Even though it was Wednesday until the calendar officially flipped, there are also those who consider Memorial Day the "start of summer". Last week we brought you a 20-5 game, a couple of 16's from Chicago, a 13-12 walkoff, and whether you think it's summer yet or not, things sure do seem to be heating up.
We don't usually start these posts in Miami. But it's hard to pass up an old-fashioned Friday night Fish fry. In our highest-scoring game of the week, Richard Bleier dutifully played the part of "opener" for the Marlins for 1 inning. And he gave up a go-ahead run, for which Elieser Hernandez thanks him. Because that means Hernandez isn't also saddled with the "L" after giving up a 3-run homer to Mike Yastrzemski in the 2nd. Or a solo homer to Joc Pederson in the 3rd. Or a 2-run bomb to Thairo Hernandez in the 5th. Or a grand slam-- ooh, nope, so close-- just one more solo shot to Jason Vosler to drag the score up to 9-2 before finally leaving in the 6th.
Hernandez thus gave up four homers but somehow also hung around long enough to strike out seven Giants batters. It's an unusual combo achieved by only three pitchers in Marlins history-- and Hernandez is two of them. He also did it against Toronto on August 14, 2019. The first was Wei-Yin Chen at San Diego on June 13, 2016.
Naturally, if this were the end of things, this game would get relegated to a one-liner about Hernandez at the bottom of this post. But instead it jumps to the Head. That would be pitcher Louis Head, now charged with mop-up duty in the 7th. Single, double, two-out walk, 2-run double to Yaz. Another walk to reload the bases. And now comes your grand slam, courtesy of Brandon Crawford. He also drove in that stray run off Bleier in the 1st, giving both of them 5 RBI on the night. That happens often enough with the Giants going to Coors Field twice a year, but Friday was the first time two of their teammates did it in the same game against the Marlins.
The slam was the first one ever hit by a Giants batter at the current Marlins Park; Brent Mayne hit the only one at the old place way back on May 6, 1998. As for the old "home run cycle", the Giants hadn't done that as a team since April 23, 2014, at (where else?) Coors Field in a 12-10 extra-inning battle.
Wilmer Flores, who was on base for a lot of these homers, was the first Giants leadoff batter to collect 3 hits and 2 walks since Angel Pagán did it against his former Mets friends on September 17, 2013.
But PSA, kids, always make sure your Fish is done. Nick Fortes gets them one more run with a dinger in the 7th. And well, we might as well have a position player pitch in this thing. You probably remember outfielder-turned-pitcher Luis Gonzalez from his escapade of homering off "pitcher" Albert Pujols a few weeks ago. Yeah, it's not him. Because he got hit with a pitch to set up that 5-run outburst in the 2nd. And was replaced by Donovan Walton, who then stayed in the game at second base. And then became our Designated Position Player with a 12-run lead in the 9th. He "needed" just 21 pitches to retire the side, but that's mostly because backup infielders tend not to fool any batters with "movement" or "control". Jesús Sanchez, home run. Walk. Groundout. Nick Fortes, RBI single. Another quick grounder before Garrett Cooper singles him in. Wild pitch. And mercifully a line drive to center that doesn't carry quite enough. Your final is 15-6, not only the most runs the Giants have ever scored against the Marlins, but also their largest victory margin in a road game (either stadium).
As for Nick Fortes, he was the #9 batter for the Marlins in this new, um, universe of universal DHs. He is thus just the second non-pitcher ever to have 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs as the team's starting #9; the other was Brett Carroll in Toronto on June 14, 2009. And as we say, there's always someone left out. Not everyone likes Fish, after all. Curt Casali managed to become the third player in the modern era to have 0 hits and 5 strikeouts in a game where his team scored 15 runs. Jim Thome did it on April 9, 2000, in a 17-4 blowout of the Rays. And the first was another Giants batter, Steve Whitaker in Atlanta on April 14, 1970.
And some quick hits from Saturday's game where the Giants once again pounded out 5 extra-base hits... but this time without any of those pesky singles getting in the way. They had not done that in a road game, anywhere, since May 27, 1916, at Braves Field in Boston. Our buddy Donovan Walton, his pitching arm having recovered from Friday, connected for the first 3-run double ever hit by the Giants at Marlins Park. Their only one at the old place came in that same series where Brent Mayne hit the only grand slam there. J.T. Snow had that hit on the previous day, May 5, 1998.
But once again, make sure the Fish is done. On Saturday they were not. Tyler Rogers makes quick work of the 8th, but starts the 9th with a single and a hit batter. There's nobody out, so it's likely the Marlins might have walked off anyway, but Rogers then commits a balk to move the winning run to third. Which means all it takes is a sac fly from Sanchez, their second walkoff one ever against the Giants. Brian Anderson had the first off Hunter Strickland on June 13, 2018.
