pitchers (Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Zack Greinke, and Alex Cobb) have had 11 K through the first four innings of a game; even in Scherzer's historic 20-K game last year he "only" had nine.

Scherzer would be pinch-hit for in the 8th, finalizing his strikeout total at 14. And with that 1st-inning run being unearned, it gave the Nats their second 14-K, 0-ER performance in 11 days. Stephen Strasburg fanned 15 Padres on May 27; the Nationals are the first team in MLB history with two such games that close together.

And while last Saturday was the first day ever with a no-hitter (Volquez) and a 600th home run (Pujols), Tuesday was amazingly not the first day with a four-homer game and a 14-strikeout game. On July 6, 1986, Bob Horner of the Braves and Bobby Witt for the Rangers pulled off the same combo.

Scherzer would go on to strike out 10 more on Sunday, but wound up losing because Brian Goodwin's leadoff homer was the Nats' only scoring. It was the fifth time in his Washington career that Scherzer had fanned 10, allowed no more than two earned runs, and lost. Since the move in 2005, all other Nationals have three such games combined, and five ties the franchise "record" held, of course, by Pedro Martinez.


Chirinos, Texas Ranger

Unfortunately for the Nats, Scherzer can't pitch every single game, and the Rangers made a particular mess of the Nationals' bullpen on Saturday. Shin-Soo Choo led off the 9th with a solo homer to bring them within 1, Elvis Andrus singled, and a Nomar Mazara double sent the game to extras. It was the Nationals' 10th blown save of the year, seven of them in front of the home fans on South Capitol Street. They had only three at home all of last season, the fewest in the majors.

Robinson Chirinos then blasted a three-run homer in the 11th off Shawn Kelley to complete the comeback; it was the Rangers' first three- or four-run shot in extras since a Leonys Martin walkoff on July 30, 2013. And more notably, the last time the franchise hit any extra-inning dinger in Washington, it was the Washington team. Don Mincher's walkoff in the 15th gave the Second Senators (now the Rangers, of course) a win over Detroit on May 15, 1971.


Rio Bravo
(We know, it's a John Wayne movie, not a TV show. Don't @ us. But the title was too good not to use.)

Speaking of walkoffs, the Braves sent 23-year-old rookie Rio Ruiz up as a pinch hitter against the Mets on Friday. He promptly ripped the first pitch thrown by reliever Josh Edgin into left for a walkoff single that scored Dansby Swanson.

It was the first time the Braves had beaten the New Yorkers on a pinch hit since Cito Gaston singled home Glenn Hubbard on July 18, 1978. And Ruiz, by one day, missed becoming the second-youngest Braves player in the live-ball era with a walkoff pinch hit. Mickey O'Neil holds that mark (22 years 58 days) in the first year of said era, 1920, while Buddy Gremp (23-017) hit one to beat the Phillies on August 22, 1942.

Edgin, meanwhile, became the first Met to give up a walkoff hit on his first pitch since Mike Stanton served up a solo homer to Jose Vidro of the Expos on April 13, 2003.


Bottom Of The Bag

⋅ Corey Seager, Saturday: Youngest Dodger with a walkoff double since Pee Wee Reese also did it against Cincinnati on April 30, 1941.

⋅ Matt Szczur, Friday: First Padres batter to have an extra-base hit as a pinch hitter, stay in game, and have another extra-base hit, since Ken Caminiti against the Brewers on August 23, 1998.

⋅ Kyle Schwarber, Wednesday: First Cubs batter to have three extra-base hits while batting 9th since Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander did it against the Phillies on June 20, 1925.

⋅ Steven Souza, Friday: Missed cycle by the double. Had missed it by the single on April 20, becoming first player in Rays history to record both those "near-cycles" (ever, not just in same season).

⋅ Craig Kimbrel, Tuesday: Recorded 5 K but only four outs because of a wild pitch on strike three. Also had a 4-K inning on May 25; first in (at least) live-ball era to have two games in same season with more strikeouts than actual outs.

⋅ Cubs, Friday: Scored 3 runs on only 3 total bases (nine walks helped). Last time they managed that was April 23, 1974, in a 5-3 loss to the Reds.

