Last week we marked our entry into the final month of the season. Not only are the sunsets getting earlier, and the stadium lights coming on sooner, but the proverbial sun is about to set on a bunch of teams' seasons. Most of them already know it. And we already know we're going to be writing about the Dodgers and Giants and Astros and White Sox for a good chunk of October. It so happens that a lot of the interesting stuff this week came from those other teams who are riding off into the sunset.
If the Phillies were in any other division, they'd be within a couple days of being mathematically eliminated (if not already). Their cause was not helped by losing 5 out of 7 to the Central-leading Brewers and the lowly Rockies this week. The one win was pretty impressive though.
Bryce Harper wasted no time on the Monday holiday, taking Brandon Woodruff for a 2-run homer in the 1st. Freddy Galvis adds a solo shot in the 2nd. The Phils have two more runners in the 3rd, and lest you think they're going to homer again this inning, they don't. But that just leaves Brad Miller to lead off the 4th with another one. After that Woodruff settles down and actually retires the entire "third time through the order". He still became the first Brewers pitcher to give up 9 hits and 3 homers in a home game since Chase Anderson on April 30, 2016. But it's still only a 4-0 game. And then Brad Boxberger happens.
Andrew McCutchen, leadoff homer in the 8th. Walk. Single. Walk. Single. Pitching change. Boxberger is going to end up charged with 5 runs while getting 0 outs, the first Brewers pitcher to do that since Will Smith on July 24, 2016. And the last two of those runs are going to be part of a Jean Segura grand slam, just the second one ever hit by the Phillies in Milwaukee. The other was fairly recent, by Nick Williams on July 16, 2017. That also means they never hit one at County Stadium, including the years they played the Braves there.
And one final parting shot to The Park Formerly Known As Miller, courtesy of (who else?) Brad Miller. After already leading off the 4th with a dinger, he pounds another one to lead off the 9th, the first Phillie to lead off two different innings with one since Scott Kingery on June 10, 2019. Friend Of Kernels Jayson Stark dove into this and determined that no "Miller" had ever had a multi-homer game at Miller Park... and still hasn't since they keep changing the names on the stadiums all the time. (We were equally excited when Esmil Rogers finally got a win at Rogers Centre.) The Phillies who had multiple homers when it was still Miller Park were Maikel Franco (2016), Mike Lieberthal (2005), and Chase Utley (2000). Miller (that's Brad) also gave the Phils 6 longballs for the game, which they also did in Cincinnati on June 1. It's the first time in franchise history (1883) they've had multiple 6-homer games in the same season. And the only other 12-run victory for the Phillies against Milwaukee was a 13-1 decision behind Harvey Haddix on September 14, 1956. That one is from the Braves years.
Philled Up
Every so often we envision a system where teams could "bank" runs. Say after the 3rd and the 6th, if a team is up big they can put some extra runs aside for the next game (but they can't get them back if they then give up the lead). And, of course, the other team could do likewise, so the first game of a series might potentially start with a score of 10-6 already. Or something. But we digress.
Our point is that the Phillies might have enjoyed saving some of those 12 runs. Because on Tuesday they did not score 12 times. They didn't even score 1 time. And while Aaron Nola only gave up 3 runs to the Brewers, he also needed 92 pitches to finish 5 innings, after which it was the bullpen's turn to melt down. Ramon Rosso wild-pitches a third strike that would have ended the inning, then walks two batters and ends up with 3 runs. Cam Bedrosian gives up a 2-run dinger to Avisail Garcia in the 7th. Christian Yelich polishes it off with a double in the 8th. All told, Milwaukee's top four hitters each had at least 1 extra-base hit and at least 2 RBIs, the first time that's happened since June 2, 1987. Final score, 10-0. A day after the Phillies posted their largest shutout ever against the Brewers, the Brewers just posted their largest shutout against the Phillies. This one topped a 9-0 Randy Wolf start on April 19, 2011.
And as for trading double-digit shutouts in back-to-back games? That hadn't happened anywhere in the majors since April 22 and 23 of 2006, and that pair also involved the Brewers and still-called-Miller Park. The Reds were the visiting team when the combatants traded final scores of 11-0 each way.
