Wanna Get Away?

Last week we brought you the tale of the Minnesota Twins trying to play a "getaway game" on a Tuesday afternoon and having it go 17 innings until Max Kepler walked off-- thereby kind of defeating the entire purpose of starting at noon. Heh. It seems so innocent now. That, plus some other teams (and mostly pitchers) who would probably like a vacation from this week.


What Goes Around

In previous episodes we've learned how Johannes Kepler is largely responsible for our understanding of the solar system and how the planets orbit the sun. And thus, halfway through the orbit you will be in the exact-opposite place from wherever you started. Our friend Max Kepler can probably relate.

The Twins were supposed to start Thursday's game at noon. Some passing showers pushed that back by an hour to begin with. When we did finally get going, Minnesota broke out early with 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st, but Martin Perez was unable to secure the fabled "shutdown inning" and gave them right back in the 2nd. So this has a chance to be one of those high-scoring back-and-forth 10-9 games.

Or not. You could have headed down to Mall of America for a couple hours and come back without missing a darn thing. The Rays got a single in the 4th. The Twins got two singles, both of the infield variety. It took just 51 batters to make the next 45 outs. And you may already know (or have figured out) that we're now at the end of the 9th, still tied 2-2. For the second week in a row a "getaway game" at Target Field has backfired, and yet again no one can get out of Target.

Sure, it looked promising in the top of the 10th when the Rays loaded the bases with nobody out. Infield fly, strikeout, groundout. Two more walks in the 11th, nothing. And again we go dry. Max Kepler fails at walking this one off in both the 13th and the 15th. In fact the next 39 outs are recorded in only 42 batters, which is at least one redeeming quality that is sometimes found in these long, nothing-is-happening extra-inning games. If you're not going to score and end the thing, then at least go 1-2-3 and don't drag it out any further by leaving a bunch of guys on base. Finally in the top of the 18th, as Ryne Harper becomes the tenth Twins pitcher of the game, a breakthrough. He walks Brandon Lowe, hits Travis d'Arnaud, and eventually replay upholds a Yandy Diaz sac fly where Lowe beats the play at the plate. It's been nearly 3 years since any player hit a sac fly in the 18th or later; Ruben Tejada of the Mets did it in St Louis on July 19, 2015.

Considering how long it took for either team to score one run, it's probably good that the Rays added two more singles and two more runs just in case. The 18-inning win tied for the longest in Rays history, or even sets it, depending on how you look at things. They did play another 18-inning game, against the Orioles on September 20, 2013, but that was at Tropicana Field. So they walked off (on a David DeJesus single) after recording only 53 outs as opposed to Thursday's 54.

It may be good that Target Field doesn't have a hand-operated scoreboard, because they might have needed to commission some more "0" cards. Look at all of them. The Rays scored in the 2nd and 18th-- nothing in between. The Twins scored both their runs in the 1st and then chunked up 17 straight goose eggs. It's the first game where both teams went 15 innings without scoring since the Mets and Braves played a 20-inning, 2-1 snoozefest on June 8, 2013.

Austin Meadows, who entered the game in the 2nd after Kevin Kiermaier's leg cramped up, probably didn't expect to get more than two at-bats. He actualy got seven, the first player to do that in a game he didn't start since Devon Travis of the Jays did it in a Canada Day festival with Cleveland on July 1, 2016. Ji-Man Choi entered in the 10th and drew 3 walks in addition to a foulout; he's the first player with 3 walks and an RBI in a game he didn't start since then-National Marlon Byrd did so against the Reds on May 24, 2005. And in these ridiculously-long affairs we always say there's one player left out. Which is how we get back to Max Kepler and his orbit. After his heroics in the 17-inning affair last week, he managed to go 0-for-8 in the 18-inning topper this week. Kennys Vargas (May 28, 2017, in 15 innings) and Bobby Darwin (May 12, 1972, in 22) are the only other players in Twins history to draw that big a collar.


Danger Zone

It's probably safe to say that few people wanted to get away from a baseball field as quickly as Edwin Diaz of the Mets on Thursday. Diaz spent eight innings out in the bullpen watching his offensive teammates get no-hit through 5 innings, then no doubt chuckling with the rest of us when starter Zack Wheeler was the one to break that up with a leadoff single in the 6th. But then nine more Mets went down and the Phillies were three outs away from closing out a 1-0 win where the Mets' only hit was by the pitcher.