⋅ Rajai Davis, Wednesday: First Oaklander ever with 4 hits and 4 runs scored in a loss. Last to do it for the franchise was Norm Siebern when they were in Kansas City, August 8, 1960.

⋅ Kenta Maeda, Friday: Second Dodger this year to get a 4-inning save, joining Hyun-Jin Ryu (May 25). Last time the team had two in a season was 2000 (Alan Mills, Matt Herges).


One For The Road

How many chances will we have to link a freaky music video from 1986 that had Max Headroom in it? Not enough, is our answer. And yes, this charted.

About Last Night

You've probably seen one of those old-timey popcorn carts where the kernels hang in the middle and as they heat up and pop, they overflow the sides of the bucket and fall down into the cart below. (Your local baseball stadium might even still have one (mine does).) If your calendar had a day overflowing with Kernels, it would be June 3, 2017.


Grand Opening

It started innocently enough, with Kyle Schwarber hitting a 7th-inning grand slam to propel the Cubs to a 5-3 win against the rival Cardinals. Thanks to Joe Maddon now batting the pitcher eighth, Schwarber was the first Cubs non-pitcher to hit a slam batting ninth since pinch hitter Julio Zuleta did it on June 5, 2001, also against the Cardinals.

That, however, was a game the Cubs were already leading 8-5. Schwarber's slam was the first go-ahead version by a Cubs #9 hitter, in the 7th or later, since Earl Averill gave them a lead against the Braves on May 12, 1959.

Averill was also pinch-hitting, as were all such slams before him. Schwarber was the first starter in team history to hit such a slam out of the 9-hole.


A Long Time Coming

Edinson Volquez had already made Miami Marlins history two starts ago, specifically by losing. Again. To drop his season record to 0-7. He joined one Joe Fontenot in 1998 as the only Marlins starters ever to be 0-7; the 21-year-old Fontenot was drafted out of high school, made only eight starts in his MLB career, spent the '99 season at triple-A Calgary, and then retired.

Volquez finally won his previous start to avoid setting a dubious team record, but on Saturday it finally clicked against the Diamondbacks. Volquez issued just two walks-- and retired both runners on double plays-- to finish off the first no-hitter since Jake Arrieta's offering last April 21. That span of 408 days was the longest between NH's since we went the entire 2005 season and most of 2006 without one. Oddly, that drought was also broken by a Marlins no-hitter against Arizona, by Anibal Sanchez (September 6, 2006).

One of our favorite quirks here at Kernels is the concept of a "faced minimum". It's a 27-batter game that is not a no-hitter, and it's very rare. (A perfect game, by definition, is both.) Although Volquez's game doesn't qualify (because it was an NH), it goes down as just the ninth no-hitter in history to involve only 27 batters. Justin Verlander threw the last one on May 7, 2011... but only three of those nine have involved multiple baserunners. Volquez duplicated the feat of Warren Spahn on April 28, 1961, walking two and retiring both on double plays. The first such game belonged to Gus Weyhing of the Philadelphia Athletics (the old American Association team, not today's Oaklanders) who walked one and hit one, but had both runners caught stealing, on July 31, 1888.


Grand Central

While we were busy paying attention to Volquez's quest (which is worth a ridiculous number of points in Scrabble, incidentally), the Dodgers and Brewers were busy trading grand slams in Milwaukee. Travis Shaw hit the first one of his career in the 7th inning, but Chris Taylor answered that in the top of the 9th for a 10-8 Dodgers win. It was the third game in Miller Park history where both teams hit a slam; the last was on April 21, 2015, against the Reds. In that contest Elian Herrera had been the previous Brewer to hit one in a loss, because the Reds hit two of their own in the same game. The other contest where the teams traded was June 20, 2007, against the Giants.

Taylor added a double and a single to become the first Dodger with three hits including a slam since... Chris Taylor on May 8 against the Pirates. Combined with a similar performance last July, Taylor is already nearing the record for most such games in Los Angeles Dodgers history (1958). Mike Piazza did it five times, while Matt Kemp had four (and was also the last to do it twice in a season, in 2009).