11-0, you say? Hey, after playing a 10-0 and a 12-0 earlier in the week, an 11 would fit right in. So sure enough, the Phillies were staring down another barrel on Friday against the Rockies. This was the designated "bullpen game" which apparently all teams are required to throw twice a week now, and it was Bailey Falter who, well, faltered first. He gave up 3 runs in the 2nd, but he wasn't the only one. Ramon Rosso gave up back-to-back homers (but no wild pitches this time). Enyel De Los Santos, who also hadn't pitched since the 10-0 game on Tuesday, walks the bases loaded in the 9th. And if you thought Bailey Falter was a less-than-ideal name for a pitcher, J.D. Hammer did not exactly drop one. He got hammered, in the form of an Elias Diaz grand slam, the second one the Rockies have hit in Philadelphia. Larry Walker connected at The Vet on May 6, 1998. It was also the first multi-run homer (not just a slam) ever hit by the Rockies when they were already up by 7 runs in the 9th.
So that makes things 11-0 and never do the shutout notes early. (Also, don't bank too many of those runs.) Because the Phillies apparently don't want to get mixed up in a 10-0, an 11-0, and a 12-0 in the same week. At least Didi Gregorius doesn't. He deposits the fourth pitch from Ben Bowden into the right-field seats for a leadoff homer that breaks up the shutout. Bryce Harper later singles in another run after a 2-out error to make our final score 11-2. But that dinger by Didi? It's the first one the Phillies have hit to break up an 11-run shutout (or more) in the 9th since Willie Montañez off Fergie Jenkins at Wrigley on July 16, 1971.
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Technically Cleveland is still alive in the wild-card race but they would have to make up 7 games and jump over three teams, all of whom still play each other several times (and thus can't both lose). So pretty safe to say that's not happening.
Also not happening for the Indians this week was much run support. Or "hit support" if that's even a thing. They began their week by losing three in a row to the Twins who are 8 games worse than the Tribe and already in line to be eliminated tomorrow. Two of those games-- Tuesday and Wednesday-- were 3-0 shutouts, their first time losing back-to-back home games to the same opponent in shutout form since Oakland beat them on August 27 and 28, 2012. In Tuesday's game the only extra-base hit was from pinch batter Oscar Mercado in the 8th inning, and their only at-bats with anyone in scoring position all came with 2 outs (and obviously didn't result in any scoring).
On Wednesday they probably would have liked that much. We say this all too frequently, but it's the new pitchers that scare us now. Yes, the Max Scherzers and Gerrit Coles of the world are still scary, but everyone's seen them before. Batters have figured out how to squeeze a hit or two out of them. The Twins, meanwhile, are trotting out a triple-A callup named Joe Ryan, who was part of the Nelson Cruz deal with the Rays, and who is the third major-leaguer ever to attend Cal State Stanislaus County. (Trivia time, name the others. Hint: The school didn't exist until 1960.) It's his second big-league appearance and so of course nobody in the Cleveland lineup is going to be able to hit him. Ryan goes 19 up, 19 down and has everyone scrambling for the no-hitter notes (they have happened in second MLB starts, as Clay Buchholz fans will attest) when Amed Rosario grounds one through the hole at short. Ryan gets out of the inning unscathed, Caleb Thielbar pitches a perfect 8th, Tyler Duffey does likewise in the 9th, and Rosario ends up as Cleveland's only baserunner of the game.
In theory, the good news is that in 121 seasons of the franchise, Wednesday was only the eighth time they've finished a game with one baserunner. The bad news is that two of those have been this year. Remember Carlos Rodon's no-hitter back in April where he lost perfection by hitting Roberto Perez in the 9th? Yeah, that was against Cleveland. One of the other six games is a 6-inning no-hitter by Washington in 1912 that was called because of an agreed curfew to let the Naps catch a train to their next series. So it's not exactly common. And to be fair, it is the first time this season that the Indians have been one-hit. Except there's the pesky matter of the three times they were no-hit. One of those, the doubleheader game against Tampa Bay, is another of those "non-no-hitters" that doesn't really count, which is why you still hear that no team has "officially" been no-hit thrice in a season. (Yeah, we know. Wait for it. This part was written earlier.) But tack on Wade Miley's NH for the Reds in May, and you have four games this season where the Indians were held to no more than 1 hit. So maybe it's good that it's their last season as the "Indians". Because the last year where that happened four times... was their first season as the Indians. That would be 1915.
