Historic Chases · 2026-04-21 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-04-21

No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: Peyton Pallette earned his FIRST career win; Dane Myers hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 22 ▶︎ watch.

Taylor Ward has 12 doubles — projecting to 81, +2 vs Earl Webb's 67 pace. That pace would be the most doubles in any season since 1901. Needs 38 more to reach 50.

Andy Pages sits at .366 — the last .400 season was Ted Williams in 1941.

History movers: Sal Stewart — Franchise RBI: 24 now, pace 162, record 149 (George Foster); Franchise Home Runs: 8 now, pace 54, record 52 (George Foster) · Yordan Alvarez — Triple Crown (MLB); RBI: 24 now, pace 156, record 191 (Hack Wilson).

Lines of the night: Sam Antonacci hit an INSIDE-THE-PARK home run — a half-dozen or so happen a season ▶︎ watch; Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery went BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK — back-to-back-to-back happens a few times a season; Ke'Bryan Hayes hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 22 ▶︎ watch; Jakob Marsee hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 24 ▶︎ watch; Coby Mayo hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 19 ▶︎ watch.

The .400 chase: Andy Pages went 0-for-1 last night and saw his average slip 4 points to .366. The gap to .400 is now .034.

The so-what: through 25 team games, Yordan Alvarez sits 1 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (11 at this point). That's the number that decides whether this season becomes a chase or a footnote.

That morning's stakes

What we were watching

01

MUST TRACK: Oneil Cruz is on a 40/40 pace — 6 HR / 10 SB, projecting to 42/70. Only five players have ever done it: Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, Soriano, and Ohtani. Every game matters from here.

02

The .400 burndown: Andy Pages carries a .366 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .407 clip the rest of the way (202-for-496). That is .001 harder than yesterday. A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .404; an 0-for-4 raises it to .411.

03

Streak ladder: the Mets have lost 12 straight — 9 shy of the 2024 White Sox (AL record) (21); 11 shy of the 1961 Phillies (modern record) (23).

04

On this date in 2018, Sean Manaea of the Athletics threw a no-hitter (one of 3 thrown on this date).

05

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 6 HR / 10 SB — 24 homers short and 20 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 42/70.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Yordan Alvarez versus the great home-run seasons

Yordan Alvarez has 10 home runs through 25 team games, 1 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (11). Comparable chases finished with a median of 34; 5.2% reached 50 and 1.2% reached 60 (n=422).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play
If the pace holds

A projected top-1 season

If Ernie Clement finishes at the current projection of 70, it would be the most doubles in any season since 1901 — no season on record has finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021
Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 121 RBI, set by Carlos Pena in 2007. Yandy Díaz projects to 120 and projects to finish 1 short.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021
Only X seasons ever

Yordan Alvarez is building a rare combination

At his current pace, Yordan Alvarez would reach at least 190 hits, and 60 HR. Only 2 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. The recent company includes Sammy Sosa (1998), Babe Ruth (1927).

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021
Closest to .400
.366AVG
5 consecutive hits needed to reach .400
LONG SHOT
Home Run Leader
10HR
65 projected HR · 1 behind Bonds's 73 pace
Hits Leader
31H
209 projected H · 8 behind Suzuki's 262 pace
Stolen Base Leader
11SB
71 projected SB · 9 behind Henderson's 130 pace
Doubles Leader
122B
81 projected 2B · +2 vs Webb's 67 pace
Triples Leader
33B
21 projected 3B · 2 behind Wilson's 36 pace
Triple Crown Watch (MLB)
.330· 10 HR · 24 RBI
4 / 1 / 1 in AVG/HR/RBI league ranks — full board on the Watch page
30/30 Club Pace
6/10HR/SB
42/70 projected HR/SB · team-game pace · 11 others in the hunt
ON PACE
Wins Leader (Team)
Braves
16W
108 projected wins · record 116
NEAR PACE
Run Differential Leader
Braves
+55
+371 projected run differential