In The (Thin) Air Tonight
There's usually nothing quite like a trip to Coors Field to cure your offensive woes. Perfect timing for the Mets, who broke out for 32 runs and 48 hits in the four-game set this week, though still managed to lose three out of four (because Mets).
The series started well for the Metropolitans, with Brandon Nimmo circling the bases on the fourth pitch of the game after Carlos Gonzalez overran the ball and Charlie Blackmon appeared to give up on it. It was the first leadoff inside-the-parker in the majors this season, and the first for the Mets since Angel Pagán hit one against the Phillies on August 23, 2009. Three other visiting players have hit one at Coors, including Former New Britain Rock Cat Trent Oeltjen (August 20, 2011, for Dodgers), Andres Torres of the Giants (2010), and Jayson Werth in 2008. Nimmo would add a solo homer in the 7th to make it 4-1, the first Met with an inside- and an outside-the-parker in the same game since Pagán also did it in that 2009 contest (which also ended on an unassisted triple play by Eric Bruntlett with the Mets down two, because Mets).
Heading to the 9th, the Mets still had a 6-2 lead, such that they had to do was not give up four runs in the bottom of the 9th. Mmm, yeah, just in case let's throw on a whole bunch of insurance runs in the top half. Six of them, in fact, culminating with back-to-back bases-loaded walks, a two-run double by Amed Rosario, and then another two-run single by Nimmo as the lineup turned over for a fifth time. That was Nimmo's fourth hit of the game; the last visiting player (any team) with four hits, four RBIs, and two homers at Coors was another Met-- Yoenis Cespedes in a 14-9 win on August 21, 2015. Before that the only other Mets batter to post that line was Todd Hundley on May 5, 1997. And only two other Mets leadoff hitters have ever had a 4-hit, 4-RBI game anywhere, and both those were against the Cardinals at Shea. Gregg Jefferies did it on September 7, 1989; and Tommie Agee did it on July 6, 1970.
In addition to Nimmo and Rosario, Michael Conforto also posted two extra-base hits, just the third game in all their visits to Coors where three Mets did it. That 14-9 game in 2015 where Cespedes had the four hits... was immediately followed by another 14-9 game (August 22), and in that one Curtis Granderson, Travis d'Arnaud, and Juan Uribe all did it. The other trio with multiple XBH there was Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado in a 10-5 win on August 29, 2006.
On Tuesday Jason Vargas dug an early hole by allowing three home runs; it was 7-2 by the time he got pulled in the 3rd inning and the Mets could only claw back to a 10-8 final. Only nine starters in Mets history have surrendered three homers and recorded zero strikeouts, and Vargas is just the second to do it in under three innings. The previous on both counts was Nelson Figueroa against the Diamondbacks on August 3, 2009. Seven different starters had multiple hits and scored a run for Colorado as they piled up 16 base knocks; in the past five years the Rockies have only had two such games, and both are against the Mets. Seven different starters did it in a 13-4 win at Citi Field last July.
Apparently the Mets have a habit of repeating themselves, at least when it comes to Coors Field. Just like those back-to-back 14-9 scores from three years ago, Wednesday's game was an exact repeat of Tuesday, at least to the extent that they lost it 10-8. The Mets did claw out of the early hole this time behind a four-run 5th capped by Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run single. All told they got to Chad Bettis for eight runs... and then promptly lost the lead in the bottom of the inning on Ryan McMahon's three-run pinch-hit homer. That was the first go-ahead three- or four-run shot by a Rockies pinch hitter since Jason Giambi hit a walkoff against the Dodgers on May 2, 2012. It also bailed out Bettis, who became the frst Rockies pitcher to allow 14 baserunners and eight earned runs without losing the game since Shawn Estes pulled it off in a 13-10 win over the Marlins on April 27, 2004.
So maybe Coors Field isn't the complete answer. This week marked just the second time in Mets history that they'd scored eight runs in consecutive games and lost both of them. The other was the first series of the 2004 season; after winning the opener at Turner Field 7-2, the Mets dropped the other two games to the Braves by scores of 18-10 and (here it is again) 10-8.
Throwing It All Away
The Mariners came to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday sitting on 46 wins and lurking just 1½ games back of the Astros in our "favorite" division, the AL West. They left Yankee Stadium on Thursday with, well, 46 wins.
The series opener had a promising start when Dee Gordon led off with a double and later scored on Mitch Haniger's liner that deflected off Yankees 3B Miguel Andujar. Gordon's hit was just the second leadoff double for Seattle in the 10-season history of Yankee Stadium; the other was of course by Ichiro Suzuki, off CC Sabathia on July 2, 2009. Then the next batter in the order after Haniger, Nelson Cruz, homered for the Mariners' second hit.
