Historic Chases · 2026-04-23 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-04-23

No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: JR Ritchie earned his FIRST career win ▶︎ watch; Carlos Narváez hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 16 ▶︎ watch.

Yordan Alvarez has 74 total bases — projecting to 461, +1 vs Babe Ruth's 457 pace. Needs 276 more to reach 350.

Ildemaro Vargas sits at .357 — the last .400 season was Ted Williams in 1941.

History movers: Matt Olson — Franchise RBI: 22 now, pace 137.1, record 135 (Eddie Mathews) · Max Muncy — Franchise Home Runs: 8 now, pace 51.8, record 49 (Shawn Green).

Lines of the night: Evan Carter hit an INSIDE-THE-PARK home run — a half-dozen or so happen a season ▶︎ watch; Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 24 ▶︎ watch; Brett Baty hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 22 ▶︎ watch.

The so-what: through 26 team games, Yordan Alvarez sits 1 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (12 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

MUST TRACK: Oneil Cruz is on a 50/50 pace — 8 HR / 10 SB, projecting to 52/65. Only one player has ever done it — Shohei Ohtani's 54/59 in 2024. Every game matters from here.

The .400 burndown: Ildemaro Vargas carries a .357 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .409 clip the rest of the way (157-for-384). A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .405; an 0-for-4 raises it to .413.

On this date in 1964, Ken Johnson of the Astros threw a no-hitter (one of 2 thrown on this date).

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 8 HR / 10 SB — 22 homers short and 20 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 52/65.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Yordan Alvarez versus the great home-run seasons

Yordan Alvarez has 11 home runs through 26 team games, 1 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (12). Comparable chases finished with a median of 36; 7.6% reached 50 and 1.7% reached 60 (n=236).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-1 season

If Taylor Ward finishes at the current projection of 84, 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 52 home runs, set by George Foster in 1977. Sal Stewart projects to 52 and projects to tie it.

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 60 HR, and 150 RBI. Only 3 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. The recent company includes Sammy Sosa (2001), Sammy Sosa (1998), Babe Ruth (1927).

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Closest to .400