As for Joe Ryan, he didn't achieve Clay Buchholz levels of immortality (there really should be a scale of some type for this), but he did become the first pitcher to throw 7 innings, allow 1 hit, and get a win in either of his first two MLB appearances since another newbie did it for the Pirates. That was Nick Kingham, who also took a no-hitter into the 7th in his MLB debut on April 29, 2018.
(Still wondering about Cal State Stanislaus, huh? Steve Andrade was a 32nd-round pick who pitched 4 games for the Royals during an injury-related callup in 2006. The other is the guy who always makes our inner 10-year-old giggle, Rusty Kuntz. He led CSUS to national Div-3 baseball titles in both 1976 and 1977 before getting a World Series ring with the Tigers in 1984 and then coaching for several teams.)
So now that you know all about the baseball traditions of Stanislaus, let's continue our educational journey around northern California with a stop at St Mary's College. They're not exactly a baseball powerhouse. As best we can tell they've made the NCAA tournament once. But the college has been around, albeit in three different cities, since the 1860s. That means it's actually produced the starting pitcher in three MLB no-hitters: Ed Morris of Columbus in 1884, and Hubert "Dutch" Leonard of the Red Sox who threw two of them in the 1910s.
Turns out a lot of things related to 1884 suddenly need updating. Because try as they might (and we're really not sure if they're trying anymore), the Indians just can't seem to stop themselves. After getting 1-hit by Joe Ryan on Wednesday, they were stuck on 1 hit on Friday as well before getting to Jandel Gustave in the 8th. (They finally finished that game with the neat linescore of 3 runs, 3 hits, and 3 errors, their second time ever doing that exactly. The other was in 1939 at Tiger Stadium, which wasn't even called that yet.) So by Saturday, Cleveland finally said, okay, the third time we're gonna do this. "This", of course, is letting Corbin Burnes, drafted out of St Mary's in 2016 (which is also the year they made the NCAA's), strike out 11 of the first 15 hitters and carry a perfect game into the 7th. It marked the fifth time this year that the Brewers got a no-hitter into the 7th; you might recall Burnes doing it on opening weekend when he and Jose Berrios had a double-NH going. He gives up a walk to Myles Straw in the 7th, and then there is the controversial matter of letting him pitch the 8th. The Brewers will, of course, be in the playoffs, so do you want to over-extend one of your top pitchers just to get his name in no-hitter lore? It's almost as if Craig Counsell was hoping for a hit in the 8th just to make the decision easier. That plan backfires when Burnes doesn't allow one. So now, after 115 pitches, he is going to be the first pitcher in 24 years to be removed from a game in the 9th or later having not allowed a hit. The other was Francisco Cordova of the Pirates, who memorably pitched all 9 innings of a tie game before Pittsburgh scored in the 10th and Ricardo Rincon came on to finish the no-hitter.
Finish the no-hitter, you say? Well, that's now up to Josh Hader, whom you may remember from a few years ago when he would appear in the 6th or 7th inning and rack up about 8 strikeouts every game before leaving. So, yeah, this doesn't look promising either. And it's not. After a whopping 4 weeks of agonizing waiting we have yet another no-hitter on the books in 2021, the ninth of the season to break the MLB record set in (here's the earlier reference) 1884. Remember how Wednesday was the fourth time this year the Indians were held to 1 hit? Yep, here's five; the only other team in the live-ball era to pull that off was the 2010 Rays. Myles Straw still ends up as the only baserunner, so instead of eight such games in Indians history, they're up to nine. Three this year. And two this week.
You've heard everywhere else that yes, the Indians are the first team to "officially" be no-hit three times in a single season. But again, there's that unofficial one thrown by the Rays in a doubleheader in July. So it's really four times this year that Cleveland has finished a game with 0 hits. And that's also a modern-era record. The 1906 Brooklyn squad had it happen three times, even though none of those is officially recognized anymore. One of their games, similar to Cleveland, was planned as a 7-inning affair for travel reasons. One was called by darkness. And they had one broken up in the 11th which was wiped off the books in 1991 for not being a "complete game".
We mentioned that Burnes struck out 11 of the first 15 batters of the game. He fanned three more after that (at least Cleveland did eventually figure out how to make contact). That's 0 hits and 14 strikeouts, which has been done by only one other Milwaukee pitcher in history. Warren Spahn fanned 15 for the Braves in his no-hitter on September 16, 1960. Meanwhile, Hader struck out two of his three batters in the 9th, yielding 16 K's for the game. Although Spahn's 15 is close behind, there have only been three other NH's with 16 strikeouts-- two are by Nolan Ryan (1973 and 1991), plus Max Scherzer's season-ending 17-K effort in 2015.