Problem is, that was six innings and two times around the order later. After Haniger's 1st-inning RBI, Domingo German retired 18 in a row with only four of them leaving the infield. Cruz's solo shot in the 7th was the Mariners' second and final hit, and in the meantime, New York had taken Marco Gonzales for three homers and six runs. A solo shot by Gleyber Torres, because he hadn't homered in five whole days, rounded out the final score at 7-2. German's final line of 2 hits, 0 BB, and 9 K hadn't been done by a Yankee starter yet this season, and had never been done by them against the Mariners. The last time Seattle was held to two hits in the Bronx was in another CC Sabathia start, July 26, 2011 (14 strikeouts), and Tuesday was the first time they'd ever done it there but still managed to score two runs.
On Wednesday the Mariners had a 5-0 lead going to the bottom of the 5th inning. Can't complain about that. But yeah, remember that spree from about a month ago where the Yankees seemed to post an 8th- or 9th-inning comeback in every game? It's back, at least for one game. After a double, a walk, and a ground ball single that Denard Span booted into a two-run event, the Yankees finally unloaded on the Mariners' bullpen when Gary Sanchez tied the game with an 8th-inning homer off Alex Colome, and who else but Giancarlo Stanton hit a walkoff homer against Ryan Cook.
Wednesday's game was the Mariners' first-ever walkoff loss at the current Yankee Stadium; they had been the only remaining AL team not to suffer one there once Cleveland did it early in May. Their last walkoff loss at the old place was July 18, 2006, on a solo homer by Melky Cabrera. Stanton's two-run shot was just the third multi-run walkoff homer in Yankee history versus Seattle; Ken Phelps hit one off Mike Schooler on August 19, 1988; and Paul Blair took Enrique Romo deep on June 14, 1978.
And since we are running out of ways to parse late-game Yankee homers, the best one from this contest was that it's the first time in 65 years that they've hit a tying homer in the 8th inning and a walkoff homer in the 9th, where both were multi-run dingers, since Gene Woodling and Joe Collins did it against the Browns on August 26, 1952.
On Thursday there wasn't much drama as the multi-run homer barrage continued for a third straight inning. Aaron Judge, the second batter of the game, made it 2-0 after leadoff hitter Clint Frazier had singled, and then Andujar slapped another two-run tater to score Torres. Despite a Kyle Seager homer in the 2nd, those four runs would hold up for a 4-3 win. The Yankees hadn't scored 4+ runs in a game with all of them in the 1st since September 29, 2015, against the Red Sox. But they lost that game 10-4. The last game where the Bronx Bombers scored 4+ in the 1st inning, no more runs the rest of the game, and hung on for a win, was a 5-2 win in Kansas City on May 27, 1994. Daryl Boston capped the scoring with a three-run homer.
And it was only the second home game in the past 50 years where the Yankees clobbered multiple multi-run homers in the 1st inning. On May 25, 2015, three players-- Chase Headley, Brian McCann, and Brett Gardner-- each hit one against the Royals as New York hung a "snowman" 8 and cruised to a 14-1 win.
Both Sides Of The Story
So the Mariners went to Boston on Friday sitting on 46 wins. Stop us if you've heard this one. They hung a 4-spot in the top of the 1st, including a three-run bomb by Nelson Cruz, who would also have an RBI single in the 2nd and yet another three-run homer in the 4th. For the game they ended with 10 runs on 14 hits... and still had 46 wins because the Red Sox scored 14 of their own.
Friday's game evoked memories of another high-scoring Sawx/Mariners affair from just three years ago; on August 15, 2015, Boston scored a 22-10 victory which rendered a lot of the notes from this game obsolete. However, that had been the last time the Mariners had scored 10 in any game and lost; they hadn't posted a four-run 1st inning and lost since April 9, 2012, at Texas.
No sooner had Seattle scored its 4 than Boston answered with 5 in the bottom of the 1st, the first Fenway game in five years where both teams opened with at least a 4-spot. The linescore on May 8, 2013, against the Twins also began 4 over 5.
At the beginning of the section, you may have counted that Nelson Cruz ended up with 7 RBIs in the loss. No one had done that for any team since then-Ranger J.P. Arencibia in a 12-11 defeat by the Yankees on July 29, 2014; the only other player in Mariners history to pull it off was Mickey Brantley on September 14, 1987, against Cleveland (the team for whom his son Michael now plays). It was also the fifth 7-RBI game of Cruz's career, tied for third-most in major-league history. Alex Rodriguez is the most recent other player with five; the others were Jimmie Foxx and Joe DiMaggio. And the only two with more 7-RBI games are Ted Williams (six) and Lou Gehrig (nine). Two of those have come with the Mariners; the other was July 23, 2016, against Toronto, when he also was the previous Seattle player to hit multiple three-run homers in the same game. He joins Alex Rodriguez and Mike Blowers as the only three players in Mariners history to have multiple 7-RBI games (like A-Rod, some of his career total of five came with other teams).