And even though Sunday's series finale was an un-scoreboard-busting 5-1 win for San Francisco, guess what happens again. Four of those runs come across when who else but Donovan Walton hit a grand slam in the 4th. So after 19 seasons and one grand slam (Brent Mayne) in the old place, then 10 seasons with no grand slams in the new place, the Giants just hit two there in three days. Because of course they did.
They Might Be Giants
The Giants did not arrive in Miami directly from San Francisco, however. No, that would be silly. Instead, like many of us on the east coast, they got routed through Philadelphia. And the layover went a little bit longer than planned. But at least they got a couple free drinks-- er, we mean runners-- out of it.
We go back to a special 4:00 start time on your Monday holiday (yes, that was really just this week), where we find the Giants and Phillies knotted at 2 in the late innings. By "knotted", we mean that since Wilmer Flores drove in both Giants runs with a homer in the 6th, neither team's even had a baserunner. They have to get home and finish grilling. Except someone else needs to score.
Evan Longoria can take care of that with a homer in the top of the 9th. Logan Webb is at 98 pitches after 8 innings, and Donovan Walton won't be ready to pitch for a few more days yet, so let's leave him out there. What could happen.
Well, pitch #100 could end up in Ashburn Alley, that's what. Kyle Schwarber ties this thing back up and finally ends Webb's day, so at least he can go finish grilling. He's become the first Giants pitcher to give up 3 homers in a game at Citizens Bank Park since Matt Cain on July 21, 2012. But he's also become the first Giants pitcher to give up 3 homers but also record 10 strikeouts, in any game, since Juan Marichal did that against the Mets on September 17, 1966.
Now our free drinks-- er, runners-- kick in. And Curt Casali, unaware that he will be striking out five times later in the week, goes deep in the 10th off Andrew Bellatti. Together with Longoria, it's the first time the Giants have hit a go-ahead homer in the 9th and a go-ahead homer in extras since July 12, 2019, in Milwaukee. However, it's amazingly the first time the Phillies have allowed the same combo since the Pirates did it to them on July 23, 1930.
Even though the Phillies are also going to score their freebie in the bottom half, it's not on a homer and the Giants hang on 5-4. It's their first extra-inning win in Philadelphia since a 3-2 battle on August 4, 2016. And then on Tuesday,...
Oh look, like an airplane in a holding pattern, it's 3-3 after 9 innings again. More free drinks-- er, runners (we keep doing that)-- for everybody! Jeurys Familia is going to sllow the Phillies their one run in the 10th, but no homers this time. He narrowly escapes when Joey Bart strikes out with the bases loaded. Camilo Doval gets two quick outs and maybe the Giants will squeak out another 1-run win. Nope, Alec Bohm once again drives home the Phillies' free run and off we go to the 11th. Which starts with Donovan Walton giving the Giants the lead again off Andrew Bellatti. Except here's where it gets different. Instead of waiting and playing another inning, Joc Pederson is going to choose now to homer and tack on 2 more runs for a 7-4 lead (and final). Although Casali just homered in the 10th yesterday, Pederson is the Giants' first batter to homer in the 11th or later in Philadelphia since Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell went back-to-back on May 15, 1989.
Curious about the last time the Giants won back-to-back extra-inning games in Philadelphia? Well, it was a doubleheader sweep. And it happened on Memorial Day. And it was Monday, May 30... of 1910!
Brother Can You Spare A Dime
We all know who's running away with the AL East (yeah, we're getting to you, settle down). There are a couple of teams who should just be running away. And they got to play a weird 5-game wraparound series created by the rescheduling of the first week of the season. There was a 12-2 thumping by the Red Sox over the Orioles last Sunday which we weren't really able to cover because deadlines. (Stuff needs to stop happening on Sundays.) But in Monday's finale the Orioles turned that table right around.
We should have known something was up when Austin Hays, the very first batter of the game, gets hit by a pitch. That's the third time that's happened to the Orioles this year (Cedric Mullins has the others), and all of them have been in road games. Since moving to Baltimore in 1954, the O's have never had that happen three times in road games in one season. It's not even June at this point.
Immediately Trey Mancini hits a trey-bagger to score Hays. Mancini would have scored himself, but he gets cut down trying to advance on a wild pitch. If only he had waited, it would be 3-0 when Ryan Mountcastle homers two pitches later. Mountcastle is also going to be the front end of a 2-run homer when Ramon Urias hits that in the 3rd, and he's going to bring an end to Rich Hill's night with an automatic double in the 5th. It's the famous "triple away from the cycle". (Stop it.)