Smashing Adams

Speaking of the Reds, they fell behind the Braves on Saturday when Matt Adams hit the team's first slam of the year in the 5th inning. However, an inning later they would hang a 4-spot (surprisingly not on a grand slam) and eventually send us to extras tied at 5. Matt Adams already has a place in baseball history for being the first player to homer twice in the 12th inning or later of the same game, a feat finally duplicated by Chris Davis a few weeks ago.

So of course Adams comes up in the top of the 12th and hits his second homer of the game, a solo shot that stood up for a 6-5 win. He thus became the first hitter in Braves team history (1876) to have a grand slam in "regulation" and a second home run in extra innings. The last to have a 2-HR, 5-RBI game, with the second homer in the 12th or later, was Wally Berger-- also against the Reds-- on July 23, 1935. (Berger had a 3-run, a solo, and an RBI single, no slam.)


Intermission
At some point Ian Desmond hit a slam in San Diego too. We don't have any great notes about that, but props.


More Zeroes In The Hit Column

Of course most of those slams are going to drift off into dusty scorebooks, but when Albert Pujols came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 4th on Saturday night, you just knew this day was about to become unmatched. With one swing Pujols created three pieces of baseball history, becoming not just the first player to hit a grand slam for his six hundredth career homer, but no player had ever done it for five hundred either. (And Carlos Delgado is the only one to hit a slam for #400.) Combined with Volquez earlier, it was the first day in major-league history that had seen a no-hitter and a player hit career HR #500, 600, or 700.

Pujols would end the game with just that one very notable hit, the third time in his career (2,477 games) that's happened. His other games where his only hit was a slam were against the Mets on August 10, 2002 (career homer #62) and the Cubs on April 25, 2009 (#326).

And if you've been counting along, it was the sixth grand slam of Saturday's slate, tying the major-league record for a single day. That was set back on May 21, 2000, when the coincidences included one hit by the Angels in Anaheim (Garret Anderson), one hit by the Dodgers (actually two, Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green), and one hit at Miller Park (J.T. Snow of the Giants). Shawn Green, of course, would go on to have a four-homer game at Miller Park a couple years later, but never hit a slam there.

Grand Total

And alphabetically last but not least, just when it looked like things might be calming down, Mike Zunino of the Mariners put the bow on the package with the seventh slam of the day, setting the all-time record that had been tied just 18 minutes earlier. It was the first slam of his career, and it makes him the second-to-last player alphabetically ever to hit one. And for once the answer is not Dutch Zwilling, who never hit one in his seven-year career from 1910-16. It's outfielder Bob Zupcic who played most of the 1992 and 1993 seasons for the Red Sox and hit two slams, 10 days apart, right before the '92 All-Star break.

Zunino already had a two-run double and an RBI single prior to the slam, making him just the second player in Mariners history to record a 7-RBI game while batting 9th. Brian Giles had a slam and a three-run homer at Rogers Center on May 17, 1990.

Logan Morrison capped the scoring in that game for the Rays with a meaningless 9th-inning solo shot. Meaningless except for it being his one hundredth career homer. Let's hope that 500 homers from now, we can match the excitement of June 3, 2017.


Bottom Of The Bag
Still more just from Saturday!

⋅ Jason Grilli: First pitcher in Jays history to allow four homers and record fewer than three outs. Last in the majors was Travis Harper of the Rays, also versus Yankees, June 21, 2005.

⋅ Ryon Healy & Jed Lowrie: Second Athletics teammates in live-ball era to each have a homer and two doubles in same game. Reggie Jackson and Sal Bando did it in Anaheim on the day of the moon landing (July 20, 1969).

⋅ Ben Lively, Phillies: First pitcher (for any team) to throw 7+ innings in his MLB debut, strike out zero, and get the win, since Anthony Telford of the Orioles on August 19, 1990.

⋅ Tyler Chatwood, Rockies: Second pitcher in team history to throw 8+ innings, strike out 8+ opponents, have two hits at the plate, and score two runs. Other was John Thomson in a five-hit shutout of Milwaukee on September 30, 2001.


