We've previously covered the various ways those offensive batters can reach first base. There are generally about eight of them depending on which nuances you count or don't. Some of them are dull. Walks are dull. Stop it. Dropped third strike, meh. No, what (most) everyone really came to see is some bat-on-ball action.
Last week we left you with tales of the newly-minted Cleveland Guardians dropping 17 runs on the Kansas City Chiefs, er, Royals. (Hey, they play right next to each other, what do you want?) Although they didn't quite get back to 17 again, they did keep that "1" lit up for a couple more days.
Monday saw the final game of a "wraparound" series in Kansas City, and that game saw the two teams locked up at 4 for most of those boring middle innings. The real breakthrough happens in the top of the 8th when rookie Steven Kwan becomes the first Clevelander to hit a bases-loaded triple at Kauffman Stadium since Casey Blake did it on May 24, 2007. That gave the Ohioans a 9-5 lead, but it took Oscar Mercado's otherwise-meaningless groundout in the 9th to flip the "1" back on. Mercado had homered back in the 4th to contribute to that 4-4 tie, and it made him just the third Clevleand batter to have a homer and 3 RBI in consecutive games at Kauffman. Jose Ramirez did it in July 2019, and Marty Cordova pulled it off in May 2001. Monday's 10-7 final (Andrew Benintendi homered in the 9th to try and make it interesting) was not only another "football" score similar to Sunday's 17-3, it was also the third time Cleveland had hit double digits in back-to-back games at "The K". They won by the non-football scores of 11-9 and 13-7 back in April 2012, and by counts of 16-3 and 14-5 in May 1998.
The Guardians' team bus then made the long trek across Missouri on I-70, then to Louisville via I-64, then up I-71 to finally cross back into Ohio. Before reaching their own end of I-71, however, they would stop in Cincinnati for the latest installment of the cross-Ohio "rivalry". And stop us if you've heard this one, but once again it's 4-4 in the middle innings, though it took the Reds until the 6th to finally tie things up. Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez both had RBI triples as part of Cleveland's 4 runs, which is going to make the 9th inning quite interesting.
Owen Miller leads off with a double for the Guardians, and then Gimenez gives them the lead with a 2-run shot. Hunter Strickland promptly hits Austin Hedges with the first pitch, sparking some, well, "interest" from the Cleveland dugout. Myles Straw doubles, Kwan walks, and up comes Jose Ramirez with the bases loaded. And down goes baseball into the right-field seats, the second grand slam ever hit by a Cleveland team (yes, including the Spiders) in Cincinnati. Travis Hafner took Joe Mays deep on July 1, 2006. That also gave Ramirez 6 RBI on the day, his fourth such game for the Cleveland franchise. Hafner also did that four times; the only ones with more are Manny Ramirez and Hal Trosky.
And remember, Ramirez and Gimenez both tripled earlier in the game before going yard in the 9th. Only one other pair of teammates in franchise history has had both hits in the same game: Lou Boudreau and Ken Keltner in Philadelphia on June 19, 1941.
Are you counting runs? Yep, it took until the 9th again, but that's three straight double-digit games for the Guardians. The franchise hadn't done that at all since May 2018, and hadn't done it with all three games on the road since a sweep of the White Sox in May 1999.
Now Back To The Hits
Spring has finally sprung in most places (we'll get back to you, Minnesota), and with the warmer weather, it feels like some players have a little extra spring in their bats. Or maybe they were just excited to be back on the field after the events of the winter. But did you notice all the 4-hit games that were out there this week? We did.
Jose Iglesias of the Rockies started the week by collecting 4 hits in their Monday game in Arlington. It's already a little strange that Colorado would be playing Texas in an interleague matchup so early in the year, but Iglesias winds up being just the third #9 batter in Rox history with a 4-hit game (since most of them have been pitchers). The others on that list are Juan Pierre on July 14, 2001-- also in Arlington, but at the old park across the street-- and John Thomson against the Marlins on June 1, 1997. The day before Pierre's 4-hit game in Arlington, Todd Walker had a homer and a triple despite the Rockies losing 10-2. And sure enough, C.J. Cron duplicated that feat on Monday as well.
