Now that Major League Baseball no longer recognizes ties (except on rare occasions at the end of a season), we know that every game must now come with at least one lead change. Or at least a go-ahead something-or-other (if you prefer to see 0-0 as the lack of a lead, and thus the lead cannot "change"). This week, however, the games that only came with one were very much the exception.
We start in Boston, where Thursday's game brought us as many weird turns as the streets of the North End. It's Yuli Gurriel of the Astros who leads off the 2nd with a homer. But after Zack Greinke gives up 4 hits in the bottom half, Enrique Hernandez draws a bases-loaded walk and the Sawx are up 2-1. It was Boston's fourth go-ahead walk already this season; the last time they had four by June 10 was in 1998, and Jim Rice had three of those by himself.
Eduardo Rodriguez puts 2 on with 2 out in the top of the 3rd, and than Yordan Alvarez flips the lead back to Houston with a double. It was the second such hit the Astros have ever had at Fenway Park; Tony Kemp had the other off Ryan Brasier on September 7, 2018. It was also Alvarez's fifth go-ahead double so far this season, and the only other Houston batters to hit five so early in a season were Jose Cruz in 1979 and Rusty Staub in 1968. So of course J.D. Martinez leads off the 3rd with another homer to tie things at 3. Christian Vazquez singles home Xander Bogaerts later in the frame to put Boston ahead again.
By the 5th, Rodriguez is struggling and has loaded the bases with 2 outs before being replaced by Matt Andriese. He walks Gurriel to tie the game at 4, the first game-tying free pass the Astros have ever had at Fenway. Five pitches later, with the bases still loaded, Kyle Tucker unleashes a 3-run double that you thought might blow this one open. The Astros hadn't had a go-ahead 3-run double in the 5th or later of any game since Jose Altuve hit one in Anaheim on May 15, 2018, and combined with Alvarez's two-bagger from earlier, it's the first time Houston's ever hit multiple go-ahead doubles in the same game at Fenway Park.
That 7-4 lead lasted quite a while... not. Brandon Bielak, who eventually replaced Greinke, gives up 2 singles in the bottom half of the 5th. And then welcome to the game, Christian Arroyo. Three-run bomb to knot us at 7-7. With Martinez earlier, it's just the second time the Red Sox have hit multiple game-tying homers against the Astros; Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez did it at their place on June 29, 2008.
Back in front goes Houston with a Jose Altuve homer in the 6th. Hernandez begins the Boston half with a double and then scores on Martinez's sac fly to tie us up yet again. Martinez just had the tying homer in the 3rd, and he now has a tying sac fly on top of it. Since the latter were split into their own category in 1954, only two other Red Sox batters have had a tying homer and a tying sac fly in the same game: Bob Tillman on May 19, 1962, and Carl Yastrzemski on July 22, 1972.
What we haven't mentioned yet is that Martinez's sac fly got dropped by center fielder Myles Straw. So the inning continues. Two more walks to re-load the bases for Christian Vazquez. Who gets that always-dramatic highlight of being hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. It's now 9-8 Boston and the lead would not change hands again as the Sawx went on to a 12-8 win. But with the Hernandez walk in the 2nd (remember way back when?), it's the first game in at least 75 years where the Red Sox had both a go-ahead walk and a go-ahead hit-by-pitch in the same game. And according to Elias, the six lead changes were the most in any game since the Cubs and Cardinals played a 9-8 game on September 21, 2019.
As the Astros departed, it was the Blue Jays' turn to occupy the visiting clubhouse at Fenway for the weekend, and they responded with 3 early runs on Friday. And it could easily have been much worse; there were 3 singles in the 1st, a double and 2 singles in the 2nd, and by the time Garrett Richards was done, he had surrendered 11 total hits but "only" 4 runs, the first Sawx pitcher to do that since Rick Porcello against Seattle on May 28, 2017.