Spoiler alert, he's not gonna get the triple. They never get the triple. He is going to ground into a double play to bring in Baltimore's seventh run. And he's going to score again when Anthony Santander hits a 3-run shot in the 9th, a first for the O's at Fenway since Chris Davis went yard off Craig Kimbrel on April 11, 2016. Mountcastle is only the fourth player in franchise history to have 4 hits and 4 runs scored in a game at Fenway, and all have been since the move. David Newhan did it in July 2004, Don Baylor in 1975, and Bob Johnson in 1965. Trey Mancini, meanwhile, went on to collect 3 hits and a walk after that early triple, the first O's batter to do that... Trey Mancini on Sunday. Only other O's/Browns batter has pulled that off in consecutive games against Boston, Melvin Mora in July 2004.
We didn't mention them all, but there was another triple, just not by Mountcastle. That was Jorge Mateo in the 2nd but he got stuck there after a pair of strikeouts. Regardless, it means the Orioles ended up hitting for a "double cycle", which is a thing we just made up. As a team they had 2 homers, 2 triples, 2 doubles, and 2 singles, something they hadn't done at Fenway Park since July 4, 1974. And you also might have noticed we didn't mention the Red Sox scoring any runs. Because they didn't. The 10-0 tied a game from July 13, 1967, as the Orioles' second-largest shutout ever at Fenway; the one bigger was an 11-0 on September 24, 1921.
Ah, but all visits to Boston must eventually come to an end. (We think that's in the definition of "visit" somehow.) So on Tuesday, the Orioles would look up at the scoreboard and once again see Visitors 10, Home 0. Problem is, it's their scoreboard. With the vintage Orioles clock and "THE SUN" newspaper logo where the H and E flash for scoring decisions. (It also might be going away after this season, as reported by The Athletic just two days later (paywall warning).)
After that 5-games-in-4-days series with Boston, the Orioles were forced to cobble together a "bullpen" game for Tuesday against the Mariners, and let's just say they don't have a lot of options. Bryan Baker faced the first seven batters and got charged with 3 runs. Zac Lowther, normally a starter for triple-A Norfolk, got his MLB season debut after that. Lowther's last 5 starts in Norfolk averaged 81 pitches. On Tuesday he got left out there to throw 100. And give up 8 hits. And 6 more runs. By the end of this, the "bullpen game" is being finished by Chris Owings, whose previous experience in a bullpen involved giving up 2 homers to the Rangers in a 16-1 blowout three years ago.
So at least he didn't do that. In fact the Mariners didn't hit a single home run in the game. (Neither did the Orioles, you might have figured out.) Only once before had Seattle reached double digits at Camden Yards without a homer, July 26, 1998, when Jamie Moyer outdueled Scott Erickson. Taylor Trammell, who collected 2 doubles and a sac fly, became just the fifth Mariners hitter ever to do that batting 8th or 9th; the rest of that list is the fun collection of Jose Lopez (2004), Jeff Cirillo (2003), Ryan Jackson (1999), and Tom Paciorek (1978).
On the other side, George Kirby threw 6 scoreless innings and struck out 8 for the Mariners, becoming the second Seattle pitcher to post that line against the O's in this century. Chris Young did it on July 26, 2014. Randy Johnson did it a bunch of times before that, but he left the Mariners in 1998.
Not surprisingly, the exchange of 10-0 scores was the first time in Orioles/Browns history they had won a double-digit shutout and lost a double-digit shutout (either order) in consecutive games.
Memorial Day always used to be ripe for doubleheaders, along with the other in-season holidays, Independence Day and Labor Day. Everyone's got the day off, the sunsets are much later so we don't have to call that second game because of darkness, let's play two. On Monday, due mostly to travel schedules, the Yankees and Angels did not play two. In fact they played zero. If they had played even one on Memorial Day, they might have been spared from playing two on Thursday after losing a game due to rain. And of course, then it rained again.
Before it rained, however, Matt Carpenter was randomly thrust into the leadoff spot in just his sixth game with the Yankees. He hadn't batted leadoff at all in nearly three years, and hadn't done it regularly since August of 2018. So might as well make the most of it by hitting the Yankees' first leadoff homer against the Angels since Brett Gardner in May of 2018. Carpenter at least did take a lot of practice swings, however. He fouled off seven pitches from Shohei Ohtani before finally launching number 11 into the short porch. In the era of complete pitch counts, generally considered to begin in 1988, we know of only eight "leadoff" homers to take 11 or more pitches, and two of them are this year. Kolten Wong hit a 12-pitch one on May 4. The Yankee record for such a thing had been eight pitches.
Gleyber Torres followed with another homer later in the inning. As does Aaron Judge leading off the 3rd. This is enough to knock Ohtani off the mound (but not out of the game, confusing a few of our Yankee-fan followers on Twitter), joining Scott Kazmir (2010) and Jered Weaver (twice) as the only Angels pitchers to allow 8 hits and 3 homers at the current Yankee Stadium. Jhonathan Diaz would be on the mound by the 5th, at which point DJ LeMahieu greets him with another dinger. It's the first time ever that the Yankees have led off three different innings against the Angels with solo homers.