This is why we wait to look anything up until the game is over. Enter Hector Neris from the other bullpen. Exit a Todd Frazier 2-run homer after Michael Conforto singled. Since the opening of Citizens Bank Park in 2004, only two other Mets have hit a lead-flipping homer there in the 9th inning; they are David Wright in September 2009 off Ryan Madson, and Michael Conforto on May 11 of last year... off Hector Neris. Madson gave up a similar homer to Brian Roberts of the Orioles and had been the Phils pitcher to do it twice. Two more singles and an RBI groundout made Neris the first Phillies pitcher to get 1 out, give up 3 runs, and blow a save, since... oh look, Hector Neris again. That was April 29, 2017, against the Dodgers, and the last Phillies reliever to do that twice was Jonathan Papelbon.

Neris's performance rescued Aaron Nola from having to be saddled with one of those pesky "wins". Only three Phillies pitchers in the live-ball era (probably ever, but we can't prove it) have struck out 10+, allowed only 1 hit, and not gotten a win... and Nola is two of them! He also did it last May 26 against Toronto when he left a 1-1 tie prior to Nick Williams' game-winning homer. (The other was Randy Wolf in a 1-0 game against Pittsburgh in 2002.) Five pitchers besides Nola have two such games, although four of them are still active and the fifth probably could be. They are Mike Clevinger, Jack Flaherty, Rich Hill, Justin Verlander, and Nolan Ryan.

Meanwhile, back in the Mets' bullpen, oh wow, hey, we got a lead, so now we now have a save opportunity, and as Mickey Callaway pointed out earlier in the week when not cussing out reporters, that's Edwin Diaz's "comfort zone", so start throwing. Heh. "Comfort zone".

Leadoff walk. Maikel Franco 2-run homer. Sooooo about that save. Well, it's still tied, so worst case we can get that lead back in the 10th (you know, after we went 8 innings with our only hit by the pitcher). But why would we want to do that when Diaz can just give up a walk, a single, and then a homer to Jean Segura, the Phillies' first 3- or 4-run walkoff homer against the Mets in over a quarter-century. Kim Batiste hit a walkoff slam against Anthony Young on August 13, 1993; the team's only other such homers were by Bo Diaz in 1983 and Dickie Allen in 1968. The Phillies hadn't hit any walkoff homer against the Mets since Kevin Frandsen on June 22, 2013.

And those 5 runs and 1 out on Diaz's line? He's the second pitcher in Mets history to do that in the 9th inning and blow a save in the process; Francisco Rodriguez ("K-Rod") did it in San Diego on August 7, 2009. And two other Mets pitchers have done it while giving up multiple homers, blown save or not: Roger McDowell in 1987 and Mark Bomback in 1980.

And after surely wanting to get away after the Frazier homer in the top of the 9th, Hector Neris is probably okay with sticking around a bit longer now. Because even though he didn't get the last out of the 9th to get credited with the win, Neris was still the first Phillies pitcher with a 3-run, 1-out blown save in a game the team ended up winning since Antonio Alfonseca, also against the Mets, on August 30, 2007.


Philadelphia Freedom

Edwin Diaz, however, was most definitely not the only Mets player who wanted to get away from Philadelphia this week. He was just the last one who had to be convinced. Monday's series opener started with a 2-run top of the 1st, quickly erased when Jean Segura and Rhys Hoskins went yard in the bottom half. Todd Frazier, Wilson Ramos, and Michael Conforto all homered off Zach Eflin to put the Mets back up 6-5, but Steven Matz gave up a lead-flipping homer to Maikel Franco in the 5th, after which both pitchers were sent packing. Matz became the first Mets starter to give up 10+ hits, 7+ runs, 3+ homers, and not finish the 5th inning since Dillon Gee also did it at CBP on April 9, 2013. Brooks Pounders would show up, and "pounded" is a bit too severe since the Mets were already losing, but he gave up 5 more runs, including just the second career pinch-hit homer by journeyman Jay Bruce, whose other was for the Mets against the Phillies on September 24, 2016.