Meanwhile, Ross Stripling was having his own issues holding onto a 4-run lead, eventually giving up a single to Hunter Renfroe (5-2) and then departing with runners on the corners. Unfortunately Tyler Chatwood missed the memo by about as much as he missed the strike zone. Plunked the first batter he faced, Christian Arroyo. That loaded the bases, and then walked Marwin Gonzalez on four pitches to force in a run. They're still loaded, so why not a wild pitch to clear a base (and score another run)? It's now 5-4 Toronto, and at least by clearing that base, Chatwood avoided forcing in another run when he also hit Bobby Dalbec. At that point his night is over, but what a night it was. Zero outs, zero hits, but a walk, two hit batters, and a wild pitch. Nobody's done that in a game since (who else?) "Wild Thing" Mitch Williams on July 31, 1988.
Carl Edwards is on the mound for the 8th when Christian Arroyo finally scores that tying run for the Sawx, via another solo homer. Remember Arroyo hit that 3-run shot to tie Thursday's game against the Astros; he's the first Bostonian to hit any tying homer in back-to-back games since Rafael Devers in August 2017. And we haven't talked about Alex Verdugo at all yet; he has quietly collected 2 hits, a walk, and a run scored before coming to the plate in the bottom of the 9th with Enrique Hernandez on second. Yep, walkoff single. Since they're in the same division, Red Sox walkoffs against Toronto aren't rare. They had two last year. But their last player whose third hit of the game was a walkoff-- against any team-- was Mookie Betts on April 27, 2015.
That 12-8 mess between Boston and Houston on Thursday... well, it wasn't even the first dramatic back-and-forth tilt that day. In a 12:30 "getaway" game, the Braves and Phillies played as though neither one of them really wanted to go anywhere.
You can blame Zack Wheeler for some of that; the former Mets pitcher, now with the Phillies, held the Braves to 4 hits, 0 runs, and 0 walks, while striking out 12. Only four other Phillies pitchers in the live-ball era had posted that line: Vince Velasquez (2016), Curt Schilling (1996), Steve Carlton (1982), and Jim Bunning (1965). Ian Anderson was equally good for the Braves, throwing 7 scoreless frames on just 4 hits of his own despite not racking up the strikeout numbers. So we are scoreless into the 8th until Odubel Herrera and Jean Segura hit back-to-back doubles off A.J. Minter in the 8th. And then, with 1 out in the 9th, well, this happened.
That's Freddie Freeman hitting a game-tying homer for the Braves in the 9th. If it looks familiar to Phillies fans, it's because Pablo Sandoval also hit one of those just a few weeks ago on May 8. The Braves hadn't hit two 9th-inning, game-tying homers against the Phillies in the same season since 1944. Meanwhile, Wheeler is haunted by the ghost of former Mets teammate Jacob deGrom. Back on May 18 he became the first Phillies pitcher ever to allow 0 earned runs, issue 0 walks, strike out 10+, and not get a win, something deGrom seems to do in every other start. On Thursday he became the second Phillies pitcher to post that same line.
But on we go to the 10th and the free-runner rule. Dansby Swanson moves up to third on a groundout, and then Phillies pitcher Jose Alvarado takes the unusual step of bouncing him home on a wild pitch. And if you're looking for Phillies pitchers to wild-pitch in a run in extra innings, you actually don't have to go far. David Hale did it against the Cardinals on April 29. It's the first time two Phillies pitchers have done it in the same season since 2006, and in the 75 years of play-by-play we have available, there's never been a season where both of their runs have been of the go-ahead variety.
We hadn't finished looking that up when Rafael Marchan commits a passed ball to score another Braves run. And no, in that same 75 years of play-by-play, the Phillies had never allowed a run on a wild pitch and a run on a passed ball in the same extra inning. But it's 3-1 Braves going to the bottom of the 10th (remember, scoreless after 7), and all they need to do is get three outs. Mmmm, yeah, about that.
Alec Bohm singles to score free runner Rafael Marchan. Odubel Herrera deals a big blow with a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. And then Jean Segura dumps a fly ball in left-center to score both of those runners for a 4-3 walkoff. It was the Phillies' first walkoff single when trailing (so, the 2-run variety) since Bohm did it on September 8 of last year against Boston. Their last one in extra innings was also against Atlanta, by Maikel Franco on April 22, 2017.