Down in Atlanta, the Braves are off to a mediocre start at defending their title from 2021, and while the 2019-champion Nationals are nowhere near the buzzsaw of a few years ago, they do still enjoy pounding a division rival now and then. That brings us to Maikel Franco, formerly a division rival of both teams from his time in Philadelphia, but now in his first season with Washington. Franco went down to Truist Park on Monday and pounded out a 3rd-inning homer and a bases-loaded double in the 8th as the Nats dropped an 11-2 decision on the Braves. Franco had two other singles along the way and, oh, did we mention he batted 8th? That doesn't mean quite as much in the National League this year since the pitchers aren't in the 9-hole, but he's still just the third batter in franchise history to have 4 hits and 5 RBI from that low in the order. Orlando Cabrera did it on July 3, 2000, also in Atlanta, along with Larry Parrish in St Louis on May 29, 1977.
Franco was also the first Nationals batter with 5 RBI in a game in Atlanta, from any spot in the order, since (really) Stephen Strasburg did it on July 18, 2019.
Bronx Bombing
Vladimir Guerrero Jr had 4 hits on Wednesday as the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees 6-4. By itself, nice accomplishment. But drill down on that and you find that those 4 hits were a double and three homers. At Yankee Stadium. It's one of those games that you might dream about as a kid, especially when your dad is also a big-leaguer.
Vlad Jr broke up Gerrit Cole's no-hitter (such as it was) in the 1st inning with homer #1 to straightaway center. He then dumped a 2-run shot into the bullpen in the 3rd. Although the Yankees clawed back to within 4-3, Junior led off the 8th with a shot into the stands in left for the third home run, thus becoming the first Blue Jays batter ever to have a 3-homer game in New York, at any stadium. He also had a 3-homer game against the Nationals on April 27 of last year, joining Carlos Delgado and Edwin Encarnacion as the only players in Jays history to do it twice.
Throw in the 6th-inning double, and Vladdy is the first visiting player ever to have 4 hits, including 3 homers, at the "new" Yankee Stadium. The last to do so at the old place across the street was Geronimo Berroa of the A's on May 22, 1996.
And oh yeah, care to guess how many times Vlad Senior hit 3 homers in a game? Any game? Yep, that would be... none.
Keep It Realmuto
The "universal DH" being used for two of the last three MLB seasons has started to create some interesting lineup arrangements, with "pitcher" Shohei Ohtani batting 1st, and a bunch of National League DH's batting 9th where the pitcher used to be. For a few teams this has had the ripple effect of moving the catcher higher in the lineup, since most of them tend to be larger humans with bad knees who often get relegated to the 7- or 8-hole.
The Phillies are currently backstopped by J.T. Realmuto, who found himself batting 2nd when they went to Miami this weekend. In the opener on Thursday, he batted in every odd-numbered inning, collecting singles in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th, plus a walk in the 7th. That would be 4 hits, since by now you've picked up on the theme. The last Phillies catcher to collect 4 hits and a walk in a 9-inning game was Carlos Ruiz at Citi Field on September 25, 2011. But the last to also tack on a stolen base was Bert Adams who did it at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn on June 1, 1919.
The Phillies lost that opener on Thursday, 4-3, also making Realmuto the team's first player with 4 hits, a walk, and a steal in a loss since Mariano Duncan did that in Atlanta on May 10, 1994.
And unless you're a pitcher, 4 hits looks a lot better in a boxscore than 4 strikeouts. Because by Saturday, Realmuto had jumped up to the leadoff spot. And even though the Phillies cruised to a 10-3 win, Realmuto became the team's first backstop since at least 1900 to bat leadoff and whiff four times. It wasn't a complete loss, though; Realmuto reached on an error and ended up still scoring a run. That was another Phillies Phirst in the modern era; they'd never before had a leadoff batter record 0 hits and strike out 4+ times but also manage to score a run.