Eflin, meanwhile, gave up 11 hits, 6 runs, and 3 homers of his own, making Monday's game the first in the 21st century where both starters hit 10, 6, and 3 respectively. The last pair of combatants with that illustrious line was Dustin Hermanson of the Expos and Kevin Jarvis of the Rockies, of course at Coors Field, on May 1, 2000. But because Matz's 7 runs are more than Eflin's 6, the latter also ended up with a win. He's the first Phillies hurler to allow 11 hits and 3 homers in a home game, and get a win, since Larry Jackson did it against the Astros on August 3, 1966.

Tuesday's game also started with a 2-run top of the 1st, but looked even more promising when Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith added solo homers for a 4-1 lead. Instead this one would wait until the 6th to unravel when Walter Lockett, making just his second start after being called up from Syracuse, gave up a leadoff walk and a double to J.T. Realmuto. Enter Wilmer Font before this one becomes too font-like and spews out of control. Heh. Jay Bruce groundout. Cesar Hernandez single. Maikel Franco 2-run homer (there's your blown save). Brad Miller pinch-hit homer for an insurance run; with Bruce's yesterday, it's the first time the Phillies had PH homers in back-to-back games since Laynce Nix and Chase Utley did it in April 2013.

Font's line doesn't look quite as bad as Diaz's from Thursday only because two of those runs were inherited and charged to Lockett. But he's still just the sixth pitcher in Mets history to give up two homers and blow a save while getting no more than 1 out. And since this all happened in the 6th, Jake Arrieta is still the pitcher of record and gets the win despite allowing 9 hits, 5 earned runs, and 2 homers. If that looks familiar, it's because Zach Eflin posted those same numbers yesterday and got a win also. Not surprisingly, it's the first time the Phillies have ever done that in back-to-back games; they hadn't even had two pitchers do it in a season since 2004.

On Wednesday the Mets had a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the 6th. Stop us if you've heard this one. Jason Vargas strikes out the side around a Jean Segura solo homer, and finally gets pulled in the 7th after a J.T. Realmuto leadoff double. Except not only does that run score, but so do two more allowed by Seth Lugo and now we're tied 4-4. Oh look, that's another blown save, the first time in two decades that the Mets had a pitcher do it while getting no more than 2 outs in three consecutive games. Those previous save-blowers were Ricky Trlicek, Greg McMichael, and John Franco from May 18-20, 1997. Vargas would be the first Mets pitcher to strike out 10 in Philadelphia but not get a win since the usual answer to such questions, Jacob deGrom on May 31, 2014.

Now all we have to do is resolve that tie. Stephen Nogosek can take care of that. Leadoff walk to Hoskins in the 10th. J.T. Realmuto singles him to second. And Jay Bruce walkoff double, his first with the Phillies, but he also had one with Cleveland in 2017 and Cincinnati in 2011. He joins Carl Crawford as the only players this decade to hit a walkoff double with three different teams. And it was just the second one the Phillies have ever hit against the Mets in extra innings; Tony Gonzalez connected off Jack Fisher on September 26, 1965.


Hold My Hand

It is said that where there's a spark, there's a fire. So if the Royals have a pitcher named Sparkman, they might also need a fireman. Because Glenn gave up two solo homers to Cleveland in the 5th inning on Tuesday and then another 2-run shot to Tyler Naquin in the 6th before having to leave. The embers finally smoldered and the Indians headed to the 9th with a 6-3 lead-- which they appropriately enough "hand"ed to Brad Hand, he of the 22-for-22 in the saves department this season. Heh.

First pitch, Martin Maldonado double. Then three straight singles, but the Royals hold lead runner Whit Merrifield at third so it's 6-4 and there's still a chance at getting out of this. That chance lasted all of about 45 seconds, through exactly one (1) of those exciting mound visits, before Hunter Dozier deposited the first pitch he saw into left-center field for the first lead-flipping, 9th-inning grand slam in Royals history. The team has hit only two other grand slams in the 9th or later of a road game, and the others were both in extras: Danny Tartabull in the 11th at New York, August 14, 1991; and Frank White in the 12th in Anaheim on June 25, 1975, exactly 44 years before Dozier's heroics.

If nothing else, at this point Brad Hand did get his chance to get away, being replaced by Nick Goody who promptly struck out the side. But Hand had become the first Indians pitcher to give up 5+ runs and get 0 outs since Masahide Kobayashi in Boston on May 7, 2009. The last to do it in a save situation, and thus blow the save as well, was Danys Baez at Seattle on April 22, 2003.

