Historic Chases · 2026-04-28 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-04-28

No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: Victor Scott II hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 28 ▶︎ watch; Hunter Barco took a PERFECT GAME into the 7th — broken up by a walk ▶︎ watch.

Taylor Ward has 13 doubles — projecting to 73, +1 vs Earl Webb's 67 pace. That pace would be the most doubles in any season since 1901. Needs 37 more to reach 50.

Yordan Alvarez sits at .355 — the last .400 season was Ted Williams in 1941.

History movers: Drake Baldwin — Franchise RBI: 25 now, pace 135, record 135 (Eddie Mathews); Runs: 29 now, pace 157, record 177 (Babe Ruth) · Elly De La Cruz, after homering — Franchise Home Runs: 10 now, pace 55.9, record 52 (George Foster).

The .400 chase: Yordan Alvarez went 1-for-4 last night and saw his average slip 3 points to .355. The gap to .400 is now .045.

The so-what: through 30 team games, Aaron Judge sits 2 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (14 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 40/40 pace — 9 HR / 10 SB, projecting to 49/54. Only five players have ever done it: Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, Soriano, and Ohtani. Every game matters from here.

The .400 burndown: Yordan Alvarez carries a .355 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .411 clip the rest of the way (199-for-484). That is .002 harder than yesterday. A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .408; an 0-for-4 raises it to .415.

On this date in 1999, Larry Walker hit 3 home runs in one game.

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 9 HR / 10 SB — 21 homers short and 20 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 49/54.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Aaron Judge versus the great home-run seasons

Aaron Judge has 12 home runs through 30 team games, 2 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (14). Comparable chases finished with a median of 37; 8.2% reached 50 and 1.8% reached 60 (n=282).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-1 season

If Ernie Clement finishes at the current projection of 73, 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 135 RBI, set by Eddie Mathews in 1953. Drake Baldwin projects to 135 and projects to tie it.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Only X seasons ever

Aaron Judge is building a rare combination

At his current pace, Aaron Judge would reach at least 60 HR, and 100 RBI. Only 8 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. The recent company includes Barry Bonds (2001), Sammy Sosa (2001), Mark McGwire (1999).

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Closest to .400