Combined with J.D. Martinez's day for the Red Sox, it was the first game in nearly two decades where a player from both teams had four hits and drove in five runs. On May 19, 1999, both Sean Casey and Jeffrey Hammonds did it as the Reds piled up 24 runs, but so did Dante Bichette for the Rockies, who "only" scored 12. Because Coors Field.
Boston's comeback on Friday was largely made possible by the bullpen, which held the Mariners scoreless on four hits, all singles, over 5⅔ innings. That also means all 10 runs came off Steven Wright, who became the first Red Sox starter to give up 10 runs and not take the loss since Mickey Harris also survived a 14-10 victory against the White Sox on May 8, 1946. No pitcher for any team had given up 10 hits, 10 runs, and three homers without losing since Gio Gonzalez, then still with Oakland, did it against Minnesota on July 20, 2009, when the offense came back and won 14-13.
Saturday's game finally bumped the Mariners to 47 wins, thanks mostly to the arm of Mike Leake who threw eight scoreless innings and held Boston to three hits. No Mariners pitcher had put up that line against the Red Sox since Felix Hernandez one-hit them on April 11, 2007, and Nelson Cruz had another three-hit game (though he didn't drive in any of Seattle's seven runs). He did, however, become the first Mariner ever to have three hits and two runs scored in back-to-back games where both were at Fenway Park. The only one to do it against Boston at all was (guess who!) Mickey Brantley again; that was May 23 and 24, 1988, at the Kingdome.
Separate(d) Lives
We have absolutely no data on the prevalence of hyphenated last names, either in the U.S. generally or worldwide. But if baseball is a microcosm, it's trending upward. When Ryan Rowland-Smith debuted with the Mariners in 2007 he became the first player in major-league history to use a hyphen, causing sort of a phenomenon. (In a related story, the then-double-A Connecticut Defenders had a player named Eddy Martinez-Esteve at the same time; as a Giants affiliate, we hoped he would get called up and break the National League punctuation barrier. He didn't.) Shortly thereafter, Austin Bibens-Dirkx appeared on the minor-league scene, having been drafted the previous year and gotten a couple spring-training invites. However, he never rose above triple-A and became a minor-league free agent, and ended up playing independent ball.
The Rangers drafted Hawaiian native Isiah Kiner-Falefa in 2013; he worked his way through their system, and when Texas noticed Bibens-Dirkx down in the independent ranks and signed him to a minor-league deal, well, the stage is set for punctuation history. Which was finally made on Wednesday against the Royals when Carlos Perez went on the DL and Robinson Chirinos was given a standard rest day. Kiner-Falefa being the only other player on the team who could catch, he got the start behind the dish with Bibens-Dirkx pitching, thus creating the first hyphenated battery in MLB history. And the rub? Bibens-Dirkx worked 6⅔ innings-- but recorded zero strikeouts. Meaning there still has never been a putout recorded from one "hyphen" to another.
Bibens-Dirkx did get a Kernel for being the first Rangers pitcher to go 6+ innings on the road, strike out zero, and win, since Tommy Hunter did it in Baltimore on August 22, 2010. Joey Gallo, meanwhile, had three walks and a stolen base but never managed to score. Despite the Rangers' victory, he's the first Texas batter to do that since Shin-Soo Choo against the Astros on April 11, 2014.
Speaking of Choo (who also has a hyphen, you may notice), he began the Royals series on Monday with his second leadoff homer of the year (14th for Texas; he's still not quite halfway to Ian Kinsler's record). He patiently added three more walks and then impatiently roped a double on the first pitch of the 5th inning. He's only the fourth player in Rangers history (1972) to hit a leadoff homer and then reach base four more times after that. The rest of that list is Kenny Lofton (April 10, 2007, versus Rays), Mark McLemore (1999), and Mickey Rivers (1979).
Although Choo's homer was just the start of a 6-3 Texas win, it's worth looking at the Royals' side of the ledger as well. Those three runs came on nine hits-- one each by all nine of their starting hitters. That was a first in Royals history (all nine starters had exactly one hit), and even if you include pinch hitters and other subs, it had been 40 years since Kansas City had a game with 9+ hits, all by different batters. It last happened August 14, 1977, in another 6-3 loss, this one at Toronto.
And circling back to our hyphenates (insert Stevie Wonder In Square Circle link here), Kiner-Falefa has played all over the Texas infield this season, including his usual third-base spot in the middle game on Tuesday. He had three hits in that game, as did right fielder Nomar Mazara. They were the first Rangers teammates to each have three hits at Kauffman Stadium since Michael Young and Elvis Andrus did it on August 31, 2010. Mazara also had three hits in Monday's opener as the Rangers swept the series; the last Ranger with back-to-back three-hit games in KC was also Michael Young, who did it July 25 and 26, 2009.
