You probably heard a lot about the trade deadline over the last few days. We're convinced it's just an excuse to confuse us about who's on which team for the rest of the season. Max Scherzer and Trea Turner with the Dodgers? Kris Bryant in San Francisco? Jorge Soler to Atlanta? Jon Lester and J.A. Happ to the Cardinals? But it wasn't even the shuffling of players that led to a fairly bizarre week. It began with some weird scheduling quirks between interleague opponents who just never seem to play each other and thus make for plenty of their own interesting nuggets. We considered as a title a classic Billy Joel lyric, man, what are YOU doing HERE?
And yeah, we're gonna get to that 17-14 game. No worries. But let's start with those wacky MLB schedule-makers who couldn't even spread out the fun. This week it was "regional schedule" time again, where NL West meets AL West, etc. Last year that happened multiple times due to travel restrictions, but in the original incarnation of interleague play, the divisions rotated and only saw each other every 3 years. Which meant 6 years between series at any given site. So, for example, despite technically being in the same state (the locals may disagree), Oakland had visited San Diego only seven times before, and three of those were at the now-sitting-idle Qualcomm Stadium. You get similar narratives for Arizona at Texas, or the Cardinals in Cleveland.
Tuesday's opener featured the A's jumping out to a 3-0 lead agaist Chris Paddack in the 3rd. Ramon Laureano, who had base knocks in each of his first three at-bats, was the first Oaklander with a 3-hit game at Petco since Brett Lawrie and Stephen Vogt both did it on June 15, 2015 (there's that 6-year plan again). But things would turn back the other way when the A's tried to get James Kaprielian through the 5th. Two singles, a sac bunt, a walk, then a lead-flipping single by Jake Cronenworth. Only twice before have the Padres recorded any lead-flipping hit against the A's; the others are Will Venable's double off Sean Doolittle on June 16, 2012, and Phil Nevin's homer off Chad Bradford on June 14, 2001. Nevin's homer was also the last 3- or 4-run dinger for the Padres against Oakland, home or road. Because guess what happens next. Manny Machado cranks a 3-run shot to put the game away. Though we will give partial credit to Sean Murphy for his solo homer in the 8th; he also had an RBI double in that spree against Kaprielian in the 5th, and joins only one other A's batter with a homer and RBI double in a game in San Diego. That's Jason Giambi in a 5-2 win on June 12, 2001.
That momentum kept going into Wednesday when Padres starter Blake Snell just didn't have it. The 1st inning alone featured 3 walks, a sac fly, and a 3-run homer by Matt Champman, the first time any A's batter has hit a 3- or 4-run shot in the 1st in San Diego. The only two to hit one back home against the Padres are Billy Butler in 2015 and Matt Stairs in 2000. Snell would go on to allow 7 runs in 4 innings, while A's starter Sean Manaea decided to irritate us with another no-hitter scare. He made it into the 6th before Eric Hosmer had to record the first Padres hit as a pinch-hitter for the pitcher. That would be the only hit Manaea gave up, and if that sounds a little familiar, it's because he has the last two occurrences of an A's pitcher giving up 1 hit and striking out 9. The other was the no-hitter he completed against the Red Sox on April 21, 2018.
Mark Canha would collect 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 RBI on Wednesday in Oakland's easy 10-4 win. Not specific to San Diego, but he also did that on June 4 at Coors Field. And the last A's leadoff batter to have multiple such games in a season was Rickey Henderson in 1993.
Where Did You Come From, Where Did You Go
Meanwhile, a little ways up Interstate 5, it was like the team bus drivers had been given the wrong manifests. Because while the Athletics were down in San Diego, the Rockies-- who should be playing the Padres because they're in the division-- are hanging out in Anaheim. (They would actually fix this by the end of the week and trade places.) Rockies and Angels turned out to be a three-game set, and you can't get through an Angels series without Shohei Ohtani doing something weird.
No, he didn't homer this time. But he did pitch in the series opener on Monday, creating just the second game in MLB history where a National League team used a designated hitter and an American League team did not. Ohtani was also responsible for the other one, back on June 23 against the Giants. Then of course, in his first at-bat he gets an RBI single and then does something weird. He steals second. Ohtani is anything but your typical pitcher, but for this game he's a pitcher. And he is thus the first American League pitcher to steal a base in a home game (so, one where they're not supposed to bat) since fellow Angels great Nolan Ryan did it on October 4, 1972, the last day of the season and the last day before the new DH rule went into effect. Only four AL pitchers have even stolen a base in a National League game since then, including Anaheim's Ismael Valdez in 2001.
With Ohtani keeping the Rockies at bay on the mound, this one doesn't have any big exciting ending. Dom Nuñez connects for the only run off Ohtani with a 5th-inning homer. Only three other Rockies #9 batters have ever homered in Anaheim: Tony Wolters (2018), Clint Barmes (2010), and Seth Smith (2009). And when Jack Mayfield answered that in the 7th, we had the first interleague game at Anaheim Stadium where both #9 batters went deep.