Nestor Cortes lasted 7 innings without giving up a run, lowering his ERA to 1.50. Cortes's first 10 appearances of the season have all been starts, and he's allowed a total of 10 earned runs in them, the first Yankees pitcher to pull that off since Phil Niekro in 1984. Wandy Peralta threw just 6 pitches before a large swath of rain overtook New York in the bottom of the 8th of a 6-1 game. Just a tiny bit of improvement in #PaceOfPlay would have been perfect. Or even those 7-inning doubleheaders we were subjected to for the past two seasons. Let it rain between games and be done by the time the night game starts at 7. But nope. Pull that tarp and let's sit here and wait. (Again, an incredible series of replies to the Yankees on Twitter, many of them from angry problem-gamblers, even though the Yankees have no say in calling the game.) Since relievers often warm up several times, Peralta can easily come back and get the final three outs to end our "1:00" game at 5:43.
(Other fun "rule book" fact: It is also not the team's decision whether to start the second game of a doubleheader. It's not even necessarily the second game's umpires. It's the crew chief from the first game who, if he had the plate, wouldn't even work the second game and could be back at the hotel by now.)
The night game gets handed to Jameson Taillon, who has not yet thrown a no-hitter, against Reid Detmers, who through some strange ruling of the baseball gods, has. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will spoil Detmers' bid for a repeat in the 2nd inning. And Jared Walsh will break up Taillon's effort in the... *checks notes* 8th? And not just a no-hitter either, a perfect game. 21 up, 21 down, after which you want to insert John Sterling's line about "baseball immortality" from David Wells' PG. And even Walsh's hit was a tough play that went off the glove of a diving Kiner-Falefa. It was scored a double, but you always prefer a "clean" hit. That came later when Kurt Suzuki's no-doubt single scored Walsh. And did we mention that was also the first run of the game. For either team. Taillon was at risk of having another Rays-style no-hitter that doesn't count because it's a scoreless tie.
But you know the Yankees will come back, because it's just what they do. Oliver Ortega is entrusted with this 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th, and that only ends double, walk, wild pitch, stolen base, walk, then 2-out, pinch-hit, 2-run single by Anthony Rizzo off Archie Bradley. Only one other Yankees batter has had a lead-flipping pinch hit (any variety) in the 8th or later of a home game against the Angels; Ken Griffey Sr homered off Donnie Moore on May 24, 1986.
The Angels then loaded the bases in the 9th on a walk and a pair of hit batters, but Luis Rengifo, who provided the lone run in the day game, grounds out to short. That means the 2 hits off Taillon in the 8th were the only ones the Angels got, their first time being held to that few in a game at Yankee Stadium since Fritz Pederson outpitched Nolan Ryan on June 2, 1973-- 49 years earlier to the day. And the finals of 6-1 and 2-1 were the Angels' first time being held to 1 run in both games of a twinbill since September 12, 1976, in Chicago.
By the way, the Angels would head down I-95 (and it IS all signed I-95 now) to get whacked 10-0 in Philadelphia on Friday. That, plus the entire 3-game series in New York, marked the first time the Angels had been held to 1 run in four straight games since June 27-30, 2008, by the Dodgers and A's.
Cole Slaw
So on Friday the Detroit Tigers pull into the Port Authority Bus Terminal and trudge their way up to the sandlots of Washington Heights to face the Yankees. (Continuity alert: Port Authority wasn't built until 1950 by which time the Yankees were already in the Bronx. We know. Don't @ us.)
Gerrit Cole is notoriously good. The Tigers are notoriously, um, not. This isn't one of those "flip the script" things, this is gonna play out exactly as you think. We were looking up no-hitter facts by the end of the 3rd. The part we didn't expect was just how much the Yankees would bust out.
Elvin Rodriguez is the lucky Tigers pitcher who gets to give up a pair of homers in the 3rd to Jose Trevino and (of course) Aaron Judge again. That's still the score when Trevino comes up again in the 4th and hits a 2-run triple. He's already become the first Yankees batter to homer and triple in a home game against Detroit since Joe Pepitone did it on June 4, 1967. He'll score on what's called a "timing play" when Aaron Hicks singles but gets thrown out stretching to end the inning. Suddenly it's 5-0 with Gerrit Cole being perfect through 5.
There wasn't much Elvin magic in the 6th either. Walk, single, 3-run homer to Rizzo. Then a single by Miguel Andujar and another Carpenter dinger. That would be 10 runs and 4 homers, something no Tigers pitcher had allowed in any game since Jake Wade did it against the Senators on September 9, 1936. When DJ LeMahieu brought home 2 more runs off Jacob Barnes, it marked the Yankees' first 7-run inning against Detroit since August 27, 2014, at Comerica.
So it's 12-0 and Gerrit Cole is still spinning a perfect game. The no-hitter list (see link in top navbar) tells us that the Yankees are the first team this year to take three bids into the 7th or later. And by now we're wondering which position player is going to pitch for the Tigers, just as Brett Phillips did for the Rays last month-- strangely in the Reid Detmers no-hitter we just referenced.