Jesús He Knows Me
Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty began Friday's game in Milwaukee with otherwise-uninteresting strikeouts of Eric Thames and Christian Yelich. He then walked Lorenzo Cain, so okay, no perfecto at least. But when he struck out the side on 12 pitches in the 3rd, hmm. "Jack Flaherty's not gonna throw a no-hitter," someone behind us at a game says. And when he sat on 96 pitches after 6 innings, the "solo" part definitely seemed to be true. But that zero is still up there. It was pitch number 103 which Jesús Aguilar deposited into the left-field seats to remove the no-hitter scare, to say nothing of the shutout and even the victory. Aguilar had tied the game 1-1. Flaherty finished the inning. Jordan Hicks gave up an inconsequential single to Eric Sogard to start the 8th, and with Bud Norris on the bump in the 9th, here comes Aguilar again. And boom goes the walkoff. Bereft of a hit through 6⅔ innings, the Brewers had just walked off on two solo homers, both by the same hitter. So where do we begin.
Aguilar became the seventh player in Brewers/Pilots history whose second homer of the game was a walkoff. Jonathan Lucroy had been the previous winner, defeating the Reds on July 22, 2014. Before him were Nori Aoki (2012), Richie Sexson (2001), Jeromy Burnitz (1998), Matt Mieske (1994), and Cecil Cooper (1979). Aguilar also had a walkoff homer against the Marlins back on April 21, and is the first Brewer with two in a season since Corey Hart in 2010.
A large part of Flaherty's inflated pitch count was the 13 strikeouts, and don't forget, he only gave up the one hit (Aguilar's first homer). Only five Cardinals in the live-ball era have had a line of ≤ 1 hit and 13+ strikeouts, regardless of the number of innings-- although the others were all 9-inning complete-game shutout victories. Jaime Garcia (2016), Shelby Miller (2013), Bob Gibson (1970), and Ernie Broglio (1960) were those lucky four. The last pitcher for any team with ≤ 1 hit and 13+ K who didn't win the game was Clayton Kershaw against the Giants on April 15, 2009 (like Flaherty, he departed after 7 having allowed only a solo homer to Bengie Molina, and then the bullpen imploded for four runs and the loss).
It's only the third time in the live-ball era that the Cardinals have held their opponent to three hits and lost because the third one was a walkoff homer. The others were June 25, 2007, against the Mets (Shawn Green off Russ Springer) and June 18, 1962, in the first season of Dodger Stadium (Tommy Davis off Bob Gibson).
And the Elias Sports Bureau tells us that Aguilar became the first player since at least 1960 (which is probably as far back as they wanted to check) to break up a no-hit bid in the 6th or later with a home run, and then also walk off with a home run in the same game. We have to assume they mean two separate homers, since we will always have The Rich Hill Game.
Taking It All Too Hard
The Giants and Marlins played a three-game series to kick off the week. Stop us if you've heard this one. Yeah, through the interesting lens of MLB's schedule-makers, that happened last Monday through Wednesday also, and the timing was just perfect considering Evan Longoria suffered a broken hand in last week's series when hit by a pitch. So the rematch in San Francisco was, well, ripe. We'll let you decide for yourself whether the beanball war is over, considering the season series is over as well. But Monday's game entered the middle innings with the Giants up 4-2, and Miami needed to keep it right there to have a chance. Drew Rucinski did just that, facing nine batters from innings 5 through 7 and retiring all of them-- four on strikeouts. Only two other relievers in Marlins history have thrown 3+ perfect innings in relief with 4+ K, and the others were in the 20th century. Braden Looper did it, also against the Giants, on April 21, 1999; and the first was Richie Lewis in Montréal on May 8, 1995.
Sure enough, the Marlins got their chance in the top of the 9th against Hunter Strickland. Two walks and a double scored one run, and then-- after avoiding a pitch near his head because they're still at it-- Lewis Brinson deposited a tying single into right, complete with bat flip, and Miguel Rojas followed with the go-ahead version. That was Rojas's third RBI of the game; the last Marlin to do that on only two singles (no sac flies, no other balls in play) was Martin Prado against the Braves in the final week of the 2015 campaign.
As for Strickland, he became just the second Giants pitcher since saves became official in 1969 to enter a home game in a 9th-inning save situation and give up five baserunners, three runs, and only record one out. The other-- who, incidentally, also blew a save on Monday, just not for the Giants-- was Sergio Romo against the Rockies on June 13, 2014. To absolve ourselves of any responsibility, we assume Strickland was unaware of this factoid when he punched a door on his way off the field and broke his pitching hand.
Strickland wasn't the only frustrated pitcher in the series; on Tuesday Dan Straily gave up four runs in the first two innings, culminating with a Gorkys Hernandez home run. With designated "Plunk This Guy" Buster Posey two batters away, Straily retired Dereck Rodriguez, walked Joe Panik, beaned Posey just like the script says, and was promptly ejected. He became the first Marlins starter to get ejected from a game since Chris Volstad threw behind Nyjer Morgan on September 1, 2010, prompting Morgan to charge the mound and resulting in the memorable broadcast call, "The Marlins are pummelling!". The Giants hung on to win 6-3, with Hernandez becoming their first 8- or 9-hitter with three hits, two extra-base hits, and three runs batted in since Jarrett Parker had a three-homer game in Oakland on September 26, 2015.