Take Me To Your Leader
If it sounds familiar that the Phillies walked off while trailing, well, you only need to go back about 18 hours. Before Thursday's lead-flipping hit by Segura, there was Wednesday night's walkoff homer by Luke Williams. Who? Yeah, Luke Williams, the Phillies' 3rd-round draft pick in 2015 who had slowly made his way up the minor-league ladder, finally got called up to make his MLB debut on Tuesday. And on Wednesday he came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th with the Phillies trailing 1-0 and Andrew McCutchen on first base. Only four players in Phillies history have had their first career homer be a walkoff; the others are David Doster (1996), Rick Joseph (1967), and John Peters (1921). It had also been seven decades since any Phillies batter hit a walkoff homer against the Braves with the team trailing. Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones went deep off Nels Potter on September 4, 1949.
The Phillies then had a rare Friday night off before entertaining the Yankees on Saturday. The New Yorkers sent Jameson Taillon to the mound, and let's see how that went. Single, single, single, single, walk, sac fly, single, cold shower. Nestor Cortes got two strikeouts to escape any further damage, but Taillon became the second starter in Yankees history to give up 4+ runs while getting 1 out in a National League park. At least he wasn't doing it on quite as big a stage; the other was Bob Turley in Game 2 of the 1958 World Series in Milwaukee. Cortes coming into the game so soon also made him the first Yankees reliever to get a plate appearance in the 1st or 2nd inning since Mike Myers against the Mets on May 19, 2007.
The Yankees got a couple runs back, one of them when Brett Gardner became just the third Yankee to hit a triple at Citizens Bank Park (joining Miguel Cairo and Johnny Damon). But by the time we get to the 9th it's 7-4, and we wouldn't be mentioning this game if DJ LeMahieu hadn't crushed a 3-run homer off Hector Neris to tie it back up. The Yankees hadn't hit one of those in the 9th inning of any road game since Juan Rivera off Lance Carter of the Rays on June 24, 2003.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, they would strike out twice in their extra inning and Aroldis Chapman would give up another walkoff single to Jean Segura. The Phillies have only one other walkoff win against the Yankees in their history; it was a bases-loaded walk on September 3, 1997. The last time the Phillies won three straight games in walkoff fashion was in August 2013. And the best one we found from this game: It was the first time the Yankees hit three homers in Philadelphia and lost since... yep, they were playing the A's. In their final series at Shibe Park, slash Connie Mack Stadium, on August 15, 1953.
Meanwhile, the Yankees were no strangers to getting walked off. In their previous game on Thursday against the Twins, they started early with a 3-run homer by fourth-batter-of-the-game Giancarlo Stanton. Gio Urshela tripled immediately after that, joining Brett Gardner (July 4, 2014) as the only Yankees to hit a 1st-inning triple at Target Field. He ended up not scoring, which could be an ominous sign. He would go yard later on in the game, creating the strange line of having a homer and a triple, but only 1 run scored and 1 RBI. No Yankees batter had done that in a road game since Bob Watson at Seattle on August 20, 1989.
So the Yankees obviously have at least 4 runs (actually 5) and send Aroldis Chapman out to the mound to protect a 2-run lead. Which he...um... doesn't. Leadoff single, 2-run homer by Josh Donaldson. Another single. And another 2-run homer, this one by Nelson Cruz for the 7-5 win. It was the second game of Chapman's career where he faced 4+ batters and all of them scored; the other was at Coors Field for the Reds on August 17, 2014. And in that one he didn't even take the loss because they brought in J.J. Hoover to give up the final walkoff run. Only four other pitchers in Yankees history have given up 2 homers and taken a loss while getting 0 outs: A.J. Cole (2018), David Robertson (2012), Chris Hammond (2003), and Wade Blasingame (1972, in a start!). And if you thought the Phillies didn't have many walkoffs against the Yankees, well, they're in different leagues and only play once a year and only then since 1998. The Twins' last walkoff homer against the Bronx Bombers was way back on July 28, 1995, by Dan Masteller off Jack McDowell.