One other bizarre Phillies note: In between, Nick Castellanos provided the team's only run in Friday's 7-1 loss with a solo homer. As mentioned, the rules have changed. Castellanos was the Phils' designated hitter. In a National League park in Miami. And strangely, it's actually the second time that a Phillies DH has gone yard for their only run in an NL stadium. The other... was a home game. And it wasn't in 2020. It was in 2010. You may vaguely remember the protests surrounding that year's G20 economic summit in Toronto. Where, over safety concerns, the Jays moved their home series with the Phillies to Citizens Bank Park instead. Creating that rare scenario (at least until the doubleheader rules changed a couple years ago) where the home team bats first in its own park. That Jays/Phils series was played with AL rules, including the DH. The Phils batter who went yard in a 5-1 loss on June 26 of that year was Ryan Howard.
A Machado Made In Heaven
Then there is Manny Machado of the Padres, who saw all these 4-hit games going on around him this week and said, hey, I know how to get into this post. On Thursday against Atlanta he singled in the 1st (scoring on Eric Hosmer's single). And the 2nd (scoring on Luke Voit's double). And the 4th. And the 6th (scoring on a Voit single). And then taking matters into his own hands by homering in the 7th. That's not four hits, it's five. And 4 runs scored. Plus 2 stolen bases along the way. Only two others in the Padres' MLB history have recorded 5 hits and 2 steals in a game-- Gene Richards (July 26, 1977) and Tony Gwynn (August 11, 1987). Five days before Gwynn did that, he also had a 4-hit game that included 2 doubles, the last San Diego batter to do it against Atlanta before... nope, not Machado. That was Eric Hosmer's line in the same game on Thursday. The previous home game where the Padres had multiple players with 4 hits was on August 1, 2014, once again versus Atlanta. Tommy Medica had 5 hits and 4 runs scored that day, the last Padres hitter to do it before Machado on Thursday. (Everth Cabrera had the 4-hit game.)
As for the trifecta of 5 hits, 4 runs, and 2 steals, no player for any team has reached all three marks in the same game since then-Pirate Andrew McCutchen at Wrigley Field on May 14, 2010.
And all this adds up to a 12-1 thumping of the Braves, San Diego's second-largest win ever against Atlanta. They dropped a 17-2 at Petco on April 12, 2010. Atlanta's lone run on Thursday came on a 9th-inning homer by Ozzie Albies. The last time a Braves hitter broke up a 12-0 shutout (or worse) with a 9th-inning dinger, they weren't in Atlanta. They weren't even in Milwaukee. They weren't even commonly called the Braves yet. Tim Jordan did it for the Boston "Beaneaters" against Brooklyn on October 3, 1906, in a game they lost 13-4.
Bringing this all back to Cleveland, we find them still stuck in Cincinnati on Wednesday (there are worse places to be stuck, at least they have chili). And taking advantage of the MLB debut of Nick Lodolo, who gave up 7 hits, 5 runs, and 2 homers, the first Reds pitcher to do that in a debut since Eddie Priest in 1998. A couple of those hits belonged to Myles Straw, who ended up with four of them plus a stolen base. No Cleveland leadoff batter had posted that line in an NL park since Grady Sizemore in St Louis on June 28, 2006.
The Guardians finally returned home to guard, uh, Cleveland? over the weekend. And Straw began their defense on Saturday with some offense in the form of a leadoff triple. They hadn't hit one of those in any game since Francisco Lindor in Chicago on September 7, 2017, and had only ever hit one in a home interleague game. That was by Kenny Lofton against the Cardinals on July 8, 2001.
Straw tacked on a double later in the game, but alas, the fortress did not hold and the Giants took Cleveland (it's like "The Muppets Take Manhattan", but different) by a final of 4-2. Straw was thus the first Cleveland leadoff batter with a triple and a double in a home loss since Grady Sizemore against the Mariners on July 17, 2009.
Meanwhile, the Cubs' team bus had to go right past Cleveland to wind up a couple hours east in Pittsburgh. (These are jokes, we know that these days teams actually travel via wagon convoy to avoid detection.)