Wednesday's finale-- a 6-5 San Francisco win that saw Sam Dyson give up four hits and two runs in the 9th before Reyes Moronta struck out J.B. Shuck to end it-- marked the first time the Marlins had collected 13 hits at AT&T Park but lost since a 12-10 slugfest on July 27, 2007.
Meanwhile, Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough recorded a 1-2-3 save in the 9th inning of Monday's game, then came back and did the exact same thing in Miami's two wins in Colorado over the weekend. That gave him a streak of 11 consecutive appearances where he worked at least one full inning and allowed zero hits. That ties Armando Benitez (August 13 to September 8, 2004) for the longest such streak in Marlins history, and is the longest in the majors within one season since Boston's Koji Uehara also did it 11 straight in 2013.
Intermission
Since there was no way to put a link in the actual title of the post. Click here if you'd like before we take you the rest of the way home.
So-So-Sot-io
By now you know about Monday's time-travel story. Or did you know it in advance? Or is today actually last Monday? This is confusing.
On May 15 the Nationals and Yankees had their game suspended after 5½ innings because, while it was an official game at that point, it was tied 3-3, and by rule, it can't be declared a tie unless it's the last game between the two teams and it doesn't matter to the standings. (This is why the Cubs and Dodgers actually had a tie two seasons ago.) By rule, the rest of that game has to be played before any other game between the two teams can start. So that was supposed to be the 16th. It rained again. Both games ended up scheduled for Monday, which was actually a slightly clever move to avoid the suspended game being finished in New York instead (since there were no more remaining games in Washington).
In the meantime, a young phenom named Juan Soto got called up from the minors and debuted on May 20. He homered that day. And has homered a bunch more since then. And then Monday came along and we are temporarily transported back to May 15. Even though Soto wasn't on the roster back then, it's not practical to say he can't be used in the game, given that other players may have been hurt or traded since then and someone needs to go play second base or whatever. So when Anthony Rendon singles to put the go-ahead run on base in the bottom of the 6th, up comes Soto. And of course guess what he does. But is it May 15 or June 18 right now? And if it's the 15th, what happens to his "debut" on the 20th?
Even though the game began on May 15, even though it stretches into other days (or in this case a month), it's still an extension of the May 15 game. This is partly the logic we use for still declaring it the previous day even when a game goes beyond midnight local time. It doesn't suddenly change into the next day's game. So there's an oft-cited rule that says he should count as playing on the 15th and homering on the 15th. Except, like so much in baseball, that comes with an asterisk.
Elias has ruled-- correctly in our opinion-- that his debut and first MLB homer are still on May 20. Officially the rule (9.23) only applies for purposes of consecutive-games streaks, such as the Lou Gehrig/Cal Ripken games-played streak, a hitting streak, an errorless streak, etc. But it still got the internets wondering.
Based on a list compiled by our friends at the Society for American Baseball Research in 2012, Soto is the first player to appear in the resumption of a suspended game from before his MLB debut since Chris Getz of the White Sox on August 25, 2008. The Orioles' only trip to Comiskey Park-- from April 28!-- was suspended and, under the previous rule that nearly applied to the Nats and Yanks, had to be continued in Baltimore since there were no more games in Chicago. In the intervening four months, there were any number of transactions, and there were actually three players-- Getz, Luis Montañez, and pitcher Alberto Castillo-- who made their "debuts" in the resumption despite not being near the majors in April. Other notables to do it include Barry Bonds, Kurt Bevacqua, Dave Parker, Jeff Reardon, Andy Messersmith, and former Rockies manager Jim Tracy. But in that entire list, there's only one player who's hit a home run "before his MLB debut" (asterisk). And of course that's Juan Soto.
On Thursday, which is legitimately Soto's 28th MLB game however you count, Dave Martinez got the idea to shake up the lineup a bit. Moving Bryce Harper into the leadoff spot created a need for someone to bat cleanup behind Anthony Rendon. Guess who. Soto-- who won't turn 20 until the week of the World Series-- got the nod and became the youngest player to start a game batting 4th since Cesar Cedeño of the Astros did it against the Padres on June 22, 1970. Before that it was regularly done by the Mets' Ed Kranepool and fellow Astro Rusty Staub in 1963 and 1964. Perhaps the biggest name to bat 4th on a regular basis as a teenager was Giants HOF'er Mel Ott in the late '20s.
Cedeño, naturally, went 0-for-4 that day. Soto, well, didn't. He managed only one hit in the Nationals' victory Thursday, but it was the hit that gave the Nationals that victory-- a two-run double in the bottom of the 8th to enable Sean Doolittle to close it out in the 9th. Soto is the youngest player with a multi-run, extra-base hit in the 8th or later since Ken Griffey Jr. also had a two-run double against the Orioles on June 21... of 1989. That only cut an 8-3 deficit to 8-5, but Junior also had the last such hit of the go-ahead variety, a month earlier against the Brewers.