Lead Balloon
It isn't just the walkoffs that make for late-game fun. Back to Wednesday we go for the Nationals and Rays, and Juan Soto's 1st-inning homer at the inflatable dome that is Tropicana Field. Only one other player in Nats/Expos history has hit a multi-run homer in the 1st at The Trop; it was Vlad Guerrero Sr on July 13, 2000. So how does Patrick Corbin start the bottom half for the Nats? Oh, only by walking the first three batters on 15 pitches, and then giving up a 2-run single and a sac fly to immediately lose the lead. It's the third time in Rays history that they've started a game with 3 straight walks; the others were against Cleveland on April 6, 2013, and Oakland on May 6, 2012.
Ryan Zimmerman ties the game, and then takes the lead back, with home runs in consecutive at-bats in the 3rd and 5th. He joined Wilson Ramos as the only Nats/Expos batters with a multi-homer game at The Trop. It also broke a tie with Andre Dawson for the most multi-homer games on the road in franchise history (Zim now has 14).
Except the Rays add homers of their own from Taylor Walls and Joey Wendle to tie the game again in the 8th. The Nats score 2 in the 10th after Juan Soto is intentionally walked to start the frame, meaning Randy Arozarena and Joey Wendle are responsible for getting those runs back. And they do. Aroz hits the Rays' second extra-inning triple this year, after Manuel Margot on May 24; the only other season where Tampa Bay hit two of them was 2011 (B.J. Upton & Desmond Jennings). And Wendle scores him with a single for his second game-tying hit of the night; the only other Rays batter to tie the same game twice in the 8th or later was Aubrey Huff against the Orioles on August 31, 2004. Starlin Castro would ultimately provide the game-winner for the Nats in the 11th with a leadoff double, as Tanner Rainey shut down the Rays in their half. Washington hadn't hit a go-ahead double in the 11th or later of any game since Ben Revere's walkoff against the Reds on July 1, 2016-- and their only one in an interleague game had been by Brian Bixler against the White Sox on June 24, 2011.
All Roads Lead To Arlington
The Giants and Rangers held a rematch of their 2010 World Series this week, at the same ballpark that hosted last year's World Series (but not the one with the Rangers in it). On Tuesday the Giants took a brief lead when Brandon Crawford homered in the 6th, but Adolis Garcia and Nick Solak quickly answered with RBI doubles, and the Giants are running out of outs. They have managed to load the bases in the 8th and knock Joely Rodriguez out of the game, which opens the door for Mike Tauchman to unload them. As you might expect, it was the Giants' first-ever grand slam in Arlington (any stadium), and their first one ever that flipped the lead in any American League ballpark. Also, since the Giants' #9 batter is usually the pitcher, Tauchman was their first #9 to hit a grand slam in a road game since Rich Aurilia aganist the White Sox on June 12, 2003.
They weren't done, because Crawford tacked on another 3-run job in the 9th for a 9-4 final. He thus became the second Giants batter to have either a multi-homer game or a 4-RBI game in Arlington, including in that 2010 World Series. The other 2-homer outburst was Brandon Belt on August 1, 2015, while Eric Davis had the other 4-RBI game on July 27, 2001.
And because he's going to come up again, we'll mention the 3 hits by Rangers leadoff batter Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He's the team's second leadoff batter ever to have 3 hits against the Giants, joining Mark McLemore on July 19, 1999.
Wednesday's getaway game finds the Giants holding a precarious 2-1 lead in the 9th. They hand the ball to Tyler Rogers, who faces the aforementioned Isiah Kiner-Falefa and gives up a leadoff single. "IKF" steals second and then scores the tying run when Adolis Garcia singles. Blown save number 14 for Giants pitching this year, trailing only the Dodgers and Marlins. At least the free runners should help. The Giants score theirs to go back in front. Now all Rogers has to do is get thr-- right, of course he didn't. Sac fly by Nate Lowe to score the Rangers' run. Blown save number 15-- oh wait, he can't blow his own save twice. (They should change this rule. Like, dude, we gave you multiple chances.) Rogers would at least not also get the loss. That would be the honor of Jake McGee who gave up the 11th-inning walkoff to Brock Holt. The Rangers' only other walkoff win against the Giants was on June 13, 1997, when Rusty Greer hit a solo homer. Holt was the Rangers' first batter ever to hit a walkoff single in the 11th or later of an interleague game; David Murphy (2009), Hank Blalock (2004), and David Segui (2000) each had one in the 10th.