On Tuesday, Ohtani is not pitching. Which just means he's allowed to homer again (and does). But that was too little, too late as the Rockies dropped 8 runs on Jose Suarez and cruised to a 12-3 win. The only other time Colorado got to a dozen runs in Anaheim was a 12-4 win on June 27, 2006. And this one turned into a showcase for Sam Hilliard and Cotton-Eye-- er, we mean Connor-- Joe. The latter, batting 8th, struck out in his first two plate appearances but then went double-single-single to drive in 3 runs. Meanwhile, C.J. Cron suffered a muscle strain and Hillard was sent up to pinch-hit for him in the 4th. That only resulted in a first-pitch dinger, the first 3- or 4-run pinch-hit homer the Rockies have ever hit in an American League park. So now Hilliard's got his 3 RBI as well. The rest of his night only involves two singles and a walk, also making him the second player in Rockies history with 3 hits and 3 RBI in a game he didn't start. Jayhawk Owens did this in their first year of existence, in a 14-11 special with Houston at Mile High (June 12, 1993).
That also means both Joe and Hilliard finished with 3 hits and 3 RBI on the day. Considering they play half their games at Coors Field, that's not rare for Rockies batters. But how many had ever done it in Anaheim? That would be one-- D.J. LeMahieu on August 27, 2018. And now two in the same game.
By Wednesday the Rockies are kinda getting used to this. Obviously Raimel Tapia saw our note and said, pffft, 3 hits?, watch this. He starts the game with a double, joining Charlie Blackmon (August 28, 2018) as the only Rockies batters to hit those in Anaheim. He later collects another double and two singles for the third 4-hit game ever posted by a Colorado hitter at The Big A. The others go back a while-- Ellis Burks in 1998 and Walt Weiss in 1997.
The Rockies are trying to "bullpen" this one together, and at least for one day, Jesús does not save. That would be Jesús Tinoco who gets the 4th inning and gives up a pair of 2-run homers. For some reason they leave him out there for the 5th whereupon he gives up a leadoff shot to Max Stassi. Three other pitchers in Rox history have given up 5 runs and 3 homers while getting no more than 4 outs: Carlos Estevez (2019), Scott Oberg (2015), and Wilton Lopez (2014). And oh yeah, did we mention one of those 2-run dingers was by... yep, Shohei Ohtani. The only other Angels batters to go yard in back-to-back home games against the Rockies both did it in the same series (and overlapped)-- Bengie Molina and Garret Anderson in July 2000.
Speaking of Carlos Estevez, he gave up the final nail in Wednesday's 8-7 loss on a Phil Gosselin single in the 8th. That spoiled Tapia's 4-hit game (although they still count in the stats) and also made him the second leadoff batter in Rockies history with 4 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI in a road loss. Darryl Hamilton did that at Wrigley Field on May 4, 1999.
The scheduling fun wasn't completely out west. How about a little two-game layover for the St Louis Cardinals in, um, Cleveland? Okay. Harrison Bader wouldn't mind staying. In the first game on Tuesday he broke up the no-hitter in the 3rd inning (yes, you can do that, don't @ us) with a leadoff homer. He then tacked on two doubles and even swiped third base once as part of a double steal. No Cardinals batter had posted 3 XBH and a stolen base in any game since Jason Heyward in Milwaukee on September 15, 2015. And only one Cardinals batter had even had 3 extra-base hits in a game at Jacobs/Progressive Field since it opened in 1994-- Albert Pujols on June 13, 2009.
It would actually be Paul DeJong that sealed the win for St Louis with a 7th-inning homer. Only two other Cardinals had hit a lead-flipping home run at the current Cleveland ballpark, Matt Carpenter in 2015 and Craig Paquette in 2001. (And Paquette's was in the 2nd inning.)
Kwang-Hyun Kim, however... not a fan of Cleveland. He got to pitch the Wednesday game, and by "pitch" we mean "give up 4 homers and watch the rest from the dugout". The last Cardinals starter to surrender 4 longballs and not get out of the 3rd inning was Andy Benes in Houston on July 23, 2000.
Franmil Reyes was responsible for two of those taters, joining Travis Hafner (2006) and Jim Thome (twice) as the only Indians batters to have multi-homer games against the Cardinals. And lest you think we wouldn't figure out how to get a St Louis Browns reference in here, Oscar Mercado ended the day with 3 walks against Cards pitching. No Clevelander had done that batting 6th or lower against "St Louis" since Ray Boone on August 15, 1952.