And someone give Zach Plesac a hug please. We mentioned the other two times that Cleveland was "officially" no-hit this year, by Carlos Rodon and Wade Miley. Guess who started both those games on the other side. And guess who started Saturday. Only one pitcher in MLB history has been the opposing starter for three no-hitters, and his were in different years for different teams. Jim Perry, in his Cy Young year of 1970 for the Twins, lost to Vida Blue in no-hit fashion, then did it twice more in 1973 with the Tigers (one is that same 16-K Nolan Ryan game from above). Adding insult to injury, Plesac actually took a no-hitter of his own into the 8th earlier this year until J.P. Crawford of the Mariners broke it up.
And there would have been Plesac notes even if Hader hadn't finished the no-hitter. Because the last time the Brewers had a no-hitter broken up in the 9th, it was also in Cleveland. Ron Washington spoiled an Odell Jones bid on May 28, 1988. The pitcher who relieved Jones after he finally gave up that first hit... was Dan Plesac-- Zach's uncle.
Sho-Time
Right behind Cleveland, still alive mathematically if not practically, are the Angels. Who right now offer exactly one major reason to pay attention to them. It's not Albert Pujols anymore, or the still-injured Mike Trout. It's of course Shohei Ohtani, the two-way phenom who seems like a good bet to break Troy Glaus's team home-run record of 47. Maybe even this week. Because on Friday he got number 44 in very Kernels-like fashion.
As he does about once a week, Ohtani was pitching in that game against the Astros. Granted, he wasn't pitching for very long because Houston jumped on him for 9 hits and 6 runs before he finally gave up the ball in the 4th. But regardless of whether he's pitching or just DH'ing, Ohtani and his .360 on-base percentage always bat either 1st or 2nd in the order. So before losing the lead in the 3rd inning, Ohtani actually gave himself the lead with a 1st-inning homer off Framber Valdez. Since this was a road game, it means that Ohtani, as the game's starting pitcher, actually homered on offense before he threw a pitch on defense. And yes, he's the first pitcher in Angels history to do that. Turns out he also homered as the pitcher in the 1st inning of a home game against the White Sox on April 4. And since the DH was brought into the realm in 1973, only one other pitcher for any team has hit multiple 1st-inning dingers. That was the unofficial king of pitcher homers, Carlos Zambrano, and both of his also came in the same season (2006).
Again, Ohtani did get tagged for 6 runs and Houston went on to an easy 10-5 win. The last Angels starter to give up 6 earned, hit a batter, throw a wild pitch, and not get out of the 4th inning, was C.J. Wilson, also against the Astros, on June 23, 2015. But posting that disastrous line on the mound while still hitting a homer on offense? Had not been done by any previous pitcher in MLB's modern era (1901). So Ohtani is still finding new and unique ways to entertain us. Keep watching them Angels. But maybe only every fifth day.
It was a choice between a Yogi Berra quote and a Paul Simon song. So if that radio coming from the room next door is bugging you, indulge it for a few minutes. Intermission!
Two of the teams you will be hearing about down the stretch are the Rays and Red Sox, who met up for their final series of the regular season. And if they end up meeting in October somehow, be sure to have a calculator handy.
If you had nothing else to do on your Labor Day holiday, you certainly could have spent the entire day at Fenway Park. No, really. The entire day. Ryan Yarbrough, usually deployed for a 5- or 6-inning "relief" appearance after the Rays do their famous "opener" shtick, actually started the game on Monday. This time, instead of entering in the 3rd inning, Yarbrough would depart in the 3rd inning after the Red Sox tagged him for 7 runs. None of them came via homers, either; it was three well-timed doubles and a sac fly. But instead of rolling over and eating this one, the Rays decided to fight back with Nelson Cruz connecting for what can best be described as a Little League grand slam. Thanks to all that being unearned, Chris Sale becomes the first Boston pitcher to allow 10 hits but only 1 earned run since Pedro Martinez did it against the Angels on August 6, 2003.