Out Too Deep
The aforementioned Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) held its annual convention this week at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh. So it was only appropriate that it was a pretty "grand" weekend indeed; just when we hadn't heard much about four-run homers lately, there was a measles-like outbreak of them that started slowly on Tuesday when the Braves' Johan Camargo unleashed one at Rogers Centre. That accounted for Atlanta's first four runs, and was just the second grand slam the Braves had ever hit in Canada. The other one was a tad more consequential than a random interleague game in June: It was Lonnie Smith in Game 5 of the 1992 World Series; his 5th-inning tater off Jack Morris put the game out of reach and ultimately delayed Toronto's title for two more days.
Camargo wasn't done, however. When he singled home another run in the 5th, it made him the fourth number-9 hitter in Braves history with three hits and five RBIs. Johnny Sain did it in 1946, and the other two were both by pitcher Tony Cloninger in 1966 (the more recent being his famous "two grand slams" game). Ender Inciarte, batting 8th, would also collect three hits and three RBIs in the 11-4 win, making them just the second pair of 8/9 hitters in Braves history to each do it in the same game. The battery of Al Spohrer and Tom Zachary both did it in Brooklyn on September 25, 1932. And Kurt Suzuki and Charlie Culberson-- the 6- and 7-hitters-- also had multiple hits and multiple runs scored. It's the first time the bottom four in the Braves order all pulled that off since June 16, 1966, against the Mets; that's the "other" Tony Cloninger game from above.
The slam giveth, the slam taketh away. The Braves returned home to meet the Orioles over the weekend, and Saturday's game began walk-double-walk-slam. The batter in this case would be Mark Trumbo, for whom it was the fifth of his career and third for Baltimore. Obviously the fourth batter of the game is the first one who can possibly hit a grand slam, so it always interests us when it happens. Chris Davis hit one at Camden Yards almost exactly two years ago (June 26, 2016, vs Rays). But no Orioles player had done it on the road since Jim Gentile hit one in the 11th game at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. It was May 9, 1961, the Twins' first year of existence, and the Orioles ended up still losing that game 13-5. Trumbo would also record a pinch-hit homer in Sunday's loss, just the second one the Orioles have ever hit against the Braves. Jay Gibbons took Greg Maddux deep at Turner Field on July 12, 2001.
The Indians opened their weekend series against Detroit with a 10-0 blowout in which the Tigers managed just five hits, and Yonder Alonso blew the game open with a 7th-inning slam. Alonso also uncorked a four-run homer on March 31 in Seattle, while teammate (and frequent subject in this post) Michael Brantley also has two. The last Cleveland teammates with multiple slams in a season were Travis Hafner and Shin-Soo Choo in 2010.
Alonso's blast came off Johnny Barbato, who made a mark as the first Tigers reliever to give up five earned runs against Cleveland while getting only one out since Juan Acevedo blew a save on July 28, 2002. And the last time the Tigers were shut out by 10+ in Cleveland, and held to five hits at the same time, was August 12, 1947! Al Gettel gave up a double to the game's second batter, 2B Eddie Mayo, but then cranked up the extra mustard and one-hit the Tigers who could never catch up and lost 11-0.
The Indians would finish the sweep with a 12-2 beatdown on Sunday which also featured a slam, this one by Edwin Encarnacion. Back on May 15, Brandon Guyer also went slam against the Tigers, so combined with Alonso's on Friday, it's the first time they've ever hit three in a season against Detroit. They haven't hit three against any opponent since the 2002 Twins.
Those 12 runs on Sunday were split evenly between Tigers hurlers Matt Boyd and Artie Lewicki; they became the first Detroit teammates to each surrender eight hits and six earned runs since Dizzy Trout and Johnny Gorsica did it against the Senators on September 15, 1946.
And we can't let this run of slams pass without a major shout-out to Anthony DeSclafani of the Reds. Given that he's a pitcher, you would generally expect this to be about him giving one up. (Or two.) Nope. In Saturday's 11-2 takedown of the Cubs, DeSclafani capped a six-run 3rd inning with his first career home run, and the first grand slam by a Cincinnati pitcher since Bob Purkey hit one, also against the Cubs, on August 1, 1959. No Reds pitcher had even had 4 RBI in a game since Bronson Arroyo on June 3, 2006.
Something Happened On The Way To LaGuardia
Then there is the Dodgers' weekend at Citi Field, which opened with a 5-2 victory consisting almost entirely of Cody Bellinger's 6th-inning grand slam. He is just the third Dodger to connect for a four-run homer in Queens; Chase Utley hit one on May 28, 2016, and Robin Ventura hit the only one at Shea on August 29, 2004.