Seafood Platter
The Marlins had another of those brief two-game stops, this time in Baltimore since the two East divisions have an odd number of teams. Tuesday's 7-3 Miami win was decided early when Sandy Leon hit a 3-run blast in the 2nd. And that had the oddity of being only the second 3- or 4-run homer the Marins had ever hit at Camden Yards. The other was just two years ago, by Justin Bour off Dylan Bundy. Brian Anderson would also collect 3 hits and a stolen base, joining Jonathan Villar-- who did it last August under this same regional schedule-- and Hanley Ramirez (2010) as the only Marlins to do that in Baltimore.
On Wednesday, however, the runs were flying early. Jes�s Aguilar starts things with an RBI double, and then Anderson brings him in. With Jorge Lopez still on the mound in the 2nd, Aguilar appears again and makes disappear a 2-run homer. He would end up being the first Marlins batter ever to score 3 runs and drive in 3 runs in a game in Baltimore. But how many Marlins have ever done that in a loss? That answer is now five-- Miguel Rojas (2018), Marcell Ozuna (2017), Cliff Floyd (1998), and Gary Sheffield (1995).
And now Aguilar. A loss, you say? The Orioles fight their way back to 7-5 with a couple of homers, and then this happens. That's going to lead to 2 unearned runs and a tie game going to the bottom of the 9th. Hey, worst case we've got those free runners, right? (We hadn't mentioned them at all yet.)
The fanbase that loves to shout the "O" during the national anthem probably got equal enjoyment from Steven Okert being on the mound. Walk, wild pitch, sac bunt. So 1 out and a runner on third, basically just like one of those extra innings. Two free passes to set up force plays at every base. And then Ryan McKenna draws a 7-pitch walk for the game-winner. Note here that Okert managed to not give up a hit. The last time any pitcher allowed 0 hits but walked 4 and got walked off, it was against the Marlins. Aaron Heilman did it for the Mets on August 30, 2008. And Okert is the second Marlins pitcher ever to walk 4, get no more than 1 out, and take a loss. Mark Hutton pulled that off in a start against the Cubs on August 20, 1996.
Baltimore hadn't had a game-winning walk since Seth Smith scored Craig Gentry against the Rays on April 26, 2017. And so, yes, in a city that's all about crabs, we just had the Marlins serve up some shrimp.
Hello, My Name Is
So speaking of NL East and AL East, the Marlins got to return home for the weekend and meet up with, oh, only the New York Yankees. Those would be the new-look New York Yankees, and not because of those weird "cityscape" uniforms MLB is trying to sell you.
Joey Gallo, who has never not been a Ranger, hit his 145th and final homer for Texas on Tuesday (in addition to having two outfield assists). To throw in one more weird interleague note, it was the fourth go-ahead, 3- or 4-run homer the Rangers had ever hit against Arizona; the others were by Robinson Chirinos (2018), Shin-Soo Choo (2018), and Juan Gonzalez (1999).
By Thursday, however, Gallo is headed to New York, or at least temporarily to Miami for the game. And we'll give him the benefit of the doubt that there's an adjustment period that comes from leaving Texas for New York. They're very different places. (Throwback salsa commercial!) But on Friday and Saturday he went a combined 0-for-8 with 2 walks. In the past 40 years only one other player has gone 0-for-4 in each of his first two games with the Yankees, Terrence Long in 2006. Before that it was Rick Cerone in 1980.
Know who didn't go 0-for-8? Yep, that would bring us to Anthony Rizzo, one of many players who suddenly have the tag "former Cub" in front of them. He also made it to Miami in time for Friday's game, and then proceeded to break a scoreless tie with a homer in the 6th. The last player to go deep in his first game with the Yankees is another one with pretty strong Miami connections-- Giancarlo Stanton on Opening Day 2018. But tack on a second hit, a walk, and 2 runs scored, and you've got only three players in Yankees history to have that line in their first game with the team: Roger Maris in 1960 and Frank Colman in 1946.
(One more from our weird interleague file: Rougned Odor put away Friday's game with a bases-loaded single in the 8th. It's the first bases-loaded single the Yankees have hit, in any inning, at Marlins Park since it opened in 2012.)
So what could Rizzo do for an encore on Saturday? Well, he could get 2 hits, walk twice, get hit by a pitch, and score 3 runs. Only five Yankees have ever done all that in a road game; the others are Hideki Matsui (2004), Mickey Mantle (1955), Billy Martin (1953), and Frankie Crosetti (1936). But nah, that wouldn't be quite fun enough. So in the 7th let's make one of those hits another home run. Not only does this make Rizzo the first Yankees batter ever to homer in back-to-back road games with the Marlins (either stadium), it puts him on a fascinating list of players to homer in each of their first two appearances for the Yankees. The others are Ji-Man Choi (2017, frankly we forgot he was a Yankee), Aaron Judge (2016), Joe Lefebvre (1980), Dave Kingman (1977), Graig Nettles (1973), and Felipe Alou (1971).