Did You Know?

If Logan Morrison continues to play the same number of games each season (an average of 101 not counting his rookie half-season), and hit homers at the same pace (one every 7.7 games), the date you want to circle for his 600th is July 17, 2055. He will be 67.

Who Wants To Know?

We do. Kernels wants to know. And you want to know what we popped up this week (thanks, as always, and among other sources, to the incredible Baseball Reference Play Index).


Are You Johnny Ray

If you were a sports fan in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, you doubtless had everything all planned out. Pirates play a getaway game with Arizona at 12:30, that will end by like 4, that's plenty of time to eat and get from PNC to PPG for the hockey game at 8. It's gonna be great. Ah, baseball and mother nature.

The Pirates trailed by one going to B9, but after two walks and an error they manage to score the tying run on a double play. Hmm. Still not bad, it's only 3:45, we can stay for an extra inning or two and still have plenty of time. Nick Ahmed unties things with a two-out homer in the top of the 11th, but they strand the bases loaded and, as we like to say here at Kernels, "any number but 1" will do.

Enter Jordy Mercer, who with two outs in the bottom of the 11th-- in the rain, no less-- cranks his fifth homer of the year to make it 5-5. It's now 4:30. And did we mention it's raining? Welcome, tarp.

As it turns out, this was the first time teams had traded two-out solo homers in an extra inning in more than 35 years. Jack Clark of the Giants and Steve Garvey of the Dodgers did so in the 10th inning at Chavez Ravine on September 9, 1981. After an hour and a half of rain and three more innings-- by which time you've probably given up and are on the way to the hockey game-- Chris Owings finally singles in a run in the 14th to give Arizona the 6-5 win. Counting the delay, the game lasted 6 hours 13 minutes, ending at 6:50 pm, and the longest single game in Pittsburgh since June 30, 2013 (another 14-inning affair that featured a delay of more than 2 hours).

T.J. McFarland got the win for Arizona by pitching three hitless innings, the first Diamondback to do that in extras since Leo Rosales won an 18-inning affair with the Padres on June 7, 2009. On the offensive side, Jake Lamb became the first Diamondback with a triple and two doubles since... Jake Lamb last July 16. That made him just the second player in Arizona history to post that line twice, joining Stephen Drew.

And for Pittsburgh, as we say around here, there's always one guy left out. Adam Frazier went 0-for-7, the first Pirates leadoff batter to do that in a loss since Johnny Ray in Philadelphia on June 21, 1985.

At least the Penguins won. If you made it there.


Are You Robbie Ray

In Tuesday's game between Arizona and Pittsburgh, there was no rain and no doubt that no extra innings would be needed. Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray dominated the Pirates, allowing just four hits, no walks, and striking out 10 in throwing his first career shutout. (His first career CG, in fact.) The walk-free shutout with 10 K's was the first in the majors this year, and the first one thrown in Pittsburgh since another notable Diamondback did it. That would be Curt Schilling on May 9, 2003.

If you ignore the 10 strikeouts, Ray is the first Diamondback to throw any walk-free shutout since Josh Collmenter did it against the Reds three years and one day earlier. That May 29, 2014, game is a favorite of ours since it remains the last "faced minimum" in the majors. Collmenter gave up three hits, but retired all three baserunners on double plays-- leading to a 27-batter complete game that is not a perfecto. There have been just 57 such games since 1920; there have been 204 no-hitters.


Are You A Tampa Bay Ray

Corey Dickerson provided a ray of hope in Sunday's game in Minnesota when his two-out single in the top of the 14th inning brought home Michael Martinez. Alas, Kevin Kiermaier's error to start B14 ended up leading to an unearned run for the Twins and we play on.