Hand can take some solace in the fact that the baseball gods usually even things out. Just head to the other bullpen and ask Wily Peralta, who had entered a tie game in the bottom of the 10th barely 24 hours earlier. Jason Kipnis greeted him with a walkoff solo homer for a 3-2 Indians win, Cleveland's first against the Royals since Asdrubal Cabrera also led off the 10th against Jesse Chavez on August 28, 2010. Peralta was the first Royals pitcher in four seasons to give up a walkoff homer to the first batter he faced; Miguel Almonte did that in the 11th inning at Wrigley on September 28, 2015 (Chris Denorfia hit it).


26 Runs, So Near Yet Far

Ah, but Cleveland's woes were only beginning-- probably not what they expected out of their weekend sleepover in Baltimore against the dreadful Orioles. Oh sure, Friday's game began with a leadoff walk to Jonathan Villar, but big deal. Even when Chance Sisco homered a couple batters later, it's still only 2-0. Heh. Two walks and a double make it 4-0 after 1. A leadoff double in the 2nd, two more singles, and a sac fly knock Mike Clevinger out of the game at 6-0, and Tyler Olson serves up a dinger to Anthony Santander for an 8-0 lead. It's the first game in at least 15 years where the Orioles scored 4+ runs in both the 1st and 2nd innings, and the first time the Indians allowed it since April 9, 2009, at Texas. That game also "featured" the last 7-runs-on-5-outs start by a Cleveland pitcher in a road game, that line being chunked up by Carl Pavano.

It's 9-0 in the 8th when Cleveland turns to Adam Plutko, who had started that Monday game where Kipnis ended up hitting the walkoff homer. On that occasion he allowed just 1 hit in 4 innings; on Friday, his line would be, um, well, not that. Single, walk, single, and then back-to-back doubles with 2 outs to drive 9-0 up to 13-0. When the Indians stranded Roberto Perez at first base to end the game, they had eaten their largest shutout loss ever against the Orioles/Browns franchise. The previous mark for that had been 11, done several times but most recently on April 21, 1969. And while the Indians had gotten thumped by the Cubs, 17-0, in an interleague game four years ago, the Orioles hadn't had a shutout of 13 or more since dropping 15-0 on Toronto on August 19, 2006. Sisco & Santander, after both going yard in the 1st, were also the pair who hit those back-to-back doubles in the 8th. That gave both of them a homer, a double, and 4 RBI, the first Orioles teammates to do that since Melvin Mora and Luke Scott in Detroit on August 17, 2008.

But still, as the old saying goes, it's only one game. Bump in the road. The 13-0 loss counts just the same as a 2-1 loss. We'll get 'em tomorrow. Unfortunately that usually entails at least getting some people on base, and the Indians couldn't be bothered to do that at all in the first three innings, and then only got one each from the 4th through 7th. Meanwhile, the Orioles seemed to be giving them a chance, scoring just 1 run in the first two innings, but then oh well, might as well do this again. Santander, leadoff dinger in the 4th. Hit batter, single, and another set of back-to-back doubles, this time by Jonathan Villar and Trey Mancini. Renato Nuñez put the final touches on a 5-run frame with his 17th homer of the year. Sisco added another 2-run shot in the 6th, and by the time position player Mike Freeman takes the mound in the 7th we're up to 11-0 again. Dwight Smith doubles in front of Nuñez, meaning all he has to do is hit another homer to get us another 13-0 score. Well, that's too good to pass up. In the top of the 8th the Indians manage to get two baserunners for the only time in the game, but Oscar Mercado strikes out to end it, and having barely gotten away from Friday's 13-0 defeat, Cleveland goes 1-2-3 on nine pitches to land right back there again on Saturday.

The obvious stat that's rightfully been shown everywhere is that it's the first time in major-league history that any team has recorded consecutive shutouts of 13-0 or more. (If you had the 2019 Orioles in the pool as being the first ones to ever do that, well,...) But if you look at just a margin of 13+, not necessarily a shutout, in consecutive games, that was also a first in either Orioles or Indians franchise history, both of which, of course, date to 1901. As for the last team in the majors to do it, that was only two months ago when the Rangers hung 15-1 and 14-1 on the Mariners. Combined it's the first time two teams have done it in the same season since 1999, and that's a bit misleading because the same team (the Phillies) did it both times that year.