We then match runs for a little while until it's 9-8 in the 9th and Austin Meadows legs out an inside-the-park homer when his fly ball kicks off the wall and away from Alex Verdugo. It's the Rays' third IHR in a month (Brett Phillips and Kevin Kiermaier), joining the 2017 Diamondbacks as the only teams in the last 30 years to pull that off so quickly. It's also the first game-tying IHR in the majors since Mark Teahen of the Royals against Minnesota on May 27, 2008.
So it's now 9-9 and we're off to Free Runner Land because what else did you have to do? Game's already over 4 hours old. Nelson Cruz singles home the Rays' free runner for his third hit and third RBI of the day. He ends up scoring an 11th run a few pitches later, thus joining Hunter Renfroe (2020), Brandon Lowe (2019), and Sam Fuld (2011) as the only Rays batters with 3 hits, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored in a game at Fenway. Now it's Boston's turn to make this interesting. Collin McHugh balks the free runner to third, although he would have scored anyway on Jose Iglesias's single. 11-10. Then an error and a walk to load the bases before Kevin Plawecki mercifully grounds out to end it. McHugh would be the first reliever in Rays history to allow 2 hits, 2 walks, commit a balk, and still end up with a win (he also pitched the 9th). The last "home" game where the Sawx scored 10 runs and lost was that 17-13 escapade with the Yankees in London two seasons ago. At Fenway Park it was a 13-10 against Toronto on June 12, 2015.
And at 4 hours 54 minutes, this thing clocked in as the longest known game in Fenway history that did not go at least 11 innings. The old mark of 4:45 was set on August 18, 2006, in a 14-11 affair with (of course) the Yankees.
After 4:54 could you possibly want more? Well, they're right back at it on Tuesday night, and this one actually finished in under 3 hours. Still need that calculator, though. This time it's Eduardo Rodriguez of the Sawx who gets knocked around for 6 early runs and 2 homers, also featuring a 2-run triple by (yes he's a catcher) Mike Zunino. It's actually Zunino's homer his second time up that makes the score 6-1 and knocks E-Rod out of the game. Nelson Cruz, who homered off E-Rod, also takes Michael Feliz deep in the 5th. Zunino does the same in his third at-bat, joining Twins manager Rocco Baldelli as the only Rays players with 2 homers and a triple in the same game. Baldelli did it against the Yankees on September 14, 2006. Cruz and Zunino also combined to be the first Rays teammates ever to have multiple homers in the same game at Fenway. When Jordan Luplow gives the Rays a homer in five consecutive innings, it drives the score to 12-1 and Boston sorta concedes this one. Bunch of defensive changes, leave Brad Peacock out there on the mound to take one for the team, and so forth.
But sometimes those bench guys step up and make the most of their chance to play. Bobby Dalbec, now at third base, touches third base again during his home-run trot in the 8th. Danny Santana, now in left field, follows him with another homer. That was the first time multiple bench players had homered for the Sawx in the same game since Kevin Millar and Bill Mueller both went deep as pinch hitters in Milwaukee on June 7, 2003. Then, after Peacock gets through the 9th, Dalbec is up again and launches another one. He's only the third player in Red Sox history to hit 2 homers in a game he didn't start. Mike Lowell did it on August 11, 2009, replacing Kevin Youkilis who got hit with a pitch in his first at-bat. The other was Joe Foy against the Senators on June 9, 1967; he got double-switched into the pitcher's spot in the 6th.
For Wednesday you can put the calculator away. Boston takes the finale 2-1 after Hunter Renfroe hits a lead-flipping homer in the bottom of the 8th. That was the fourth such homer by the Red Sox this season, their most since Youkilis, David Ortiz, and Mark Loretta collected four during the 2006 campaign.
Ontario's Eleven
The Orioles hold the honor of being the first team this season to be mathematically eliminated from even the wild-card race, having gotten bounced way back on August 28. So their role is mostly to play spoiler and mess everyone else up as they conclude their 38th consecutive "rebuilding" season. (Sigh.) Trailing 5-0 to the Royals (who also aren't going anywhere) on Wednesday, Baltimore blew up for a 9-spot in the bottom of the 8th against three different Royals relievers. The last 4 runs-- and the winning 4 runs-- were unearned after "defensive replacement" Hunter Dozier dropped a fly ball and then Ryan Mountcastle homered. It gave the Orioles their first game with 9+ runs scored, all of them in the same inning, since beating the Yankees 10-3 on July 8, 1969.