Two more oddities from Saturday's 4-2 win: Jorge Alfaro hit a 4th-inning triple, just the third three-bagger the Marlins have ever recorded in a home game with the Yankees. Adeiny Hechavarria (2015) and Cliff Floyd (2001) have the others. But then Alfaro scored on a wild pitch to briefly tie the game... until Anthony Bender came in the next inning with a runner on third and his first offering was a wild pitch to give the lead right back! On our wish list of databases there is one involving wild pitches, so we can't search for the trading of them in that fashion. But we do know the Yankees had never thrown a game-tying WP against the Marlins, nor had the Marlins ever gifted a go-ahead one to the Yankees.
We know trades are usually in the works for days or weeks before they actually happen, but it makes you wonder why the Yankees decided to go out and get some offense on Friday. Hmm, maybe they looked at the boxscore from Thursday?
That would be the one where the Yankees got shut out on 4 hits by Tampa Bay rookies Luis Patino and Louis Head. Getting shut out by itself isn't usually a Yankee thing; they own the two longest streaks in the modern era without one. You may remember them going 220 games across 2018 and 2019 without a 0-run output. (They also have one lasting exactly two seasons-- 308 games-- from 1931 to 1933.) But even Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo weren't going to dig them out of this one.
At least Gerrit Cole doesn't like walking people. Leave it over the plate and see if they can hit it. And on this particular Thursday that came with very mixed results. First four Rays batters, single, walk (one of only two), RBI single, 3=run homer. That would be Austin Meadows with just the fourth 3- or 4-run homer the Rays have hit in the 1st inning against the Yankees (we're back in the division now, so this isn't one of these weird interleague notes). Carlos Pe�a has two of the others and Chris Gomez hit one against El Duque in 2002. But then Cole settles down. Two strikeouts. Two more K's in the 2nd. A double in the 3rd but no damage. In fact Cole records exactly 2 strikeouts in each of the first 5 innings and the Yankees are still only down 4-0. Unfortunately we're in a dome and we can't call the game because of imaginary rain or something.
With 1 out Cole gives up two more singles and the other walk. Kevin Kiermaier lifts a sac fly to left to score a fifth Rays run, and if you're wondering, yes, you can still score a sac fly even though Brett Gardner boots it. That will be 6 runs and the end of Cole's night. Albert Abreu trots on, probably not expecting to make Yankees history, but as we always say, you start with 81 blank squares and never know what's going to end up in them.
Walk. Grand slam by Brett Phillips. Walk. 2-run homer by Ji-Man Choi. Single. 2-run homer by Austin Meadows. Thank u, next. Let's unpack. Phillips' slam was the first by a Rays batter against the Yankees since Wil Myers off CC Sabathia on June 22, 2013. It was only their fifth ever by a #9 batter. Recall Meadows homered in the 1st inning; he joins Travis d'Arnaud, Ryan Hanigan, and Reid Brignac with 2 homers and 5 RBI against the Yankees.
Those first two runs get charged to Gerrit Cole, even though one is unearned. He becomes the second player in Yankees history to give up 8 runs a game but also strike out 10 batters. Hippo Vaughn did it in a complete game against the Red Sox on April 13, 1912. That would have been at Hilltop Park in Washington Heights; the Sawx left the next day for a series in Philadelphia before heading back to Boston for (yes) the grand opening of Fenway Park. The last to pull off Cole's line for any team was Zack Greinke, then of the Brewers, on June 16, 2011.
And as for Albert Abreu, he did in fact make Yankees history. Because only three other pitchers since 1901 have given up 6 runs and 3 homers while recording 0 outs, and none of them was a Yankee. They have all been in the last decade, however: Joe Biagini of the Astros (September 10, 2019), Dylan Bundy of the Orioles (May 8, 2018, remember those two months where every Orioles starter gave up 5 runs?), and Boston's Mark Melan�on (April 17, 2012).
If you gave up counting, we should also point out that the Rays scored 10 runs in that 6th inning. Tampa Bay hadn't put up a double-digit frame since June 25, 2008, in Miami Gardens (not even at Marlins Park yet), and had of course never done it against the Yankees. The White Sox, whose drought goes to September 17, 2007, are the only team to go longer without a 10-run inning. Speaking of 2007, that was also the last time the Yankees got shut out by 14 runs or more. The Tigers did it to them on August 27 of that year. The Rays had never been on the winning end of a 14-0; their biggest previous shutout was a 13 against the Red Sox on April 30, 2009.
And by the way, we don't have a big writeup on this one, but the Brewers also dropped a 12-0 shutout on the Pirates on Thursday, their second-largest ever against Pittsburgh. The last time there were two 12-0's or larger on the same day was the final day of the 2018 season when the Dodgers hung 15 on the Giants and the Rockies dropped 12 on the Nationals. In both cases the losing team was already well out of contention and didn't care; but by both winning, the Dodgers and Rockies were forced into a tiebreaker game for the NL West the following day.