That double by Jonathan Villar in the 4th ended up being his only hit of the game, but he also ended up walking three times. Only one other leadoff batter in franchise history had a double, three walks, and multiple RBIs in a game; that was Don Gutteridge at Detroit on April 26, 1942. And Nuñez made some history of his own; he also had 2 walks and scored on one of those trips-- making his total haul of 2 homers, 2 walks, 3 runs scored, and 4 RBIs a first in a home game in Baltimore Orioles history, at either stadium they've used since 1954.


Obviously our post title is Southwest Airlines' tagline, and we considered linking you to a few montages of those commercials that we found. But the line also caused us to recall this decidedly-minor Bobby Brown hit from 1993 (it peaked at #14) that we're guessing you forgot also. It's your prerogative whether to click or not. Intermission!


Just To Hold-er

CC Sabathia stumbled a bit out of the gate this week, giving up 2 runs in the 1st inning against Toronto on Monday. But not to worry; the Yankees offense and its MLB-record 31 straight games with a homer was sure to come through. So this section isn't about him. Indeed, it starts when Aaron Hicks extends that homer streak with a 3-run shot in the 5th to give the Yankees the lead and put CC in line for the win. There's really no need to pound Aaron Sanchez for another touchdown in the 6th, is there?

Ah, but having read last Sunday's post about boxcars (i.e., double-6s in a dice game), the Yankees couldn't help themselves, opening the inning with four hits and an RBI groundout to let Sanchez get away from the mound. Luke Voit then doubles in the last two inherited runs to make Sanchez the first Jays starter to give up 12 baserunners and 7 earned runs against the Yankees since Brett Cecil on July 6, 2009. (Cecil, unlike Sanchez, didn't end up getting tagged with a loss.) And when Giancarlo Stanton smokes a 3-run homer later in the inning, our score has flipped from 0-2 to 10-2 in the span of four outs.

But we still haven't gotten to the pitcher who really wants to get away from this game. That would be Jonathan Holder who is entrusted with an 8-run lead going to the top of the 8th. And by the time this is over, well, maybe that 6th-inning insurance touchdown wasn't a bad idea after all. Leadoff homer, Lourdes Gurriel. Cavan Biggio single. Randal Grichuk single. Rowdy Tellez single. The ever-helpful "mound visit", and then a grand slam by Freddy Galvis, just the second one Toronto has ever hit in the Bronx (at either stadium). Justin Smoak took Ivan Nova deep on August 8, 2015. And now our second mound visit results in Holder being removed after facing five batters, and not only getting none of them out, but also having all five of them score. The last Yankees reliever to pull that off was... Jonathan Holder, on August 2 of last season at Fenway Park. He's the first pitcher in Yankees history to have two such games from which he wants to get away. And only one other reliever in team history (1903) gave up 5+ runs and 2 homers while getting 0 outs, Bob Kammeyer at Cleveland on September 18, 1979.


Puddlejumpers

In addition to the bigger implosions and meltdowns we've already covered (plus the big one that's coming up), there were a few smaller bumps in the road this week where players (or teams) would probably just prefer to forget that one. Instead of long flights to faraway exotic vacation spots, we'll just have them take a short ride to the next state or something.

Speaking of which, the Dodgers were next door in Arizona early this week, and the D'backs clung to a 4-3 lead for most of Monday's game before Max Muncy worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game in the 7th. Okay, pitching staff, just keep the game where it is and wait for Cody Bellinger to homer or whatever it is that we always seem to do late in games. Except Dylan Floro threw a little wrench in that one by entering the tie game in the 8th and giving up three straight singles, a walk, a sac fly, and another single to score four D'backs runs and end up losing the game 8-5. He was the first Dodgers pitcher to allow 4 runs, get no more than 2 outs, and take the loss, since... Dylan Floro had another game-he'd-like-to-forget on May 22 at Tampa Bay. No Dodgers pitcher had done it twice in a season since Danys Baez in 2006, and none had done it twice on the road in the same season since Stan Williams in 1962.