As for the "spoiler" part-- and 9-run innings, for that matter-- the O's got to host Toronto for the weekend, one of those five teams that are realistically battling for the two AL Wild Card spots. On Friday it was Anthony Santander's turn to be the spoiler, cranking a 3-run homer in the 7th that held up for a win when Cole Sulser recorded a 6-out save. Robbie Ray managed to strike out 8 Orioles before departing, his sixth consecutive 8-K game. That joins a short but illustrious list of Jays pitchers to have such a streak: A.J. Burnett in 2007 and Roger Clemens in 1997. On the Baltimore side, Cedric Mullins homered and also stole two bases, which he also did against the Yankees back on August 2. Only three others in franchise history have done that twice in a season: Corey Patterson in 2006, Reggie Jackson in 1976, and George Sisler in 1920.
So on to Saturday where the Jays stood to actually gain ground on the other wild-card-ers because of a rainout back in July. So "let's play two", and for once maybe it's good that MLB changed doubleheaders into 7 innings.
It certainly appeared as though the Orioles were going to play spoiler again, beating up on Hyun-Jin Ryu for 7 runs in the first 3 innings. Santander homered again. Austin Hays homered. Ryan McKenna knocks Ryu out of the game with a bases-loaded double. It's the third time this season that Ryu allowed 7 runs and multiple homers, the most for Toronto since R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle both managed to do it in 2013. Mind you, the Jays are hanging around with 3 homers of their own, including the 43rd of the year from Vlad Guerrero Jr. This will end up being the 12th game in Camden Yards history-- and first in over 4 years-- where both teams connect for at least 4 homers. Hays goes yard again to lead off the 4th and the Baltimore lead eventually grows to 10-5. Marcus Diplan gives up 2 walks, 2 singles, and thus 2 runs in the 5th, meaning Tyler Wells has a 3-run cushion to start the 7th and final inning. Yeah, about that. Double, walk, single, sac fly, home run by George Springer. That was their first lead-flipping homer when down to their final out in a road game since Randal Grichuk hit a grand slam on September 18, 2019, also at Camden Yards. That game was also an 11-10 Toronto win and is the last time the O's scored 10 in a game and lost. Between the 8 homers (Hays was the only player to hit two) and a bunch of doubles, there were 13 different batters who recorded an extra-base hit, just the second time in Camden Yards history that's happened. The other was a 17-8 jamboree against the Angels on August 16, 2009. And the last time the Jays scored 11+ in the first game of a doubleheader was May 3, 2018, in Cleveland.
Oh, look, another Cleveland mention. Remember that no-hitter from Corbin Burnes? Game 1 of our doubleheader took over 3 hours to play and ended while the Brewers were batting in the 7th. Game 2 had just started when Josh Hader got the final out in Cleveland. And granted, this is a 7-inning game which wouldn't "officially" count. But you don't think... maybe...? No, of course not. Keegan Akin is on the mound. He started the season 0-8, although he did get a 4-2 win over the Jays a couple weeks ago. Still, though, they just scored 11 runs and had a big last-inning rally in the first game.
Balloon, deflate thyself. After a leadoff walk to George Springer the Jays go completely limp. Twelve straight outs and by the time we're done dealing with the first no-hitter of the night, this game is headed for the 5th. It's still true that the last day on which two teams finished with 0 hits in a game was the famous Dave Stewart/Fernando Valenzuela day on June 29, 1990. Stewart's no-hitter was actually against Toronto as well. Akin throws a perfect 5th. Cedric Mullins, meanwhile, has recorded the only run for the Orioles with a solo homer. Which is probably why the Jays decide to play for 1 run in the 6th after Randal Grichuk draws a leadoff walk. Instead of trying to break up the no-hitter, Breyvic Valera lays down a sac bunt that almost results in another no-hitter being lost to a blown call. We have replay now, so it gets overturned and then Akin gets the last two outs. That puts the Orioles three outs away from their second 0-hit game of the year (remember John Means?). The only time they've thrown two in a season was 1917 when Ernie Koob famously was awarded a retroactive NH because the official scorer changed his mind (or was "persuaded" to) overnight, and then Bob Groom went out and threw one later that same day. But Vladdy is leading off the 7th, and it would be a real good spot for him to hit number 44.