But after "20 up, 20 down!" ("Baseball immortality!") Jonathan Schoop is going to dump a line drive over a leaping Isiah Kiner-Falefa to wipe away all our no-hitter notes, including the one that said the Tigers had also been no-hit on the same day 104 years ago by "Dutch" Leonard of the Red Sox, who would later become a Yankee (although never play because he held out for his entire salary up-front) and then a Tiger.
When Aaron Judge tacks on a 13th run, but is also thrown out stretching at second, the Yankees have their third-largest shutout ever against the Tigers. There have been a pair of 15-0's, one at home on August 4, 1953, and the other at Tiger Stadium on June 22, 1958. And if you're keeping track-- which we are-- the Tigers have been held to 3 hits or fewer in a game a whopping fifty-seven times in the past five seasons. The Diamondbacks (45) and Reds (43) are a distant next on that list.
Mm, better make that 58.
We were at least spared a third consecutive day of perfect-game drama when Miguel Cabrera singled to lead off the 2nd on Saturday. Derek Hill drew a meaningless walk in the 3rd. And then, um, well, nothing. Luis Severino retired 13 straight, plus the runner represented by Hill's walk got thrown out stealing. Sevy became the first pitcher in Yankees history whose line against the Tigers showed 1 hit allowed and 10 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, after The Matt Carpenter Experiment, Aaron Judge is back to hitting leadoff, and he doesn't need 11 pitches. We know he's going to homer (and frankly, he does too). He's going to do it on the first pitch the Yankees see in the game, which hadn't happened since DJ LeMahieu off Baltimore's John Means on August 13, 2019. It was the first leadoff homer against Detroit since Derek Jeter took Justin Verlander deep on June 3, 2012 (10 years plus 1 day earlier).
This limps along to only a 3-0 final, but Michael King and Clay Holmes also have perfect innings out of the Yankees bullpen. So the Tigers finish with only the two baserunners against Severino. They had not been shut out on 3 or fewer hits in consecutive games since the final two days of the 1995 season (when they were 26 games out, so who cares), and they'd never done it against the Yankees. And combined with that 2-hitter against the Angels on Thursday night, it means the Yankees allowed only 6 total hits over a 3-game span, the first time in franchise history that's happened.
It's In The Cards
Okay, enough with the teams who can't score. You know who you are, and it's dull to write about a 3-1 game where someone goes 2-for-4 with a double. (Looking at you, AL West.) Let's bring our "Carousel" (See what we did there?) back around to those teams who were dropping dimes and even a few extra pennies.
Last week about half this post was focused on Chicago and the big scores both its teams were involved in. Much like the Orioles above, we're not saying Chicago had the big score, we're just saying they were present for the game. So this week it's the Cubs' turn to be at home and play one of those puzzling 1:20 Friday afternoon games due to the special city ordinance shoved through by area restaurants when the lights arrived in 1988.
Alas, much like last week, it's still not Chicago's turn to have the big number on the scoreboard. Nope, that would be the archenemy Cardinals who seem to turn up around these parts every couple weeks. (Fun fact: Of the nine Sunday Night Baseball games so far this season, eight of them have involved the Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, or Cardinals.) And this weekend would involve another of those doubleheaders created by the postponement of the first week of the season. But first we must get through Friday.
Or should we say, Marcus Stroman must get through Friday. He does strike out seven batters, including four of the first six, but then, um, well. Lars Nootbaar (which is just fun to say and sounds like it should be an edible product of some kind) doubles to score a run but gets thrown out stretching at third. (Perhaps a Lars Nootbaar product is therefore not an energy-booster.) With 2 outs in the 3rd, Paul Goldschmidt unleashes a 3-run homer which flips the lead because Patrick Wisdom had homered for the Cubs earlier. (Yes, just like last week, the Cubs actually led 3-0 at one point in this game.) Goldy also hit a lead-flipping homer at Wrigley on September 6, 2020, and joins five other Cardinals who have done it multiple times: Ken Boyer, Ripper Collins, Pedro Guerrero, Joe Medwick, and Stephen Piscotty.
It is the 4th when things really unravel for Stroman. Solo homer by Corey Dickerson. With 2 outs, single, stolen base, two more singles, and a 3-run dinger by Nolan Gorman. Suddenly it is 9-4 and Stroman will meet you at one of those restaurants who are worried that they'll lose business if the Cubs play night games on Fridays. Only two other Cubs pitchers have ever allowed 10 hits and 9 earned runs in a game against the Cardinals, all recently. Carlos Villanueva did it on April 12, 2014, and Carlos Zambrano was the first on August 9, 2008.