The irony here is that Ronnie Milsap couldn't see anybody in his house, whether he knew them or not. But it's time for a little country-crossover intermission!
Three teams that are definitely not strangers to each other are the Phillies, Pirates, and Nationals. They're all just a few hours' drive from each other, they've all (even Nats-as-Expos) been in the National League playing each other for a half-century, and so there's nothing strange schedule-wise going on here. No worries, we have plenty of other strange-ness.
We'll start on Monday at Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies like the catchphrase "ring the bell" on social media. This probably isn't the Bell they mean. The Nationals' two Joshes-- Bell and Harrison-- came through with back-to-back triples in the 4th inning which led to a 4-0 Washington lead. The last time the Nats had back-to-back triples was in their ninth game as the Nationals, on April 13, 2005. Jamey Carroll and Jose Vidro hit them that day against the Braves.
Eventually, however, that bell is going to get rung, because Rhys Hoskins cranks a 3-run homer in the 6th to get back within a run. And then it only takes Andrew McCutchen to hit another 3-run shot for a walkoff in the 9th. Jayson Werth (2010) and Travis Lee (2001) are the only other Phillies batters to hit a walkoff homer against the Nats/Expos when trailing.
On Tuesday the Nats decided that was (probably) not going to happen again, so they blew up for a pair of 3-run homers, by Bell in the 1st inning and then Juan Soto in the 2nd. That meant a quick 6-1 lead which held up this time, but not before Bryce Harper legged out an inside-the-park homer. He would end up as the first Phillies batter with an IHR in a loss since Jimmy Rollins at Florida on April 7, 2007. By hitting that 3-run shot in the 2nd, Soto also surpassed Harper for the most multi-run homers by a Nationals batter at Citizens Bank Park (9 to 8).
We're not going to bring you Wednesday's game because it got rained out. Instead we are stuck with two 7-inning affairs on Thursday because that's how we do things now. The opener, predictably boring, although it technically goes as a complete-game loss for Zack Wheeler because it's only 7 innings. The last three CG losses for the Phillies have all been thrown against the Nationals; the others were by Aaron Nola last September and then Ben Lively in 2017.
By the time the night game rolled around, okay, maybe people are awake now. Initially that was not the Phillies' defense, which committed 4 errors (in a 7-inning game!) and still came away with a win. That hadn't happened since July 11, 2013, also against the Nationals, and here's the part where we tell you how they won. Yep, that's a walkoff grand slam, the first one for the Phillies in extra innings (technically the 8th counts!) since John Mayberry Jr against the Marlins on June 4, 2013. The Nats/Expos franchise hadn't given up a walkoff slam in extras since Cliff Johnson of the Cubs homered off Dale Murray on May 28, 1980.
We're going to put the Nationals out of their mercy, at least as far as this column is concerned. Because as mentioned, Pittsburgh isn't far away either. And while the Nationals would move on to that very awkward weekend series with the Cubs where both teams just lost several of their most important "franchise"-type players, the Phillies were over at PNC Park enjoying the views of the Roberto Clemente Bridge and ohhhhh yeah, getting 1-hit by the unlikely combination of former National Wil Crow, former Yankee Chasen Shreve, and former Cub Duane Underwood, all of whom have mysteriously joined the Pirates over the past year. The last time the Phillies were 1-hit by the Pirates was on August 3, 1990, against Doug Drabek, and he lost that no-hitter on a single by Sil Campusano with 2 outs in the 9th. Drabek never did complete a no-hitter in the majors, although his son threw one in double-A in 2010. On Friday Crowe also became the first Pirates pitcher to get hit (as a batter) by the Phillies since Tyler Green plunked Jose Silva on June 16, 1998.
Saturday's game would be considerably closer, with Pittsbugh recording its first walkoff "FCX" (fielder's choice, no out) since May 2, 1981. That was against the Astros; Mike Easler hit it, and John Milner was the runner who beat the play at the plate. Kevin Newman would help out with a go-ahead triple in the 3rd; combined with the one Bryan Reynolds hit on Friday, it's the Pirates' first time doing it in back-to-back games since Craig Wilson and Daryle Ward in August 2004.
But Sunday is really why we're here. We had lots of good Phillies notes that were very close to being left on the cutting-room floor or sent to the one-liners at the bottom. And then Sunday happened. The game where the Phillies were still only up 4-1 after 5 innings but exploded to end the game 2-2-5-2 and blow out the Pirates 15-4. So let's have some fun with this.