And this walkoff spoiled the much-anticipated MLB debut of Sammy Long, who was pitching in low-A ball just two seasons ago. Long threw 4 innings on Wednesday, allowed just 1 hit, and struck out 7. We see this phenomenon with MLB debuts where often the other team can't get a hit off the guy just because they've never seen him before. But the numbers still say Long is the first Giants pitcher with that 1-and-7 line in his MLB debut since Juan Marichal on July 19, 1960.
We don't write about the Green Bay Packers on this blog, so we had one leftover "lead" song stuck in our heads that we couldn't use. So rev those engines and meet us at the candy store. Intermission!
Depending on how you mentally pronounced it, it's either the phenomenon where you're cruising along on the highway and your mind drifts away and suddenly you're doing 80 or 85. Or it's the first step in a dance. Either way it works for our purpose here, which is to highlight some games this week that didn't have any chance of having a late lead change.
Since the Rangers are fresh on our minds, let's continue their little interleague journey on Friday at Dodger Stadium. That would be the game where Dodgers leadoff batter Mookie Betts reaches on an error and then Max Muncy and Justin Turner immediately homer. Gavin Lux adds another tater down in the #7 spot, the first time the Dodgers have hit three 1st-inning homers since Joc Pederson, Adrian Gonzalez, and Andre Ethier did it on April 29, 2015. More notably, it ended with the Dodgers posting their first-ever 6-run 1st inning in interleague play (including World Series). Their most recent of several 5's was at Detroit on July 8, 2014.
Mike Foltynewicz would eventually get tagged for 8 hits and 8 runs without finishing the 3rd, the first Rangers starter to do that since Luis Mendoza against the Angels on July 7, 2008. Even Clayton Kershaw got in on the offense, joining Hyun-Jin Ryu (2014) as the only Dodgers pitchers with 2 hits and at least 1 RBI in an interleague contest. By the time it's all said and done, it's a 12-1 Dodgers win, their largest ever against the Rangers/Senators franchise.
No worries, we'll see your 12-1 and raise you... um... a 12-1? Flip the script to Saturday and it is Texas who's piling up 9 hits off Trevor Bauer, although he made it into the 7th and there are no 6-run innings in this one. Bauer would finally exit after Willie Calhoun's RBI triple, the first three-bagger the Rangers had hit at Dodger Stadium in 20 years minus 1 day. Frank Catalanotto had the previous one on June 13, 2001. Once Calhoun scores it's 6-0, and then it's up to Nate Jones and Andy Burns to give up the rest of the runs. Nate Lowe doubles and then homers. Jonah Heim doubles. Brock Holt doubles and then scores on Jason Martin's homer. Eventually the Rangers would pile up 9 extra-base hits, their most ever at Dodger Stadium.
And reenter Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He collected 3 hits but also 3 stolen bases (two in the 1st inning). No Rangers leadoff batter had done that since Julio Borbon on August 18, 2009. Tack on his sacrifice fly in the 8th, and he's the first player, any spot in the order on any team, to have 3 hits, 3 steals, and a sac fly since Carlos Beltran, then still with the Royals, did it on September 4, 2003.
If the 12-1 victory was the Dodgers' largest ever against the Rangers, it's only fair to tell you that 12-1 was also the Rangers' largest against the Dodgers. But it was not their first 11-run win at Dodger Stadium. Remember, the Dodgers aren't the only team to have ever played there. The Angels borrowed it for their first four seasons before The Big A was ready. And sure enough, the fledgling Second Senators laid a 13-0 on the fledgling Angels there on June 2, 1965.
Birdshot
(It's made of lead, you know.)