He doesn't. He does deposit a liner into shallow right for the first Jays hit. He then shoots a ground ball into left for the Jays' ninth hit. Wait, what? Yes, balloon, reinflate. After getting no-hit through 6 innings, Toronto bats around as Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, and Marcus Semien all hit multi-run homers. The only out before Vladdy bats again comes on a sacrifice fly. Keegan Akin is long gone by this point, so Tanner Scott has suddenly become the first reliever in Orioles/Browns history to give up 6 runs and 2 homers while getting no more than 1 out. And for the final nail in the balloon (mixed-metaphor alert!), Teoscar Hernandez rips another 3-run homer to finish off an 11-run inning. By a team that was getting no-hit just a half-hour ago.
So let's unpack. Elias tells us that no team since at least 1960 had rattled off an 11-run inning in the 4th or later when they were getting no-hit at the beginning of it. As for being down to their last inning, we couldn't find any 9-inning game in MLB history where that happened, although the records of no-hitter breakups are incomplete before 1928. There's also no way to distinguish games that were intentionally made shorter beforehand, such as Saturday's, from games that were called early by rain or darkness, so it is certainly possible that this happened 140 years ago. But we're also certain that it hasn't happened in a long time.
As for the Jays, they've only had four 11-run innings in the history (no 12's), the prior ones being in 2007, 1995, and 1984. Saturday was the first time that 11-run inning comprised all of their scoring, however. The top of the 7th was the second occurrence in Jays history of 4 homers in an inning; the other was against the Rangers on August 17, 2001 (Jeff Frye, Jose Cruz, Shannon Stewart, Carlos Delgado). It's also the first time the Jays have ever hit 4 homers in both games of a doubleheader, although they play fewer of them than most teams thanks to that dome. But the last time any team did that almost predates the Toronto franchise. Seven different Cardinals, including Lou Brock and Not-That-Mike Tyson, combined to do it in Atlanta on July 6, 1979.
Bo Bichette's homer (the first of the four) actually flipped the lead again because the O's were up 1-0. Again, "the final" inning is hard to determine going way back, but the Jays are the first team to hit a lead-flipping homer even in the 7th or later of both games of a twinbill since R.J. Reynolds and Mike Diaz did it for the Pirates on June 7, 1987.
And remember the score of Game 1? (It's okay if you don't, this thing took 6 hours 35 minutes to play 14 innings, and one team didn't have a hit for most of it.) It was 11-10 Toronto. We already mentioned May 3, 2018, in Cleveland, when the Jays scored 11+ in Game 1. Turns out that was the last time any team scored 11+ in both games of a doubleheader. But guess what. It wasn't the Blue Jays who did it that day. It was the Indians, who actually lost the first game 13-11 and then returned the favor with a 13-4 in the nightcap.
Ontario's Twenty-Two
Just so you know, Blue Jays, scoring 22 runs on Saturday does not mean you also have to score 22 runs on Sunday. Might want to grab that calculator from the Sawx/Rays games though.
Rookie Zac Lowther is your starter for the Orioles in just his seventh MLB game. Again, the Orioles are really only here to play spoiler, so why not. The "spoiler alert" is that this isn't going to end well. Single, two walks, hit batter. There's 1. And then Lourdes Gurriel takes Lowther's first pitch into right for a grand slam, such that just 17 hours or so after Saturday's 11-run outburst, the Jays have another 5-run inning. Gurriel also had a 1st-inning slam against the Rangers on July 18, and another on June 24 against Baltimore. The only other player in Jays history to hit three 1st-inning slams in a season is Carlos Delgado in 1999. While the Jays were busy "only" scoring 1 in the 2nd, we were figuring out that this was the first time in team history the Jays had ever scored 16 runs in the span of 2 innings. Heh. It seems quaint looking back on it.
Spenser Watkins gets summoned for the 3rd. Let's see how that goes, shall we? Danny Jansen, 2-run double. Breyvic Valera singles him home. Jake Lamb, who we honestly didn't know was still playing, homers to make it 10-3. Two singles and a walk re-load the bases, and then Teoscar Hernandez unloads them with a grand slam. That would be 14-3, and Watkins joins Dylan Bundy as the only pitchers in Orioles/Browns history to give up 7 runs and 2 homers while getting no more than 1 out. Bundy did it in a start 3 years ago during a stretch where it seemed every Orioles starter was charged with a minimum of 5 runs. Combined with Gurriel, it's the first time the Jays have ever hit two slams in the same game, and it's the first time the Orioles have surrendered same since The 30-3 Game against Texas on August 22, 2007.