Tuesday proved to be another breakout game for the Cubs' latest Japanese phenom, Seiya Suzuki. Already hyped before the season started, Suzuki cranked 2 homers out of PNC Park to become the fourth Cubs batter in the modern era to have a multi-homer game within his first four MLB appearances. Jorge Soler and Javier Baez did it within a month of each other in August 2014; the only other entry on the list belongs to Brant Brown in June 1996. But the real story was the final score: Suzuki-- er, Cubs-- 2, Pirates 1. There are also only four games in Cubs history where the same player hit two solo shots and the team won the game by a 2-0 or 2-1 count. Fred McGriff did it against the Cardinals on June 21, 2002. Jose Cardenal did it against the Dodgers on May 31, 1975. And back on June 13, 1925, Charlie Grimm did it against the Braves. As an added bonus, all of those other games were at Wrigley Field, so Suzuki is the team's first-ever player to do it on the road.
In Wednesday's series finale, the Pirates responded by having Ke'Bryan Hayes get in on the 4-hit parade, but not until after Willson Contreras put the Cubs ahead with a 1st-inning homer. That meant Daniel Vogelbach led off with the Pirates already trailing. He and Hayes both singled to set up Ben Gamel's 3-run tater. It was Pittsburgh's first lead-flipping homer against the Cubs in the 1st inning since Garrett Jones took Randy Wells deep on August 2, 2011.
That would be all they needed. Kevin Newman added a 2-run triple to score Hayes and Gamel, with Hayes recording the earliest 4-hit game by a Pirate (5 games into the season) since Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte both did it in 2017. Wil Crowe shut down the Cubs for the final third of the game, becoming the first Pirates pitcher to get a 3-inning save while allowing 1 hit and striking out at least 4 since Cecilio Guante did that at Dodger Stadium on July 22, 1985.
On Thursday the Nationals came to PNC Park and collected 3 runs in the 1st off rookie Joan Adon. That meant-- wait for it-- Daniel Vogelbach leads off with the Pirates already trailing. This time, instead of singling and waiting for Gamel to homer, Vogey goes deep himself, the first leadoff homer the Pirates have hit when already down by 3 runs since Tike Redman against the Cardinals on August 12, 2003. This time it would be Vogey who went on to the 4-hit game, and he would also score 3 runs as the Pirates rallied for a 9-4 win. The last Pittsburgh batter with 4 hits and 3 runs scored, including a leadoff homer, was Andrew McCutchen, who also did it against the Nationals, on August 1, 2009.
It's A Hit... Except When It's Not
A Friend Of Kernels in the Minneapolis suburbs posted pictures of the couple inches of snow that fell in the area this week. So, no, it is not quite spring everywhere yet. (We told you we'd get back to you, Minnesota.) So if you were looking for hits, Target Field is not yet the place to find them.
The Mariners ended another of those funky wraparound series on Monday by getting shut out on 2 hits despite a gametime temp of 57� and the wind blowing out (according to MLB). One of those hits was in the 2nd inning, so we at least didn't have blaring no-hitter sirens (yet). The Mariners have played at all three variations on a Twin Cities stadium, but Target Field is the only place where they've ever been shut out on 2 hits-- and that's now happened three times. The others were August 29, 2012, a 10-0 loss to, of all pitchers, Sam Deduno; and August 1, 2010, when Francisco Liriano shut them down. Given that the Mariners also enjoy not hitting the ball in their own park, Monday's game tied them with the Tigers for the most 2-hit games (or fewer) since the start of 2019, having done it a whopping 17 times.
While the Mariners' team bus continued down I-94 to Chicago, the Dodgers made the trek to Target Field for the first time in nearly 8 years. As a housewarming gift they brought a Clayton Kershaw. And, well, yeah.