You may remember last Sunday when the Orioles dropped 18 runs on Cleveland, just a couple days after ending a 14-game losing streak (in which they scored 18 total runs in the last 8 games). The O's had Monday off for personal reflection (wouldn't that be fun?) and apparently decided they liked scoring runs more than not scoring them. So on Tuesday, with the Mets now visiting OPACY, they churned out 10 more. This one did have a small bit of lead-flipping drama because Pete Alonso hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning. That meant doubles by Pat Valaika and Cedric Mullins in the 2nd did actually take the lead back. But from there the rout was on. Valaika doubled again. Maikel Franco hit a 3-run homer. Anthony Santander homered and doubled. The Orioles ended up with four different players who had multiple extra-base hits, just the third home game where that happened since they moved to Baltimore in 1954. The others were an 18-2 blowout of Oakland on August 16, 2015, and a 12-10 slugfest with the Yankees on June 26, 1993.
The final score of 10-3 was made possible only by Pete Alonso, who tossed up another home run in the top of the 9th for no purpose other than this note. He's the third player in Mets history to homer in the 1st and the 9th of the same game, without the Mets scoring any other runs in between. The others to do it were Joe Torre on June 1, 1976, and Donn Clendenon on May 17, 1971. Alonso also joined Curtis Granderson (2015), David Wright (2010), and Robin Ventura (2001) as the only Mets with a multi-homer game at Camden Yards.
And the 28 combined runs were the most the Orioles had scored in two consecutive games since posting a 23-1 against Toronto and a 13-2 against the Yankees in September 2000.
Shoulda saved a few.
That list of Mets to have multi-homer games at OPACY? Add Billy McKinney to it. When you're done there, add Kevin Pillar to it. Make them the first Mets teammates ever to have 3 hits, 2 homers, and 4 RBI each in the same game. Tack on a 3-hit, 3-run, 3-RBI game from Pete Alonso, joining Brandon Nimmo (2018) and Bernard Gilkey (1997) as the only Mets to do that against Baltimore, and you will find yourself with a 14-1 beatdown, the Mets' second-largest victory margin ever in an interleague game. They rolled up an 18-1 game against the Jays in Buffalo last September. It was also the second time the Mets had ever scored 14 runs in Baltimore, after a 16-5 win on August 15, 2018. And in case you wanted the exclamation point, McKinney's second homer, the one that completed the 14-1... came with 2 outs in the 9th. Only one other homer in Mets history has been hit with 2 outs in the 9th and the team already ahead by double digits: Mike Jacobs to finish an 18-4 win at Arizona on August 24, 2005.
In The Library With The Lead Pipe
Someone say 18-4? We started in Boston nearly 5,000 words ago, so we might as well end there. Thursday's game with Houston and then Friday's game with Toronto went down to the wire. Sunday's game with Toronto, um, did not.
Teoscar Hernandez, 3-run homer in the 1st. Lourdes Gurriel follows that with a solo shot. Marcus Semien goes yard in the 2nd to knock Martin Perez out of the game and make him the second Red Sox starter ever to give up 3 homers while getting 4 outs in a home game. We knew this answer before looking it up, because we were at the other game where it happened. Steven Wright against the Orioles on April 12, 2017.
That brings on poor Ryan Weber, and he is in full-on "take one for the team" mode. Hernandez hits another 3-run homer in the 4th, already joining Lyle Overbay (2010), Reed Johnson (2005), and Ernie Whitt (1988) as the only Jays players with a 6-RBI game at Fenway. It's 9-1 before Semien hits a sac fly off Weber in the 5th. And then Bo Bichette finds his way into the 3-run-homer club. 13-1. Okay, Jays, it's a Sunday and we need to get this post done, you can stop now.
Solo homer by Cavan Biggio in the 6th. Bichette doubles in the 7th and then Vlad Guerrero Jr (forgot about him, didn't you?) unleashes another 2-run bomb. 16-3, and did we mention poor Ryan Weber is still on the mound taking this? He became the first reliever in Red Sox history left out there to allow 11 runs since Hank Johnson did it in Cleveland on May 25, 1934. Only one other reliever in the past half-century had given up 11 runs and 4 homers in an outing, and that was Jordan Yamamoto in the famous 29-9 game last September. If you tack on 13 hits, Weber's the first with a 13-11-4 outing since Sid Schacht of the Browns in another famous game at Fenway, The 29-4 Game on June 8, 1950.