In a twist on our theme, the Astros probably wanted to get away from the Pirates this week, the problem there being that their series was in Houston and, well, sometimes you just have to lay low and wait for the pirates to leave. Wednesday's game was 6-1 quickly after Pittsburgh scored twice in each of the first three frames, and the big blow came in a 6-run 9th against "pitcher" Tyler White who is not actually a pitcher. The 14-2 final was the second time the Pirates had either scored 14 runs or won by 12 in Houston (remember they were both in the same division until 2013); the other such game was a 17-5 win on May 21, 1989. Corey Dickerson collected 3 doubles, 3 runs scored, and 3 RBI, the first Pirates batter to do that in any game since Kevin Young against the Rockies on August 4, 1998. But he was the first to do it in a road game since August 1, 1970, when none other than Willie Stargell posted that line at Fulton County Stadium. Dickerson and leadoff batter Kevin Newman were the first Pirates teammates to have 4 hits and 3 RBI in the same game since Dave Parker and Steve Nicosia did it against the Cubs on (really!) June 2, 1981. The Pirates had gone the longest of any team, by over 3 years, without having teammates do that in a game.

On Thursday the "laying low" theme played out as the Astros couldn't even be bothered to score against Joe Musgrove. Meanwhile, Newman and Dickerson both hit 1st-inning homers against Brad Peacock as the Pirates cruised to a 10-0 shutout, their largest ever in Houston (topping an 8-0 on August 14, 2005). Once again trailing 6-0 in the 4th, and having already dipped into the "position players pitching" bucket the day before, the Astros decided this was a great time to send Cy Sneed out to the mound for his MLB debut. He lasted the remainder of the game, but he also gave up those final four Pittsburgh runs on a pair of homers. Bob Forsch, on August 3, 1989, was the last Astros reliever to throw 6+ innings and give up multiple homers; that was a "take one for the team" game in Cincinnati. And only one other pitcher in the live-ball era has done 6-and-2 as a reliever in his MLB debut, Josh Wasdin of the A's on August 24, 1995. Combined, the 14-2 and 10-0 scores marked the first time the Pirates won consecutive games by double digits, both on the road, since they posted an 11-1 and a 12-1 at Ebbets Field on August 20-21, 1945!

The Marlins' bullpen had a couple forgettable outings this week, but sandwiched between them, an opponent had one also. The good part of Tayron Guerrero's appearance on Wednesday was that he faced seven batters and didn't give up a hit. He also only got two of them out. The others, four walks and a hit batter. Three of them scored, thanks in part to a wild pitch on top of it. (This may explain the lack of hits; why bother swinging if he's never anywhere near the plate?) The last pitcher in the majors to post that line (0 H, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 3 runs) was Dennis Blair of the Expos on June 4, 1975-- who was a starter; it took him 5 innings. Only one other pitcher in the live-ball era has done it in less than 1 IP: Pirates great Vern Law at Boston, July 20, 1951.

Miami then hosted the Phillies over the weekend, trailing Saturday's game 6-3 until Juan Nicasio and Adam Morgan both ran into trouble in the 7th. Each gave up 3 runs while getting only 1 out; the 6-run inning ended up giving the Marlins a 9-6 victory. Nicasio and Morgan are the first pair of Phillies relievers to do the 3-and-1 line in the same game since Terry Adams and Mike Williams at Montréal on August 26, 2003.

Those tables were turned on Sunday when Philadelphia rallied for a 7-run 6th, mostly off Wei-Yin Chen out of the bullpen. He faced five batters; all of them got hits and all of them later scored, although one was unearned when Jake Arrieta (who started on second) was awarded home on an interference call against catcher Jorge Alfaro. Chen is the 10th pitcher in Marlins history to face five batters and have all of them score, but the first since Frankie De La Cruz against the Rays on June 25, 2008.


London Broil

Remember that time the people of Boston weren't very happy with Britain? Well, 245 years later it turns out history really does repeat itself.

Earlier in the week we suggested that, in celebration of all things British, the Yankees and Red Sox should run the bases in the opposite direction. MLB doesn't like many of our ideas. But the locals certainly got plenty of chances to adjust to the Americans' way when a jet-lagged Rick Porcello (yeah, we'll go with that) surrendered 6 runs in the 1st inning on three straight doubles and a 2-run homer by Aaron Hicks. He needed 33 pitches to get 1 out and it sure looked like he wanted to get away and crawl in a foxhole for a while. No Boston starter had given up 6+ earned runs while getting 1 out since John Burkett did it against Baltimore on September 24, 2003, and the only pitcher in team history to do it against the Yankees was Tom Brewer on August 15, 1985.

