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.
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