So at least Weber's got some famous games and not-so-famous pitchers with which to commiserate. (We could not find a connection to Vin Mazzaro's 14-run outing for the Royals. Sorry.) Just for good measure, Rowdy Tellez cranks a 2-run shot in the 9th off Christian Arroyo (yes, second baseman Christian Arroyo), and that makes 8 homers if you haven't been counting along. The Jays had never before hit 8 homers in a road game, and no visiting team had ever hit 8 homers at Fenway Park in its 110-season history. The Sawx did chip in two dingers of their own, making Sunday the third game in Fenway history with 10 total homers. The first of those was May 17, 1967, against Baltimore, and then the Sawx and Brewers combined for 11 on May 22, 1977. Bo Bichette would wind up with 4 hits and 5 runs scored in the confusion, joining Josh Donaldson (2015) and Orlando Hudson (2004) as the only Jays batters ever to do that. It was the first game where the top four batters in the Jays' lineup all homered since June 19, 2012, at Milwaukee. And they became the fourth team in MLB history to have six players with 2 hits, 2 runs scored, and a homer in the same game. Half of those games have happened at Fenway; the Red Sox did it against Detroit on September 4, 2013.
And lest you temporarily forget the "scourge" of the strikeout, Ryan Weber somehow managed to fan seven Jays batters around all those homers. He appears to be the first pitcher in MLB history (and definitely since 1901) to give up 11 runs and 4 homers in a game while also recording 7 strikeouts. So at least he's got that.
Lead A Horse To Water
Whether you've been using a long E (\leed\) or a short E (\led\) this whole time, doesn't really matter. You can go both ways. Just like Shohei Ohtani, who got another shot at pitching on Friday night against the D'backs. After all, it's a National League game, the pitcher has to bat anyway, so why take said bat out of the lineup? But this gave rise to some fascinating stuff that needed its own little section.
Ohtani the hitter doubled in a run in the 3rd and then scored on an Anthony Rendon hit. Ohtani the pitcher got rattled in the 5th and hit Tim Locastro with the first ball of the inning. Joah Rojas replaced him on a groundout. Ohtani then was called for back-to-back balks to score Rojas and advance Ketel Marte to third. One pitch later, a bouncer on which Eduardo Escobar swings and missed, but still Marte comes racing home on the wild pitch. Ohtani gets put out to pasture in right field, but the batter version is still in the game. And it hits another double in the 7th. The Angels eventually win in 10 innings, so Ohtani the pitcher gets a no-decision. But look at all the fun notes he did get instead. We always say, balks make everything funner.
2 balks and a wild pitch? Last Angels pitcher to do that was Nolan Ryan at Minnesota on June 16, 1977.
2 balks and a hit batter? Last Angels pitcher to do that was Willie Fraser at Seattle on April 16, 1988.
You may have picked up that Ohtani has collected our "Kernels trifecta" of a balk, a wild pitch, and a hit batter in the same game. Last of those by the Angels was Tyler Skaggs on September 6, 2017.
But 2 doubles as well! Last Angels batter to record 2 doubles in a game while also pitching in it was Clyde Wright on May 25, 1971. (This needs phrased properly because the second double came as the right fielder.)
And what of hitting 2 doubles AND committing 2 balks in the same game? In MLB's modern era (1901), no player had pulled that off until Ohtani did it on Friday.
Bottom Of The Bag
⚾ Matt Olson, Sat-Sun: First A's batter to record 8+ total bases in consecutive home games since Troy Neel vs Boston, July 8-9, 1993.
⚾ Vladimir Gutierrez, Wednesday: First Reds pitcher with the "Kernels trifecta" since Johnny Cueto at Florida, April 12, 2010.
⚾ Ty France, Tue-Thu: Joined Kyle Seager (July 2017) and Russell Branyan (August 2009) as only Mariners to be hit by a pitch in three straight games.