But while we're still trying to digest that outing, Porcello's teammates gave him a little dose of "cheerio, old chap" and picked him right back up. Rafael Devers RBI double. Two walks from a jet-lagged Masahiro Tanaka (yeah, we'll go with that) to load the bases. A sac fly, another single, and then a 3-run homer from Michael Chavis, means we are no really, tied again at 6-6 with the game only 5 outs old. That also bumped Tanaka out of the game, although he got 2 outs and was "only" the first Yankees starter with that line since Nate Eovaldi in Miami on June 16, 2015.

However, this 6-6 tie means that neither Porcello nor Tanaka is going to end up with a decision out of this. Tanaka was the first Yankees starter to give up 6 earned, get no more than 2 outs, and not lose since Ken Holtzman in a 14-9 slugfest in Chicago on July 20, 1976. Porcello's 6 runs on 1 out was a first for any team since Mike Maroth of the Tigers on May 25, 2006, and no Bostonian had done it since Mel Parnell against the Browns on August 4, 1948. Saturday was just the third game since earned runs were adopted in 1912 where both starters gave up 6 of them and didn't finish the 1st inning. Toronto's Frank Wills and Oakland's Curt Young did it on June 23, 1989, and the other is that Mel Parnell game above. His opponent, Ralph "Blackie" Schwamb, also gave up 6 runs while getting 1 out. (Schwamb, after the baseball thing didn't really work out, got involved in a Mafia murder-for-hire job and was sentenced to life in prison in 1949 (but paroled in 1960).)

Brett Gardner added a 2-run homer in the 3rd to break the tie, but the Yankees unloaded again in the 4th when a jet-lagged Mike Sharawyn (yeah, we'll go with that) got sent to the mound. After 2 outs, 2 hits, and 2 walks, the big blow was DJ LeMahieu's bases-loaded double. And then here comes Aaron Judge with a home run to post the Yankees' second 6-run inning of the game and go up 14-6. LeMahieu added a 2-run single in the 5th before things calmed down just a little; when Jackie Bradley homers to lead off the 6th it's 17-7 and what else could happen? Heh.

Well, that would "only" be another 6-run inning in the bottom of the 7th when Chavis hits another 3-run bomb, Tommy Kahnle throws a wild pitch on ball four with the bases loaded, and J.D. Martinez doubles with 2 outs, among other things. That would give us the final score that you know and love, 17-13, the first such final in the majors in exactly 19 years and 1 day. The Rockies beat the Giants, not surprisingly at Coors Field, on June 28, 2000. The last time the Yankees allowed 13 runs and won was May 16, 2006, a 14-13 game against Texas. The last time the Red Sox scored 13 and lost was August 23, 2012, against the Angels. And the only other times they did it against each other were, let's say not recent. It happened on July 31, 1930, and in the Yankees' first season, July 29, 1903, both times in Boston.

LeMahieu became the third leadoff batter in Yankees history with 4 hits and 5 RBI in a game, joining Johnny Damon (2006) and Hank Bauer (1952). Meanwhile, Michael Chavis hit that pair of 3-run dingers to become the third Red Sox batter ever with 2 HR and 6 RBI in a loss. Dick Gernert did it in Washington in 1956, and Roy Johnson did it against the A's in 1932. Down at the bottom of the order, Jackie Bradley was the first Sawx #9 batter with 4 hits in a loss since Julio Lugo in Anaheim on May 14, 2009. But no Bostonian had done it against the Yankees since Red Ruffing in an 8-3 defeat on May 25, 1929.

And if you've managed to keep up, you also notice that not only did both teams have a 6-run 1st, but the Yankees had a 6-run 4th and the Red Sox had a 6-run 7th. It's the first game in four decades where both teams had multiple innings of 6 or more runs. The previous was a fairly famous game if you're into wacky slugfests; it's the 23-22 game between the Phillies and Cubs on May 17, 1979.


Double Decker

Even though it seems like 30 runs might be enough to satisfy the Britons for a while, there's still another game to be played on Sunday afternoon between the Yankees and Red Sox, and this time it was Boston's turn to strike first. Stephen Tarpley, which sounds like a nice British name (although we honestly have no idea), gets the start and... oh dear. Xander Bogaerts, 2-run homer. Two pitches later, J.D. Martinez homer. Six pitches later, Christian Vazquez homer. The Red Sox had not hit three 1st-inning homers in a game since August 14, 1979, when Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, and Carl Yastrzemski took Pete Redfern of the Twins deep. That was enough for Tarpley as well, who did not appear for the 2nd inning and thus became the first Yankees starter to give up 3 homers while getting no more than 3 outs since Catfish Hunter did that on June 17, 1977, also against the Red Sox.