Mike Baumann eventually gets out of the inning, but not before the Jays send 13 batters to the plate and score 10 more runs. Sound familiar? Yeah, they just scored 11 in an inning at about 11:00 last night. The Jays have never before had two 10-run innings in the same season, and here they are doing it twice in 18 hours. As you probably know, by the time this thing finally ends it's going to be 22-7, the first time that exact score has hit since the Dodgers beat the Rockies by that count on July 21, 2001, and the 11th time in MLB history. The only other time Toronto reached 22 runs in a game was also against Baltimore-- June 26, 1978, at Exhibition Stadium. That 24-10 win was also part of the Jays' highest-scoring 3-game stretch in team history, totaling 39 runs. This weekend they dropped 44 in less than 24 hours. Imagine if they could bank them.
Bottom Of The Bag
⚾ Mets, Thursday: Fifth time the team had exactly 4 hits in a game and they comprised a team cycle. Previous was May 9, 2002, against the Giants.
⚾ Frank Schwindel, Monday: Became first Cubs batter to have a go-ahead hit in the 7th or later of three consecutive team games since Shawon Dunston in June 1991.
⚾ Austin Adams, Sunday: First pitcher in Padres history to hit 3 batters while getting no more than 3 outs.
⚾ Michael Lorenzen, Tuesday: First Reds pitcher to "earn" a hold despite allowing 2 homers since Scott Sullivan at Houston on May 20, 2001.
⚾ Luis Robert, Saturday: Second leadoff batter in White Sox history to have 3 doubles and 3 RBI in a loss. Johnny Mostil did it in Cleveland on August 30, 1924.
⚾ Max Scherzer, Monday: First Dodgers pitcher to record a 13-strikeout game in St Louis since Sandy Koufax on September 29, 1966.
⚾ Andrew Benintendi, Friday: First batter in Royals history to homer 10 innings apart in the same game (1st and 11th). Previous record was held by George Brett who went deep in the 8th and 16th against Baltimore on May 28, 1979.
⚾ Jason Heyward, Wednesday: First 3- or 4-run walkoff homer ever hit by the Cubs against the Reds (both have been in the National League since 1890).
⚾ Dietrich Enns, Saturday: First reliever in Rays history to throw 4+ hitless innings and record at least 6 strikeouts.
⚾ Braves, Thursday: First game since saves became official in 1969 where they blew three of them in the same game and still ended up winning.
⚾ J.T. Realmuto, Sunday: Second game this year with a double, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored. In modern era, only other Phillies catcher to do that twice in a season is Charles "Red" Dooin in 1909.
⚾ Giants, Tuesday: First time collecting 7 doubles and 2 triples in a game since April 30, 1944, against Brooklyn (a game they won 26-8).
⚾ Joey Votto, Friday: Third time homering on his birthday (also did it in 2011 and 2016). Only other Reds batter in modern era to do it three times is Tony Perez.
⚾ Andrew Stevenson, Monday: First Nationals pinch-hitter to tie a game against the Mets in the 9th since Carlos Baerga hit his final career homer on September 23, 2005.
⚾ Luis Gil, Wednesday: First Yankees starter to issue 7 walks in a game since Joba Chamberlain against the Red Sox on August 6, 2009.
⚾ Pirates, Saturday: First game where they scored 10+ runs on no more than 7 hits since August 13, 1988.
⚾ Matt Olson, Friday: Second player in "Oakland" A's history (1968) to have 4 hits and 4 RBI in a home game but 0 runs scored himself. Ernie Riles did it against the Yankees on May 1, 1991.
⚾ Jackson Kowar, Tuesday: Became second pitcher in modern era to accumulate 7 wild pitches in his first five MLB appearances. Other was Bobby Witt for Texas in 1986.
⚾ Nate Lowe, Wednesday: Second Rangers batter to have a single, a double, and a triple at Chase Field. Will Clark did it on June 25, 1998.
⚾ Kolten Wong & Avisail Garcia, Sunday: Second Brewers teammates ever to have multiple homers in the same game in Cleveland. Sal Bando and Ben Ogilvie did it in a 14-1 drubbing on April 29, 1980.
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