J.T. Realmuto singled home a run in the 1st and dobuled home another in the 5th. By the time we're done he's thrown on a bases-loaded single in the 8th and recorded the first 5-hit game by a Phillies batter in Pittsburgh since Bill White on July 31, 1966. He also tacked on a stolen base and 3 runs scored, the first Phillies batter to post that entire line since Doug Glanville did it in Houston on September 15, 1999. When you tack 4 RBI onto that line, the only other batter in Phillies history to accomplish the feat is Lew Fonseca at the Polo Grounds on April 29, 1925.
And Didi Gregorius also managed to collect 3 hits, a sac fly, and 3 RBI despite missing most of the last 3 months with an elbow problem. He's the first Phillies batter to put up that line in Pittsburgh since Davey Johnson on July 9, 1977.
We promised you 17-14 game. You want 17-14 game. In honor of July just ended and August just begun, both of which have 31 days (in case you forgot), here's the 31-run game.
If a 31-run game can start slowly, this one did. Only 2-0 after 3 innings, based on the Tigers hitting four singles off J.A. Happ. We kinda thought this was gonna be one of those dormant AL Central day games on a Wednesday, limp along to a 3-1 final, and we'd never speak of it again. The 4th inning seemed to have other ideas.
Basically it just wasn't Happ-ening. Single. Walk. Double. Single. Single. Walk. Bases-loaded double. The first seven batters of the inning reach for Detroit. A fine time to bring in Beau Burrows, who actually pitched one game for the Tigers back in June. He lets the rest of those runs through with two sac flies and a triple, and just like that we've gone from 2-0 to 10-0. Happ got the distinction of being the first Twins pitcher to allow 9 earned runs while only getting 9 outs since Brian Duensing did that in Arlington on August 25, 2012.
Ah, but the comeback is on. Miguel Sano, leadoff homer. Then three singles and a grand slam by catcher Ryan Jeffers. That followed another slam by Mitch Garver on Tuesday, the first time in Twins/Senators history that they've gotten a catcher grand slam in consecutive games. The last time any team did it was in April 1998, when Mike Piazza hit two for the Dodgers. It was also the first grand slam in Twins/Sens history to be hit with the team trailing by 9 runs or more. Kyle Funkhouser is soon on the mound to give up three more singles, resulting in Max Kepler scoring the 14th run of the inning. That ties the American League record for "most runs in a 4th inning" (which, yes, is a thing that exists); the White Sox posted 12 to the Athletics' 2 on June 10, 1952. And 56 minutes after it began, our 4th inning has transformed this 2-0 snoozer into 10-6.
Burrows hangs around long enough to give up three more runs. Meanwhile Buck Farmer has gotten through the 6th and 7th on only 23 pitches, and we've got a 7-run cushion so let's throw him out there for the 8th. And all he does is give up back-to-back homers by Max Kepler and Brent Rooker. A walk ushers in Joe Jimenez, whose first pitch is then ushered out of the park by Miguel Sano again. It's now 13-10. Here's where we point out that on Monday, Jimenez became the first Tigers reliever to uncork 3 wild pitches in a game since Dan Gakeler in 1991. On Wednesday he at least didn't do that. But he did give up another double to Willians Astudillo, and then Ryan Jeffers comes up again. Same input, same output, 2-run dinger. That's four in an inning, the first time Minnesota's done that May 2, 1992, all off Scott Sanderson of the Yankees. Also note that the Twins jumped from 0 runs to 6 runs to 12 runs. It's going to end up being the first game in team history where they had multiple 6-run innings and lost. Between Jeffers and Sano, it's also the second time the Twins had multiple players with multiple homers and lost the game. The other was also against the Tigers, and it wasn't even two years ago. Sano teamed up with Jake Cave in that 9-6 loss on August 23, 2019.
Jeffers, meanwhile, has become the third Twins/Sens catcher with 2 homers and 6 RBI in a game, after A.J. Pierzynski (2003) and Tim Laudner (1988). He also walked twice, and ignoring the "catcher" part, only other one player has done all that in a game-- Kirby Puckett on August 10, 1994, against Boston, and both his walks were intentional (probably as a result of the 6 RBI).
Eric Haase is going to come up with the bases loaded in the 9th and really put this one on the map. He's the first Tigers batter to hit a bases-loaded double at Target Field; their last one at the Metrodome was by Ivan Rodriguez off Johan Santana on September 15, 2007. Haase finished the game with 3 walks, 3 runs scored, and those 3 RBI, a first for the Tigers since Rob Deer did it on April 17, 1993. And it marked the first time Detroit had scored 17 runs in a game without homering since July 23, 1961, in Kansas City (also a 17-14 final).
By now you also know that Jorge Polanco is going to provide the final two runs with a homer in the bottom of the 9th. That's 7 homers for the Twins and 0 for Detroit. Guess who won. Only five teams have ever hit 7 homers and lost; the Blue Jays did it last year against Miami. The other games all belong to the AL Central-- the White Sox in 2016, and the Tigers in both 2004 and 1995. Wednesday marked the first MLB game ever played in Minnesota (at any stadium) where both teams scored 14 runs, and the only other game like it where the Twins/Sens franchise was involved was their 20-14 win in Chicago on July 6, 2007.