The Yankees got 2 back in the 2nd on a couple of singles and groundouts, but stranded the bases loaded. After that the game calmed down and resembled more-typical American baseball for a few innings, although good luck explaining that catcher's interference call in the 6th. But on trots Marcus Walden for the top of the 7th, and doesn't it seem like all big innings begin with DJ LeMahieu. Leadoff double. Aaron Hicks double. Gary Sanchez two-run single to chase Walden. Matt Barnes fares no better, giving up two singles and a walk before Josh Taylor comes on and walks the bases full. And who's up again but DJ LeMahieu, who cranks an automatic double that ultimately leads to a nine-run inning and an 11-4 lead. The Yankees hadn't had a 9-run inning since August 30, 2015, in Atlanta, as part of a 20-6 blowout, and a month before that (July 28, at Texas) was when Brendan Ryan was the previous Yankee to have two doubles in the same inning.

The Sox got 4 more runs back off Chance Adams in the bottom of the 8th, but too little, too late as we limp to a 12-8 final. It's been 14 years since they led the Yankees by 4 or more after the 1st inning and lost; that last happened July 14, 2005. Boston hadn't scored 8+ runs in back-to-back games and lost both of them since July 20-21, 2002, which also happens to be against the Yankees.


Bottom Of The Bag

⚾ Willson Contreras, Wednesday: First Cubs catcher with a homer and a triple in same game at Wrigley since Dave Rader against the Cardinals on May 20, 1979.

⚾ Chad Pinder & Marcus Semien, Tuesday: First A's batters ever to hit back-to-back homers against the Cardinals in St Louis. Jermaine Dye and Scott Hatteberg took Jason Marquis deep on June 16, 2004.

⚾ Matt Wieters, Sunday: First multi-run homer the Cardinals have ever hit in extra innings in San Diego. Jack Clark (1987) and George Hendrick (1981) are the only ones to hit solo shots.

⚾ Fernando Tatis & Eric Hosmer, Friday: Second time Padres have hit back-to-back homers against the Cardinals at Petco. Mark Bellhorn and Josh Bard took Mark Mulder deep on May 28, 2006.

⚾ Manny Machado & Franmil Reyes, Saturday: First Padres teammates to each hit 2 homers in the same game at Petco Park. Only pair to do it at Qualcomm/Jack Murphy was Gary Sheffield & Fred McGriff against the Astros on August 6, 1992.

⚾ Chris Sale, Wednesday: Second Red Sox pitcher ever to strike out 10 but also give up 5 earned runs and hit 2 batters. Dave Morehead did it in Anaheim on July 30, 1965.

⚾ Brad Keller, Sunday: Second pitcher in Royals history to give up 8+ hits, 6+ runs, 2+ homers, and still get a win. Kris Wilson did it in Cleveland 18 years earlier to the day (June 30, 2001).

⚾ Enrique Hernandez, Thursday: Second 3-run, pinch-hit homer this season; also had one May 27 against Mets. First Dodger to hits two in a season (including slams) since Olmedo Saenz in 2004.

⚾ Max Scherzer, Tuesday: Second pitcher in Nats/Expos history to strike out 10 opponents and also have 2 hits and 2 runs scored on offense. Bill Stoneman did it against the Braves on May 26, 1971.

⚾ Matt Chapman, Sunday: First Oaklander with a 6-RBI game that included a triple (never mind the other hits) since Davey Lopes at Toronto, June 15, 1983.

⚾ J.P. Crawford, Wednesday: Third batter in Mariners history with a triple, 2 doubles, and 3 RBI in a game. Others are Mike Blowers (May 24, 1995, vs Boston) and Ken Phelps (August 6, 1987 vs Angels).

⚾ Julio Teheran, Monday: First Braves pitcher to allow 9+ hits and 7+ earned runs at Wrigley since Lance Cormier on June 3 2007.

⚾ Yuli Gurriel, Fri-Sat: First Astros batter with an extra-inning walkoff hit in back-to-back team games since Craig Biggio on August 4 & 5, 1991 (both singles).