Remember last week how the Padres controversially pulled two starters with no-hitters intact? The Dodgers sent eight batters up in the 1st and already had a 2-0 lead (plus stranded the bases loaded) before Kershaw even threw a pitch. The Twins sent nine batters up in the first 3 innings combined. And then 12 through 4. And 15 through 5. And 18 through 6. Yes, we have a perfect game going at one of the four active stadiums that has never even seen a "regular" no-hitter. (Quick, name the others.) Byron Buxton goes down swinging. Luis Arraez hits a lazy fly ball to third. Gio Urshela grounds to second. Twenty-one up, twenty-one down. Kershaw has done this on only 80 pitches despite thirteen of those batters striking out (which usually requires some foul balls and "nibble" pitches). Kershaw's career high is 132 pitches, and while he's starting to age a bit, he still broke 100 four times last season. And then, what? He's done? He's done. Dave Roberts, no stranger to controversial moves, pulls Kershaw after 80 pitches with not just a no-hitter intact, but a perfect game.
(SunTrust/Truist Park in Atlanta, along with the current incarnations of Busch Stadium and Yankee Stadium. If you guessed Texas because it's new, remember Joe Musgrove from last year.)
Alex Vesia was a 12-year-old kid from northern California when Clayton Kershaw made his MLB debut. Probably safe to say Alex has followed him for most of his career. Here, Alex, take this baseball and finish what That Guy started. Also, by the way, there has never been a combined perfect game in MLB history. And, spoiler alert, there still hasn't been, because nobody wants to see that. Vesia got Jorge Polanco to ground out to start the 8th, but then Gary Sanchez roped a solid single to right and we're done here. But are we though?
In MLB's "modern era" (1901) there are now seven pitchers who have allowed 0 hits, 0 walks, and fanned at least 13 batters in a game. Kershaw on Wednesday was the first to not finish the game. But he was also one of the six who did finish the game. That was his no-hitter against the Rockies on June 18, 2014. The only thing that kept that from also being a perfect game was an error by Hanley Ramirez. And while we're at it, only one other Dodgers pitcher has ever struck out 13 opponents in an interleague game-- and that's also Clayton Kershaw. That was July 9, 2017, at Kansas City.
Gary Sanchez's line-drive single did not, however, open the proverbial floodgates. That would be the only hit of the game for the Twins, and though Target Field still hasn't seen a completed no-hitter, it's had its share of 1-hitters. Minnesota last posted 1 hit on September 8, 2018, against the Royals, when Jorge Lopez took a no-no into the 9th. But in 12-plus seasons at Target Field, the Twins have been held to 1 hit six times. They spent 21 years at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington (where the Mall of America now sits) and did it eight times. And in 28 seasons at the Metrodome, the Twins were held to 1 hit in a game... just once.
By the way, after checking in at Target Field for the first time since 2014, the Dodgers returned home to meet the Reds for a weekend series. In Sunday's finale Andrew Heaney watched his offense pile up 7 runs in the 4th, even as he was busy doing his best Clayton Kershaw impression. No, no perfect game. Not even a no-hitter after Kyle Farmer doubled in the 3rd. But that turned out to be the only hit Heaney allowed in 6 innings. And he struck out 11. Not quite Kershaw's line of 0 hits and 13 K, but close. And it turns out only two other sets of teammates in the live-ball era have had games where they allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, struck out at least 11, and gotten a win, within a 5-day span of each other. Think pitching staffs with two aces. Scherzer and Strasburg? Nope. Maddux and Glavine and Smoltz? Nope. But you might have gotten them. The only other pairings to pull that off so close together are Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson for the Diamondbacks in July 2001; and Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott of the Astros who did it on back-to-back days in September 1986.
Special recognition to Friend Of Kernels Mike Trainor (@trainonova) who threw us this question the other day. It might be springtime in most of the country, and so yes, the balls are starting to fly, but Arizona doesn't really have seasons, so they aren't quite sure when to come out of their shell and start hitting the ball. We covered their early futility last week. But it continued. By Friday the D'backs had played 7 games and not had more than 6 hits in any of them. Their team batting average was a paltry .135. Was that the worst 7-game start in MLB history?