Evan Longoria pulled the old "let's try this again" by homering to lead off the top of the 15th. Since one run wasn't enough last time, on the very next pitch, Logan Morrison went to right-center for the ultimate final of 8-6. It was the first time in Rays history that the team had hit two extra-inning home runs in the same game (never mind the back-to-back part). The last team to hit two homers in the 15th or later of the same game was the Yankees on June 1, 2003, when Alfonso Soriano and Jorge Posada both went deep in T17 at Comerica Park (which was handy since the Tigers got one back in B17). And the last team to start an inning numbered 15 or higher with back-to-back jacks was the Astros, for whom Brian Hunter and Craig Biggio did it on June 16, 1995, against the Mets.

On Wednesday night Kiermaier redeemed himself with a tying home run in the top of the 9th at Texas. Morrison then did his part by leading off the 10th with a solo shot, which Derek Norris would later follow with a two-run job. That contest thus became the second time the Rays had ever hit two extra-inning homers in the same game, and LoMo is the fourth Ray to hit two in a season. The others are Carlos Peña (2008), Desmond Jennings (2011), and Jose Lobaton (2013), though none of theirs were anywhere close to three days apart.

It was the fourth time in team history that the Rays had hit a tying homer in the 9th and a go-ahead homer in extras. The other three were all at Tropicana Field, and the most recent was the epic final game of the 2011 season where Longoria's walkoff knocked the Yankees out of the final playoff spot.

By the way, in that 15-inning affair on Sunday, Kennys Vargas became the first Twins batter to go 0-for-8 since Danny Thompson and Bobby Darwin both did it in a 22-inning game with the Brewers on May 12, 1972.


Are You Hal McRae

The Royals wound up losing to the Tigers in a 10-7 jamboree on Monday, but Whit Merrifield certainly did his part. Kansas City's 2B went homer-triple-double, scoring three runs and becoming the fifth player this year to miss the cycle by the single. (There were just three last year, but the 20-year average is right at seven, so not really abnormal.) He's the first Royal to do it since Billy Butler on August 9, 2012, but the first for any team to do it while scoring three runs in a loss since Ian Stewart of the Rockies on April 6, 2010.

The only other Royals hitter to go homer-triple-double and score three runs in a loss was Hal McRae against the Red Sox on May 28, 1977 (Merrifield missed the 40th anniversary by one day).


Are You Charlotte Rae

You take the good, you take the bad. (Google it, young'uns.) Although the Dodgers handily beat the Cardinals on Tuesday, Cody Bellinger-- like Adam Frazier and Kennys Vargas-- was left out of the party, drawing an 0-for-6 collar with four strikeouts. He's the third-youngest player in the live-ball era to do that, behind Bryce Harper in 2012 and Lloyd Moseby, who did it for the Jays in 1980 at age 20. He's also the first Dodger, of any age, to go 0-for-6 with 4 K's in a win since Kirk Gibson posted that line against the Mets on August 25, 1990.

A factor in Tuesday's win was Chase Utley's line, which included a triple, a double, a single, and a hit-by-pitch. He was the first Dodger to do all that since the great Hee-Seop Choi against the Marlins on August 20, 2005.

Meanwhile, Boston cleanup man Hanley Ramirez was still dirty after Tuesday's game despite the Red Sox scoring 13 runs as a team. Hanley's 0-for-4, with zero runs scored and zero driven in, was a first for a Boston cleanup hitter in such a game (team scoring 13+) since George Scott did it against the Senators on June 26, 1966.

It was the bottom of Boston's lineup that chipped in most of that 13-run outburst Tuesday, with Jackie Bradley and Deven Marrero combining for three homers and nine RBIs while batting eighth and ninth respectively. It was the first time since RBIs became official in 1920 that the eight- and nine-hitters for the Sawx each had two extra-base hits and drove in four. And the only other time in team history that those two spots had generated 3 HR and 9 RBI was on July 29, 2003... when Bill Mueller had both those numbers by himself!


Intermission
We never actually get the answer to the question, do we?