Saturday was an 8-3 win, and this time the slam came in the 8th inning off the bat of Matt Kemp. Who didn't start the game; he was batting for relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson who had already thrown four innings after Clayton Kershaw hit his 55-pitch limit. The Dodgers hadn't had a pinch-hit slam since Manny Ramirez against the Reds on July 22, 2009, and hadn't seen one in the 8th inning or later since Dave Hansen's walkoff against the Giants on June 28, 1993. Amazingly, if you're looking for slams in consecutive games, you only need go back 51 weeks. Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor hit them in San Diego on June 30 and July 1 of last year. (Sidebar on Ferguson, he was the first Dodgers reliever to throw four scoreless innings with at least six strikeouts since Mark Hendrickson did it on September 16, 2006.)
And in Sunday's finale, the Dodgers decided to spread the wealth a little bit, in fact hitting the total opposite of a grand slam-- as many solo shots as humanly possible. The game began with back-to-back jacks by Enrique Hernandez and Max Muncy, the second time the Dodgers have done that this year (Chris Taylor and Corey Seager, April 10 vs Oakland). It's the first time in team history it's happened twice in a season. Los Angeles finally secured the sweep with Justin Turner's solo shot in the top of the 11th-- the Dodgers' seventh homer of the game. And all seven were solos. They won 8-7, and it's even funnier that the eighth run scored on a double play so no one got credit for it. It's only the sixth game in franchise history where they've hit at least seven homers (there is one game with eight), but the first of those games where every one was a solo. Turner became just the second Dodger to hit a go-ahead homer in a road game against the Mets (i.e., not a walkoff) in the 11th or later; Davey Lopes took Skip Lockwood deep on August 1, 1977. And the back-and-forth nature of Sunday's game, where the game was either untied or re-tied eight times, meant that Hernandez (1-0), Cody Bellinger (3-2), Joc Pederson (5-4), and Turner (8-7) all gave the Dodgers the lead at some point in the game. It's the first time in team history (all of it, to 1884) that they've hit four go-ahead homers in a single game.
I Missed Again
That SABR convention this weekend featured a lot of discussion about both "pace of play" and the "three true outcomes". Sure enough, on Friday night we got "treated" to an interesting case study in both, with a scoreless tie between Arizona's Patrick Corbin and Pittsburgh's Ivan Nova taking just 98 minutes to reach the 7th-inning stretch. The two starters combined for just six hits, no walks, and twenty strikeouts, with not a single half-inning lasting more than four batters. Problem is that little word, "tie". It took 13 innings, 10 relief pitchers, and 3 hours 53 minutes to finally resolve a 2-1 game in favor of the Diamondbacks. But in so doing, we got just the second game this season where both starters allowed zero runs on three hits and struck out at least eight. And Patrick Corbin was in the other one too; it was against the Giants' Johnny Cueto on April 17. Corbin is also just the third pitcher in Arizona history to allow zero runs, strike out at least 12, and not get the win. The others were both Randy Johnson in one-run losses-- once in 2004 against the Rockies, and the other in 2001 at San Diego. And for the Pirates, including the relievers, it was only the second time in the live-ball era that they'd been held to one run on four hits while striking out at least 17 times on offense. The other was a 5-0 loss to the Reds on May 6, 2012.
Of course in 2018 that wasn't the only big-strikeout game of the week. On Saturday the Indians rode Trevor Bauer's 11 strikeouts to a 4-1 win over Detroit, with the lone run scoring on an infield single, a stolen base, and a wild pitch. It was the Tigers' first game scoring ≤ 1 run and striking out at least 16 times total since September 18, 1996, in a 4-0 loss to Boston. If that game looks familiar, that's because it's the game where Roger Clemens tied his own record with 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. Bauer did have a couple uncharacteristic episodes of wildness; he ended up becoming the first Indians pitcher to strike out 11+ but also hit two batters since Sam McDowell, also against the Tigers, on September 18, 1969. McDowell, like Bauer, also uncorked a wild pitch, but he went on to a complete-game victory despite allowing 10 hits.
And the largest single-pitcher strikeout performance of the week belonged to the Phillies' Nick Pivetta, who fanned 13 in Monday's 6-5 win over St. Louis. Ultimately the Cardinals would end up with 19 total strikeouts on offense for just the third time in the live-ball era. The previous such game was Corey Kluber's outing of one hit and 18 K's on May 13, 2015; the other was their famous 20-inning game with the Mets back in April 2010. Pivetta also gave up two homers to ensure that the game stayed a bit too close for comfort; no Phils hurler had posted 13 K but also 2 HR since Cole Hamels against the Marlins on June 11, 2008. Hamels ended up getting a no-decision in that game when Dan Uggla hit a walkoff grand slam.