⚾ Kelvin Gutierrez, Saturday: Second Royals batter to homer and triple in a loss in Oakland. Jim Wohlford did it in a 1-run game on May 18, 1973.
⚾ Sean Murphy, Thursday: First Oakland catcher called for intereference against the Royals since Terry Steinbach, June 28, 1991.
⚾ Marlins, Monday: Second time collecting 12+ hits in an American League park but only scoring 3 runs. Other was a 10-3 loss in Detroit on June 29, 2016.
⚾ Pirates, Friday: First time issuing three consecutive bases-loaded walks since Jose DeLeon and Rod Scurry against the Padres on April 5, 1984.
⚾ Michael Brantley, Sunday: First player (any team, including Twins) to have a 3-double, 4-RBI game at Target Field. Only one to do it at the Metrodome was Javier Valentin against Toronto, August 1, 1998.
⚾ Robbie Ray, Tuesday: First Blue Jays pitcher NOT named Roger Clemens ever to strike out 13 and issue 0 walks in a game. (Rocket did it four times.)
⚾ Christian Javier, Wednesday: First Astros pitcher to get a 4-inning save since Ramon Garcia against St Louis, April 5, 1997.
⚾ Wade Miley, Saturday: Second Reds pitcher to have 2 hits and score a run against the Rockies. John Roper did it at Mile High on May 26, 1994.
⚾ Ha-Seong Kim, Tuesday: First Padres batter whose RBI double broke up a shutout of 9-0 or worse in the 9th since Mark Sweeney against the Mets, August 10, 2005.
⚾ Nelson Cruz, Thu-Fri: First Twins batter with a walkoff homer in one game, and a go-ahead homer in the 1st inning of the next game, since George Mitterwald in June 1973.
⚾ Randy Dobnak, Wednesday: First Twins pitcher to give up 11 hits including 4 homers since Carlos Silva against the White Sox on April 23, 2006.
⚾ Max Scherzer, Friday: Third starter in Nats/Expos history to leave a game after facing just 1 batter. Dennis Martinez was both of the others, once (1990) after being hit with a comebacker, and the other (1993) because he was ejected.
⚾ Tommy Pham, Sunday: Second Padres batter to hit a leadoff homer at Citi Field. The other was memorably the first homer ever hit at the stadium. It's Trivia Answer Jody Gerut off Mike Pelfrey, April 13, 2009.
⚾ Walker Buehler, Tuesday: First Dodgers pitcher to throw 7+ scoreless innings and allow 2 hits at PNC Park since Wilson Alvarez, May 7, 2004.
⚾ Luis Castillo, Thursday: Became first Reds pitcher in live-ball era to twice allow 1 hit, strike out 7+, and lose. Castillo also did it April 3, 2019, against the Brewers.
⚾ Aaron Civale, Friday: First Cleveland pitcher to give up a leadoff hit, then pitch 8+ innings without allowing another hit, since Dennis Eckersley at Baltimore, May 24, 1976.
⚾ Jackson Kowar, Monday: First pitcher to throw 3 wild pitches in his MLB debut since Chris Mabeus of the Brewers on May 29, 2006.
⚾ Kyle Schwarber, Sat-Sun: Second batter in Nats/Expos history with a leadoff homer on back-to-back days (not games because of doubleheader). Other was Tony Tarrasco in May 1995.
⚾ Matt Carpenter, Wednesday: First Cardinals batter to hit a 3-run double in the 1st inning, with team already trailing, since Gary Gaetti on September 19, 1996.
⚾ Griffin Jax, Tuesday: First pitcher to make his MLB debut as a reliever against the Yankees and give up 2 homers since Bill Currie of the Senators on April 13, 1955.
⚾ Triston McKenzie, Saturday: First Indians starter to walk 4+ while getting no more than 2 outs since Scott Elarton at Chicago, June 22, 2004.
⚾ John Gant, Saturday: First Cardinals starter to walk 5+ while getting no more than 5 outs since Pete Falcone at Pittsburgh, April 13, 1976.
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