Are You Carly Rae

Even though Memorial Day isn't observed in Canada, it's always a good time when your team scores 17 runs. The Blue Jays did that on Monday in an absolute rout of the Reds that knocked starter Lisalverto Bonilla out of the game in the 3rd inning. It didn't get any better from there; Robert Stephenson and Jake Buchanan each gave up 10 hits, the first pair of relievers to pull that off since Luther Roy and June Greene for the Phillies on July 6, 1929. That game-- a 28-6 Cardinals win-- remains among the highest-scoring games of all time. Fred Frankhouse, staked to a 24-run lead at one point, pitched a complete-game 17-hitter. Oh by the way, it was the second half of a doubleheader; the first game was "only" 10-6.

Monday's offense came from, well, pretty much everywhere, but Devon Travis and Ezequiel Carrera were especially prolific. The Jays' eight- and nine-hitters both had four hits, the first time a Toronto lineup has ever done that. Combined with Kendrys Morales, Justin Smoak, and Russell Martin as the middle third, it was the first home game in Jays history (either Rogers or Exhibition) where five different players collected three hits.

The 17 runs were Toronto's most ever in an interleague game, and all four teams to have 17+ runs and 23+ hits in an interleague contest have been the AL participant. It was last done by the White Sox in St Louis on June 20, 2006.


Are You Sonny Gray

The Land of Oaks and the Land of Cleves (?) faced off this week and Tuesday's game was not particularly Sonny. Athletics starter Gray gave up nine hits and seven runs before leaving in the 5th inning. He's the first Athletics pitcher to give up 7 ER and only fan three batters in Cleveland since... Sonny Gray last July 31. He's the first Oakland pitcher ever to do it there twice; the last to have two such games at the lakefront was a Kansas City Athletic: Art Ditmar, whose both came in 1955.

To be fair, though, Gray and the offense had very little chance against the stuff Trevor Bauer was throwing for the Indians. Bauer finished the game with a career-high 14 strikeouts and one walk in his seven innings, the first Clevelander in (at least) the live-ball era to end a game with that line. (Others have had 14 K through 7 and kept going.) He was the first Indians pitcher to strike out at least a dozen Oaklanders since Gaylord Perry did it on July 8, 1974. The last to reach 14 K's against them was Sam McDowell on July 12, 1968.

Tuesday was also the first time in the live-ball era that the Athletics' top two hitters in the lineup each struck out four times. In fact no team had done that since Kurt Abbott and Edgar Renteria of the Marlins matched 4-K games against the Cubs on April 8, 1997.


Are You Michael Kay

The Yankees started Tuessday's game at Camden Yards with a Brett Gardner leadoff homer, their seventh one there since it opened in 1992. That ties for their most prolific park over that span (with Arlington); they've only had 10 at the new Yankee Stadium despite playing more than three times as many games there so far.

Two batters later Matt Holliday hit a solo shot for a quick 2-0 lead en route to an 8-3 win. The Yankees hadn't had hit two 1st-inning homers in a road game since July 7, 2012, at Fenway Park; all 29 other teams had done it at least once since then.

The same pair then led off the 3rd (Holliday) and 4th innings (Gardner) with more solo homers, the second time this year multiple Yankees had multiple homers in a game. Gardy teamed with Aaron Judge against Toronto on May 2. It hadn't happened twice in a year since 2005, and not twice in a month since July 1962. Although it was the year after their epic chase, those two games 55 years ago (July 3 and 6) were both posted by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.


Are You Charles Comma Ray

Speaking of hitting some road jacks, we can't leave out the Astros' series in Minneapolis this week. It didn't look good at first, especially when the Twins hung a 7-spot in the 5th inning Monday. But after starter Ervin Santana left in the 8th, Houston went to work on the bullpen, getting five runs off Ryan Pressly, then three off Craig Breslow, then it freakin' rained for 10 minutes, and finally three more off Matt Belisle. All told it was an 11-run, 14-batter, 46-minute half-inning that led to a 16-8 final score. It was just the fourth 11-run inning in Astros history; their last was July 18, 1994, against the Cardinals. (They also had a 12-run frame in 1975 and another 11 in 1969 against the Mets.)

Although the Mariners started a game a few years ago with back-to-back 8's, it was the first game where both teams had a seven-run inning since August 12, 2008, when the Rangers and Red Sox got themselves into a 19-17 mess that surely taxed the number cards on the Fenway scoreboard. And those three Twins relievers-- who each got just one out-- were the first trio in team history (at least since the AL made earned runs official in 1913) to give up 3 ER each while retiring only one batter.