Well, almost. The 2022 Diamondbacks were "outdone" only by the 2013 Pirates, who chunked up a .126 average over their first seven games before rebounding to finish 94-68 and actually make the postseason. Some of the most famous "awful" teams of all-time are still better, including the 2003 Tigers (.144), the 1969 Padres (.164), the 1962 Mets (.203), and the 1916 A's (.178). So anything is still possible. Hang in there D'backs fans. And stay with us for more #Kernels every Sunday night throughout the season.
Bottom Of The Bag
⚾ Jake Cronenworth, Wednesday: First Padres batter to have a 1st-inning triple in San Francisco since Tony Gwynn at Candlestick, April 23, 1991.
⚾ Dylan Cease, Friday: Became second pitcher in White Sox history to strike out 8+ and get a win in each of his first two appearances of a season. Other was Jack McDowell in 1991.
⚾ Sheldon Neuse, Monday: Second batter in A's history to hit a 9th-inning grand slam with the team already ahead by 7+ runs. Other is Bob Johnson on August 3, 1938.
⚾ Caleb Thielbar, Tue/Sun: First pitcher in Twins/Senators history to give up 3+ runs while recording no more than 1 out in each of his first two appearances of a season.
⚾ Shohei Ohtani, Saturday: First Angels leadoff batter with 3 runs scored, 3 driven in, and a stolen base, since Chone Figgins at Baltimore on August 16, 2009.
⚾ Dodgers, Wednesday: First game where their 7-, 8-, and 9-hitters all homered since Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp, and Hong-Chih Kuo all did it against the Mets on June 12, 2007.
⚾ Orioles, Friday: First game-winning walk ("shrimp" in baseball circles) of 2022. First time they've had one in extra innings against the Yankees since Chris Hoiles on June 25, 1993.
⚾ Nestor Cortes, Sunday: Third pitcher in Yankees history to allow 0 runs on 3 hits, strike out 12, and not get a win. Others are James Paxton in April 2019 and David Cone in April 1997.
⚾ Jonah Heim, Thursday: Third #9 batter in Rangers history to have 5 RBI and 3 runs scored in a game, joining Ramon Vazquez (in The 30-3 Game from 2007) and Bob Brower in 1987.
⚾ C.J. Cron, Monday: Second Rockies batter with a homer and a triple in the same game in Arlington. Todd Walker did it at the old place across the street on July 13, 2001.
⚾ Ozzie Albies, Saturday: First Braves batter ever to hit a leadoff homer at Petco Park. Ron Gant (twice in 1991) and Ralph Garr (1974) were the only ones to do it at The Murph.
⚾ Cedric Mullins, Tuesday: First grand slam hit by Orioles against Milwaukee since Jay Gibbons did it on June 13, 2003.
⚾ Nick Gordon, Friday: First Twins pinch-runner to score a run in the 1st inning since Lew Ford on June 17, 2007.
⚾ Diamondbacks, Sunday: First time ever shut out on 5 or fewer hits in a road game against the Mets (either stadium).
⚾ Kolten Wong, Wednesday: First triple by a Brewers hitter at Camden Yards since Matt Mieske off Arthur Rhodes on May 5, 1996.
⚾ Brewers, Monday: First time being shut out in Baltimore since August 21, 1989, against Jeff Ballard (who managed to throw an individual shutout with 0 strikeouts).
⚾ Gavin Lux, Friday: First Dodgers #9 batter with a triple and a stolen base since Don Newcombe (who, yes, was a pitcher) on May 26, 1955.
⚾ Dillon Peters, Wed/Sat: Second pitcher in live-ball era to throw 2+ hitless innings and get a win in both of his first two appearances of a season. Tom Henke did it for Toronto in July 1985.
⚾ Phillies/Marlins, Sunday: First game in modern era where there were 6+ hit-by-pitches, all by different pitchers and all to different batters.
⚾ Mets, Tuesday: First time ever collecting 3 or fewer hits at Citizens Bank Park and winning. Last such game at The Vet was April 23, 1991.
⚾ Aroldis Chapman, Thursday: First Yankees pitcher to face 3+ batters in a home game, walk all of them, and somehow not allow a run, since Art Schallock against Washington on August 9, 1951.
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