Since we got asked, notice the innings. We noted two 6's and a 2 for Minnesota. Detroit had the 2 in the 1st plus the 8, then 3 more off Burrows and 4 in the 9th. The teams combined for 31 runs and neither had a 1-run inning anywhere in there. The last time that happened was also a Tigers victory, 16-15 at the White Sox on July 29, 1934. The record for the most runs in a game without a 1-run inning belongs to a 20-16 Brooklyn win at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia on May 18, 1929.
But it truly was a group effort. If you look down the boxscore, all nine Tigers starters had at least 1 run, at least 1 hit, and at least 1 RBI. That's only happened once before, a 17-3 demolition of Cleveland on April 23, 2004. And nobody for either team had a 4-hit day. Lots of 3's but no 4's. The last time both teams scored 14 runs with no 4-hit games in the mix was yet another 17-14 game between the White Sox and Expos on June 19, 2004. And it's the fourth game this century where 17 of the 18 combined starters had at least 1 hit and 1 run scored. The Tigers were involved in the previous one of those as well, June 10, 2019, against the Yankees.
Now someone go hug Andrelton Simmons. (He's the 0-for-4.)
Se-bash-tian
World, meet Seby Zavala. Seby is short for Sebastian (hence the header), which is actually his middle name. Bernardo here was drafted out of San Diego State in 2015 and slowly worked up through the White Sox minor-league system. (Because we check these things, he did not happen to play in the game we saw in Kannapolis in '17.) Zavala got two brief callups to the big club in 2019 when Welington Castillo did 7 days on the concussion list and 3 days on the family-emergency list, so he did play in five games and got a base hit. So forget any notes about debuts. But howzabout "breakout game"?
Zavala got called back up over Independence Day weekend when Yasmani Grandal went down with a calf injury. In 12 games he went 4-for-28 with 1 RBI and 13 strikeouts. It's always that darned 13th game. That would be Saturday against Cleveland.
Number-7 batter Brian Goodwin breaks up Triston McKenzie's no-hitter with a solo homer. The next inning Zavala is leading off and the stars are aligned, he puts McKenzie's fifth pitch over the center-field wall for his first career homer in the big leagues. Cool. Somebody get the ball for him. Amed Rosario gets one back for Cleveland in the top of the 4th. And if that were all, we wouldn't be dedicating a whole section to him.
McKenzie is back out for the 4th. He gets two outs, but they're around a double and two walks to load the bases. And who's up but Seby Zavala. Who does this. It's the first grand slam by a Sox #9 hitter since Josh Phegley in Detroit on July 11, 2013. It also happens that McKenzie also gave up a slam to Tim Anderson back on May 1, and is the first Cleveland pitcher to give up two to the same team in a season since Cliff Lee against the Royals in 2005.
If this were the other side of Chicago, we'd make the excuse that the wind was blowing out toward the lake. And while it's still less than 2 miles, it is nearly twice as far from home plate to the lake here as it is from Wrigley. (Actual research goes into these.) So the homers are just gonna keep flying. Owen Miller and Austin Hedges hit solo shots in the 5th to make it 6-3. It's 6-4 in the 6th when Michael Kopech gets involved by nearly giving up a team cycle in five batters. Oscar Mercado doubles, Hedges singles, and then Yu Chang hits just the second go-ahead triple for Cleveland at the current version of Comiskey Park. Another longtime Chicago connection, Kosuke Fukudome, had the other one on August 18, 2011. But that gives the Indians an 8-6 lead which only increases to 10-6 when Kopech starts the 7th with a double and a single.
Bryan Shaw, your turn to meet Seby Zavala. And in case we didn't get a chance to save his first home-run ball, or his second, oh yes he did. Let's take a journey through this. According to Elias he is the first player in MLB history to have his first three career homers all happen in the same game. He's the first #9 batter ever to have a 3-homer game for the White Sox. And he's the third #9 batter ever to have 6 RBI in a game for the White Sox, after Charles Johnson in 2000 and Craig Grebeck in 1992.