Don't Lose My Number
So you've probably noticed the theme to all the section titles and are wondering what that's about. Let's keep going on that Monday game where Pivetta fanned 13 and the Phillies won 6-5. After that the game was turned over to Victor Arano and Adam Morgan to protect the lead, and, well, they didn't. Morgan gave up a tying single to Kolten Wong in the 9th, though Arano was charged with both runs, and then Tommy Pham homered in the top of the 10th to take a 5-4 lead. Even that would be only temporary as Aaron Altherr walked off with a two-run double in the bottom half. That was the first multi-run walkoff double for the Phillies in extras since Len Dykstra hit one against the Dodgers on July 7, 1993.
The lead changing hands in extra innings also meant that Pivetta didn't actually get the win despite striking out 13 Cardinals. Only three other Phillies pitchers in the live-ball era have fanned 13+ in a team win but not gotten the individual win out of it; Randy Wolf did it on September 21, 2002, at Cincinnati (left a tie game after 7), while Jim Bunning (1967) and Si Johnson (1941) both did it in extra-inning games that were decided after they departed.
Back to Tommy Pham, however, and the ultimate end to our
Phil, by the way, wore jersey number 18 during the '32 season when he gave up the first homer to his counterpart Collins. During the '33 season he changed to jersey number 16; we can only surmise why, but no new big-name acquisition came to the Phillies and took over Collins' old 18. So our best guess is that Collins wanted 16 all along, but it had previously been in use by fellow pitcher Ray Benge since his arrival in 1928. When Benge was traded to the Dodgers in December 1932, 16 suddenly became available and Collins likely switched. Either way, we did warn you. Do you remember? :)
First Cardinal to hit two IN Philadelphia since "Ripper" Collins 1932-33. Both off pitcher Phil Collins. Both were in the air tonight and Ripper said, take me home. Phil wore 18 at first but forgot his number & changed to 16 when Ray Benge got traded. I'm gonna use this all week. https://t.co/pPtZORevMF
— Doug Kern (@dakern74) June 19, 2018
Bottom Of The Bag
⚾ Dodgers/Cubs, Tuesday: First doubleheader to start with a leadoff homer (by visiting team) and end with an extra-inning walkoff anything (by home team) since Red Sox/Indians on August 25, 1963. Gary Geiger homered and Tito Francona singled in the 15th.
⚾ Cody Bellinger, Friday: Third Dodger to hit a grand slam in Queens. Chase Utley did it at Citi Field on May 28, 2016; and Robin Ventura hit the only one at Shea on August 29, 2004.
⚾ Javier Baez, Thursday: First Cubs batter with 3 XBH but 0 RBI in a game since Ryan Theriot against Milwaukee, July 1, 2007.
⚾ Carlos Correa, Saturday: Fifth career walkoff in the 12th inning or later (four singles and a double). Most in Astros history; Bob Watson (two singles, double, sac fly) had four between 1970 and 1979.
⚾ Orioles, Tuesday: Hit three homers in Washington and still lost. Only other time the franchise has done that was August 10, 1963; Boog Powell hit all three (lost 6-5).
⚾ Giancarlo Stanton, Sunday: First Yankee with 5 hits including 3 XBH in a loss since Red Rolfe at Washington, August 4, 1935.
⚾ Odubel Herrera, Monday: Third time this season hitting a 3-run homer as Phillies' third batter of the game. Only other player in Phils history to do that thrice in a season is Scott Rolen in 1998.
⚾ Jon Gray, Friday: Third pitcher in Rockies history to allow 8+ hits but also strike 12+ batters. The others were both Darryl Kile, in a span of three starts in June 1998.
⚾ Jed Lowrie, Tuesday: First extra-inning homer ever hit by Athletics in a National League park (including postseason).
⚾ Cardinals, Saturday: First game in (at least) live-ball era where they had ≤ 4 hits, struck out 13+ times, and won. Also first loss in Brewers history with the same credentials.
⚾ Yoan Moncada, Sunday: First White Sox batter with a 3-run homer and a 3-run double in consecutive innings (either order) since Frank Thomas at Milwaukee, May 15, 1996.
⚾ Patrick Corbin, Friday: Third pitcher in Diamondbacks history to strike out 12+, allow 0 runs, and not get a win. The others were both Randy Johnson in one-run losses (2001 & 2004).
⚾ Franklin Barreto, Wednesday: Youngest Oaklander with a homer and 3 RBI since Eric Chavez hit a grand slam on July 21, 1999, in the seventh game at Safeco Field.
⚾ Zack Greinke & Clay Buchholz, Sat-Sun: First time in D'backs history that consecutive starters allowed 2 hits, 0 walks, and 0 runs. The last team to do it against the Pirates was the world-champion Brooklyn Dodgers of 1955 (Billy Loes and Johnny Podres, September 24-25).
Did You Know?
Austin Bibens-Dirkx missed the end of the 2017 minor-league season after injuring himself in July... signing autographs. Although the actual story is much more mundane, we like to think all those hyphens are hard on the carpal-tunnel.