After a "ho-hum" 7-2 win on Tuesday, the highlight of which was Jose Altuve's four singles, the Astros took one last parting shot at the Twin Cities on Wednesday. They homered in six different innings, scored in seven, collected 19 hits, and somehow even topped Monday's game with a 17-6 final score. George Springer had two solo homers among his four hits, becoming the first Astro with four hits, four runs scored, and at least 2 RBI since... George Springer did it in Kansas City on May 26, 2014. The only other Houstonians to do it twice are Kevin Bass and Cesar Cedeño.

Evan Gattis only homered once, but he did tack on a double and two singles, making he and Springer the second Astros teammates ever to have four hits, a homer, and three runs scored in the same game. Brad Ausmus and Geoff Blum managed that against the Mets on July 30, 2002. Not only was it the first time in Astros history that they had scored 17 runs while hitting at least six homers, it was the first time the Twins/Senators franchise had ever allowed such a game.

The Twins chipped in three home runs of their own as part of that 17-6 final, making Wednesday's affair just the second one ever played in Minnesota to have nine total homers. Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington never saw it, and Target Field hadn't until this game. The other 9-HR affair was at the Metrodome against the Mariners on June 10, 1996. Ken Griffey, Edgar Martinez, Paul Molitor, and Ron Coomer were among the longballers in a 13-6 Twins victory.

And as for scoring 16 runs twice in three days? The Astros had never come close to doing that; in their history, the previous closest 16-run games were nine days apart on June 25 (19 vs Cubs) and July 4 (16 at Rockies) of 1995. The last team to do it on the road was those pesky Mariners, who had back-to-back wins of 17-6 and 19-7 in Toronto on April 15-16, 2000.

Twins fans might be having flashbacks about that 17-6 score as well. They lost another game by that exact count to the Red Sox on May 7. Specific to that exact score, it's the first time any stadium has hosted two such games since Anaheim did it in 1996. And it's the first time there have been two 17-6 games in any calendar month since July 1890! One of those games also featured Boston, although it was the "Reds" of the one-year Players League defeating (really) the Cleveland Infants. The other game, six days earlier, involved the two NL teams in Pennsylvania, and The Pittsburgh Press had a bit of a chip about "the Quaker boys".

Bottom Of The Bag

⋅ Dinelson Lamet: Third pitcher in live-ball era to get the win and strike out at least eight batters in both of his first two MLB appearances. The others are Stephen Strasburg (2010) and Karl Spooner for the Dodgers in 1954.

⋅ Chad Pinder, Wednesday: Joined Walt Weiss (April 5, 1989) as the only players in Athletics history to have three hits, including two homers, while batting ninth.

⋅ Eric Skoglund, Tuesday: First pitcher in Royals history to work 6+ scoreless innings and allow just two hits in his major-league debut.

⋅ Zack Cozart, Tuesday: First Reds batter ever to have a multi-homer game in Toronto. Their last in Canada was by Russell Branyan in Montreal, September 27, 2002. (Aaron Boone did it against the Expos in 2003, but in Puerto Rico.)

⋅ Alec Asher, Sunday: First Orioles starter to allow six earned runs, hit a batter, and throw a wild pitch in no more than 2 IP since Milt Pappas against the White Sox on July 22, 1961.

⋅ Ryan Zimmerman, Wednesday: First time in Nationals history that they scored all their runs on a single 1st-inning homer and had it stand up for a victory. A three-run shot by David Segui at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1995, was the last for the franchise.

⋅ Ben Gamel, Tuesday: First player in Mariners history with a single, double, and triple in a game he didn't start (entered in 2nd after Nelson Cruz was injured). Last for any team was the Phillies' Greg Dobbs on June 27, 2007.

⋅ Zach Eflin, Sunday: Third straight start allowing nine hits and seven earned runs. First Phillies pitcher to do that within the same season since Claude Willoughby in May and June of 1930.