By the bottom of the 6th St Louis has a 12-4 lead and let's give Zack Thompson a really long leash. He's going to end up finishing out the game, getting the Cardinals' first 4-inning save since Kent Bottenfield during the team's first-ever series in Arizona, on June 14, 1998. The Marlins (July 1995) are the only team to have a longer drought without one.
After 8 innings it is 12-5 and oh yeah, there's a doubleheader tomorrow. Think we're gonna concede this one by having the Designated Hitter (who, by rule, bats instead of the pitcher) actually become the pitcher. That would be Frank Schwindel in the 14th such occurrence in history (not involving an Ohtani, which gets deep into the weeds of the rule). The last DH to then, um, pitch for himself?, was Albert Pujols in that Sunday-night game a few weeks ago. What could go wrong.
Well, he does get two hard lineouts to the outfield. But after two batters and five whole pitches, the Cardinals just might have figured this guy out. Corey Dickerson, another homer. Then Lars Nootbaar, like that long stream of caramel if you break open a Nootbaar just right (we sense a commercial here), lofts one to right-center, marking just the third time the Cardinals have ever hit multiple homers with 2 outs in the 9th at Wrigley. The aforementioned Albert Pujols and David Freese did it on May 30, 2010, while Paul DeJong and Marcell Ozuna went back-to-back on May 5, 2019.
All told the Cardinals collected 14 runs and 5 homers, another "third" in their storied Wrigley Field history. It also happened July 20, 2018 (also their last 9-run win in Chicago), and way back on April 18, 1925, in a 20-5 win, which of course harkens back to the Cubs' 20-5 loss in Cincinnati just last week.
As for Frank Schwindel, he's suddenly got a unique place in Cubs history too. Before switching over and becoming the Designated Pitcher (?), he recorded 2 hits and drew 2 walks at the plate. Only one other Cubs player in the modern era has done that while also giving up 2 homers as a pitcher. And that was an actual pitcher, Tom Hughes. He did it in the second game the Cubs ever played in the "modern era", at Robison Field (near the fairgrounds and now the site of Beaumont High School) on April 20, 1901.
Ah, but Frank Schwindel taketh away, Frank Schwindel giveth. Or something awkward like that. In the day game of Saturday's twinbill, Schwindel was back at first base, which generally doesn't involve a huge amount of throwing, so he can rest his pitching arm. Except that's also the arm he uses to hit home runs, which he did in the 5th inning to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. It turns out most Cubs position players traditionally get a day off after the ordeal of having to pitch. And thus, with the exception of Hal Jeffcoat, who was turned into a pitcher late in his career, Schwindel is the first Cubs position player to give up a homer in one game and then hit a homer in the team's next game.
The Cubs won Saturday's day game by an easy 6-1 score, but the night game is locked up 3-3 and headed for extra innings. (Those restaurant owners must be getting really nervous by now, but maybe the zombie runners will stop by for some wings after the game.) Also possibly nervous: Cubs pitcher Michael Rucker, who does the following: Walks Nolan Arenado, double to Brendan Donovan, wild pitch, single to Harrison Bader, single to Yadier Molina, grabs a towel. When Bader scores later, it means 4 runs on 0 outs, the first Cubs pitcher to do that while also uncorking a wild pitch since Jeff Stevens against Cincinnati on July 4, 2010. It also was the first time the Cardinals scored 4 runs in an extra inning at Wrigley since a 9-5 win on August 10, 1983.
Jason Heyward would double home the Cubs' free runner to make the final score 7-4. That was also Chicago's 12th hit of the game, just as they'd done in the day game. The last time-- win or lose-- that the Cubs collected 12 hits in both games of a twinbill was against the Phillies on September 5, 1988.
Don't Be Fooled By The Rox That I Got
We started off this post in Miami with the Marlins getting smacked around by the Giants and many of the Giants' "first time since" notes ending in (or excepting) Coors Field because they're in the division. So let's have these two things collide as the Marlins and Rockies play another of those pesky doubleheaders on Wednesday. This one is your traditional "let's play two", 18-for-the-price-of-9, single-admission doubleheader instead of making you buy two tickets, because realistically, much like the AL East, very few people would do that to see these two teams. And as it turns out, you're going to get more than 18 for the price of 9. You're going to get 40.
No, we don't mean innings. We've still only had one free-runner game go beyond 13, so that's probably not happening anytime soon. (Watch, it'll happen tomorrow, because baseball.) After a 7-1 win on Monday where all the Rockies' runs scored in the 7th and 8th innings, we're sure Antonio Senzatela was itching to get out there on Tuesday. Until it rained. Something-something about pitchers and "rhythm".
Two singles in the 1st but strands them both. Three singles in the 2nd. Two more singles in the 3rd but double play. Two singles plus a 3-run homer by Jazz Chisholm in the 4th. Avisail Garcia adds another RBI single and it's 5-0. Despite an unblemished 5th, Senzatela is done in the 6th having thrown 85 pitches and given up thirteen hits. Chris Rusin, on May 5, 2016, was the last Rockies pitcher left out there long enough to give up 13 hits, and that was in San Francisco. Nobody had done it at Coors since Jeff Francis on April 21, 2007.