A sac fly by Amed Rosario and a double in the 8th are going to push this to 12-8. Rosario will finish with the homer, a double, the sac fly, and 3 runs scored, just the fourth Clevelander to post that line. The others on that list are Travis Hafner (2004), Tony Bernazard (1986), and Bubba Phillips (1961). Adam Engel hits Chicago's fifth home run of the game to get us back to 12-10. But now the bases are clear for Zavala again. No chance at a heroic complete-the-comeback moment. But still a chance to join Pat Seerey (1948) as the only White Sox batters with a 4-homer game. Or to join Mike Schmidt (1976) and Mike Cameron (2002) as the only players with a 4-homer game in Chicago. Eh, we'll save that for another night. For now Zavala just dumps a single over second base. But he is going to wind up scoring the 11th run for the Sox, which will make him the fourth player in team history with 4 hits, 4 runs, and 6 RBI in a game. We just mentioned one of them, Seerey's 4-homer game in 1948. Jose Abreu did it in a 14-0 thumping of Detroit last September. And the first was Carl Reynolds against the Yankees in 1930. That also gives Seby 13 total bases, something done only three times by a #9 batter in the live-ball era. Add his name alongside Eddie Rosario of the Twins (June 13, 2017) and Jackie Bradley of the Red Sox (August 15, 2015).
But alas the White Sox never pushed across that 12th run and ended up losing. That earns Zavala more "accolades", as it were. The only other Sox batters to hit 3 homers in a loss are Frank Thomas (September 15, 1996 at Boston) and another famous "Z", Gus Zernial (October 1, 1950, vs St Louis). He's the first #9 batter to hit 3 homers in a loss for any team since Art Shamsky of the Reds did it on August 12, 1966.
And may the circle be unbroken: The last time the White Sox scored 11 runs in a home game and lost? We already mentioned it. Until this week it was the only time the Twins had been involved in a game where both teams put up 14 runs. Minnesota beat the White Sox 20-14 on July 6, 2010.
Bottom Of The Bag
⚾ Dansby Swanson, Saturday: Second player in Braves history with 7 RBI in a game where the team did not score 10 runs. Orlando Cepeda had 7 of the 8 against the Cubs on July 26, 1970.
⚾ Braves, Monday: First time shutting out opponent in one game of a doubleheader and being shut out in the other since September 5, 1955, at Wrigley Field.
⚾ Joey Votto & Jesse Winker, through Thursday: First teammates, for any team, to each have an extra-base hit in the same 7 consecutive games.
⚾ Pirates, Saturday: First walkoff FCX (fielder's choice, no out recorded) since May 2, 1981, against Houston. Mike Easler hit and John Milner beat the play at the plate.
⚾ Brandon Drury, Tue-Wed: Third player in Mets history to come off the bench in back-to-back games and homer in both of them. Others are Scott Hairston in June 2012 and Ed Charles in June 1968.
⚾ Rafael Ortega, Sunday: Second Cubs leadoff batter ever to have 5 RBI in a game they lost. Rick Monday did it against his future team, the Dodgers, on May 5, 1976.
⚾ Tommy Pham & Fernando Tatis, Thursday: First time Padres led off a home game with back-to-back doubles since Alan Wiggins & Tony Gwynn vs Cardinals, June 28, 1984.
⚾ Rodolfo Castro, Wednesday: Became fourth player in modern era with multiple 2-homer games in the first 9 games of his MLB career. Others are Trevor Story (2016), Mark Quinn (1999), and fellow Pirate Dino Restelli (1949).
⚾ Giants, Saturday: First game in San Francisco where they had 4 tying or go-ahead homers in the same game. Last time doing it at the Polo Grounds was May 31, 1947, against Pittsburgh.
⚾ Austin Riley, Tuesday: Second Braves batter to have a 6-RBI game in Queens. Hank Aaron, June 8, 1966.
⚾ A.J. Pollock, Wednesday: First Dodgers batter with 3 hits, a hit-by-pitch, and a stolen base in a game in San Francisco since Ron Cey, July 4, 1977.
⚾ Alex Verdugo, Monday: Second lead-flipping homer in Red Sox history in the 8th or later against Toronto. Other was a walkoff by Carl Yastrzemski on May 27, 1980.
⚾ Angels, Thu-Fri: First time shut out by the A's in back-to-back games at home since July 31 & August 1 of 1978.
⚾ Shohei Ohtani, Saturday: Second player in Angels history to strike out 3 times but also have the lone RBI in a 1-0 win. Felix Torres homered against the Twins on July 17, 1964.
⚾ Jonah Heim, Sat-Sun: First player in Rangers/Senators history to hit a walkoff homer in consecutive games.
⚾ Astros, Monday: First game where they scored 6 runs in the 1st inning and lost since July 15, 1994, in Pittsburgh.
⚾ Luis Oviedo, Tuesday: First Pirates pitcher to give up 8+ runs while getting 3 outs in a home game since Rick Rhoden on July 4, 1982.
⚾ Max Schrock, Sunday: Second visiting player to have 5 hits and 3 runs scored in a game at Citi Field. Other was Brett Gardner of the Yankees on June 26, 2009.
⚾ Harold Ramirez & Amed Rosario, Fri-Sat: First Clevelanders to have a multi-double game at Comiskey in B2B outings since Don Ferrarese and Ed FitzGerald, May 26 and 27, of 1959.
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