You probably remember Jhoulys Chacin from his first stint with the Rockies. He's back. He's not a starter anymore since the Brewers rode him for nearly 200 innings in 2018. But he can still come in and give up back-to-back doubles to Garrett Cooper and Jorge Soler and then leave with the Marlins now up 8-0. You probably don't remember Chad Smith. He's new here. He was actually drafted by the Marlins but traded for Jesús Tinoco two years ago. Hung out in Albuquerque before making his MLB debut last Sunday. And hey, thanks Marlins for drafting me back in '16, here, have 6 more runs.
Single, hit batter, flyout, walk, single, single, flyout, single, walk, double, now we're taking one for the team, flyout by batter number 11 to end the inning. It is now 14-0 Marlins, the first time they have ever hit that mark in the first game of a doubleheader, and their first time scoring 14 at Coors Field since that famous 18-17 walkoff game on July 4, 2008. Only one other Rockies pitcher has given up 6 earned runs to the Marlins while getting no more than 3 outs. Scott Aldred did it in the very first series the teams played against each other, at Mile High Stadium on April 25, 1993.
So it is 14-0 and Zach Pop will, um, pop out of the bullpen to finish the game. Which technically he will. But never do the shutout notes early. Brendan Rodgers takes him for a 1-out double. And then with 2 outs and 2 strikes, Jose Iglesias spoils it. That is the first RBI in Rockies history to break up a shutout of seven runs or more when the team was down to its final out. Ignoring the shutout part, it's also the fourth RBI hit in Rockies history when trailing by 14 and down to their last out. The others on that list are Cory Sullivan (2008), Chris Iannetta (2007), and Quinton McCracken (1996).
We should probably mention Edward Cabrera, who is pitching this gem for the Marlins on the other side, even though he doesn't really need to be. He gave up 1 hit and struck out 9 before departing in the 7th, joining Jose Fernandez (2013), Anibal Sanchez (2011), and Josh Johnson (2011) as the only Marlins pitchers to do that and get a win in a road game. It also wasn't perfect; Cabrera also became the second pitcher in Marlins history to strike out 9+ but also walk four batters and hit two more. That "honor" belongs to (who else?) A.J. Burnett against Houston on April 25, 2002.
Mister Ro(d)gers' Neighborhood
After an unnecessarily-long break to sell hot dogs and beer between games, we return for Game 2. Where the first meaningful confrontation is between pitcher Trevor Rogers and infielder Brendan Rodgers. Here's how the first meeting went. But no worries, Willians Astudillo will flip the lead back to the Marlins in the 3rd. Rogers walks Rodgers the second time around, but then he also walks Jose Iglesias and later gives up a bases-loaded triple to Ryan McMahon. Flip it back, it's 5-3 and German Marquez will go out there again for the 4th.
Nine pitches in, 2-run homer by Jesús Sanchez and we're tied. Miguel Rojas then pulls this off, setting up a go-ahead groundout by Jacob Stallings. Yep, we have a Coors Classic on our hands, and that's not a throwback to an old beer recipe.
One Mr. Rogers has now departed, but the other Mr. Rodgers is only departing baseballs. Brendan hits another homer to lead off the 5th aganist Louis Head, who then proceeds to give up two more hits before leaving quickly. And we're back to Richard Bleier, of "opener" fame from the Marlins' game on Friday. He proceeds to give up back-to-back doubles which flip this thing back to the Rockies, 9-7. By the time "middle relief" has worked out its issues on both sides, this game is 11-11 with three innings left to play.
By which we mean four. Anthony Bass and Daniel Bard finally settled down and got the last 9 outs without incident. But that means we're off to free-runner land again, in a game that really doesn't need them. Clearly these teams are scoring at will. Save it for the 1-1 snoozefests where nobody's had a hit since the 4th. Bard is charged with the top of the 10th for Colorado, and all he does is give up two walks to load the bases. That sets up Avisail Garcia's sac fly for a 12-11 lead. Garcia had previously knocked a pinch-hit single to flip the lead in the 6th, the first Marlins batter ever to have such a hit at Coors Field. Now he is the first Marlins batter with 3 RBI in a road game that he didn't start Ichiro Suzuki in Philadelphia on August 22, 2017. And Daniel Bard is the second pitcher in Rockies history to allow 0 hits but also walk four hitters and get a win. Ubaldo Jimenez did it in their only no-hitter back on April 17, 2010.
Wait, get a win? Didn't he just give up the go-ahead run to make it 12-11? Well, yes. Welcome Cole Sulser to the mound for the bottom of the 10th. With Brendan Rodgers leading off. Rodgers, of two home runs earlier in the game. We could intentionally walk him. We could pitch around him. Heck, we have a 12-11 lead, we've got a run to play with. Nah, let's throw him meatballs and watch this happen. It's the second walkoff homer ever for the Rockies in extra innings against the Marlins. Dustan Mohr hit the other on August 8, 2005. Only four other Rockies have hit an extra-inning walkoff homer when trailing against any opponent: Charlie Blackmon (2019), Ryan Spilborghs (2009), and Dante Bichette (twice). And if you're counting, that's the third homer of the night for Rodgers. The only other player in Rockies history with three dingers, the last of which was a walkoff, is Todd Hollandsworth against Arizona on April 15, 2001.
So there are your 40 runs, 14-1 in the first game and 13-12 in the second. No team had scored 12+ runs in both games of a twinbill since, appropriately, the Twins did it in Baltimore on September 13, 2008. But Minnesota won both those games, 12-2 and 12-6. The last team to score 12 in both games and not win them both was the Cardinals in Cincinnati on September 7, 1993. If that date looks familiar, yes, they very-similarly lost the first game on a walkoff triple by Reggie Sanders, then dominated the second game thanks to 4 home runs by Mark Whiten.
Bottom Of The Bag
⚾ Josh Hader, Monday: First Brewers pitcher to get saves in both games of a doubleheader since Jim Henderson, also at Wrigley, on July 30, 2013.
⚾ Mariners, Friday: First game in Arlington where they scored 4 runs on 5 or fewer hits since September 28, 1995.
⚾ A.J. Pollock & Santiago Espinal, Wednesday: First game in Toronto history (either stadium) were both teams hit a leadoff homer.
⚾ J.T. Realmuto, Saturday: First Phillies catcher with 3 doubles in a game since Mike Lieberthal in Montreal on July 8, 2001.
⚾ Alejandro Kirk, Tuesday: Second designated hitter in Blue Jays history to have a multi-homer game against the White Sox. Fred McGriff did it on August 4, 1987.
⚾ Jace Peterson, Thursday: First Brewers #9 batter with a triple and 3 RBI in a game since Jesse Levis against the Royals on June 17, 1996.
⚾ Yordan Alvarez, Sunday: Second Astros batter to have a homer and a triple in the same game against the Royals. George Springer on June 24, 2016.
⚾ Brewers, Friday: Second game ever being held to 1 hit by San Diego. The other was August 16, 1998, when Kevin Brown lost the no-hitter in the 7th.
⚾ Matt Olson, Tuesday: First Braves batter ever to have a 4-hit, 4-RBI game against the Diamondbacks.
⚾ Bryan Reynolds, Wednesday: Second Pirates batter ever to have 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored in a game at Dodger Stadium. Other is Brian Giles on September 4, 2000.
⚾ Padres, Fri-Sat: First time ever winning back-to-back games in Milwaukee via shutout (any score).
⚾ Taylor Rogers, Thursday: First Padres pitcher to allow 4 runs while getting 0 outs and a loss since Dale Thayer at Tampa Bay on May 10, 2013.
⚾ Ronald Acuña, Sunday: First Braves leadoff batter with 4 hits, 3 runs scored, and a stolen base in the same game since Willie Harris against the Cardinals on July 21, 2007.
⚾ Jon Gray, Wednesday: Third pitcher in Rangers/Senators history to strike out 12 but also commit a balk, joining Jose Guzman (1988) and Bobby Witt (1986).
⚾ Austin Riley, Saturday: First Braves batter with a homer and a triple in the same game at Coors Field since Freddie Freeman on May 6, 2012.
⚾ Lane Thomas, Friday: First Nationals batter (2005) ever to have 3 homers in a road game. Ryan Zimmerman did it up the road in Baltimore on May 29, 2013.
⚾ Nico Hoerner, Monday: Second batter in Cubs history with 3 hits, 3 RBI, and 2 steals, but 0 runs scored himself. Other is Kiki Cuyler against the Reds on May 18, 1929.
⚾ Matt Liberatore, Thursday: First Cardinals starter to five up 3 homers at Wrigley Field since Jeff Suppan on July 23, 2010.
⚾ Andres Gimenez, Sunday: First Cleveland batter whose 3- or 4-run homer in the 1st inning stood up for a win (i.e., no other scoring) since Michael Brantley against the Yankees on August 25, 2012.
⚾ Ian Anderson, Thursday: First Braves pitcher to give up 10 hits, but also strike out 9 and get a win, since Greg Maddux against the Reds on August 22, 1997.
⚾ Jose Berrios, Saturday: Became the third pitcher ever to have a 12-strikeout game for the Twins/Senators and also against them. The others are Eric Erickson in 1918-19 and Harry Harper in 1914-20.
⚾ Mets, Tuesday: First home game against the Nats/Expos where every starter had at least 1 hit since June 20, 1989. And they lost that game, because, well, Mets.
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