Historic Chases · 2026-05-24 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-05-24

Heriberto Hernández hit a WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM — happens only a handful of times a season ▶︎ watch.

Oneil Cruz has struck out 84 times, projecting to 257. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901.

History movers: Corbin Carroll, after a 4-hit night — Triples: 8 now, pace 25, record 36 (Chief Wilson) · Liam Hicks — Franchise RBI: 44 now, pace 132, record 132 (Giancarlo Stanton).

Lines of the night: Masataka Yoshida hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 36 ▶︎ watch; Nick Allen hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 25 ▶︎ watch.

The .400 chase: Otto Lopez went 1-for-4 last night and saw his average slip 1 point to .337. The gap to .400 is now .063.

The so-what: through 53 team games, Kyle Schwarber sits 4 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (24 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

The .400 burndown: Otto Lopez carries a .337 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .433 clip the rest of the way (180-for-416). That is .002 harder than yesterday. A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .430; an 0-for-4 raises it to .437.

On this date in 1936, Sam Leslie hit for the cycle.

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 11 HR / 16 SB — 19 homers short and 14 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 34/49.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons

Kyle Schwarber has 20 home runs through 53 team games, 8 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (28). Comparable chases finished with a median of 42; 17.9% reached 50 and 3.4% reached 60 (n=145).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-5 season

If Corbin Carroll finishes at the current projection of 25, it would rank No. 5 among all seasons since 1901 — only 4 finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 132 RBI, set by Giancarlo Stanton in 2017. Liam Hicks projects to 132 and projects to tie it.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Only X seasons ever

Kyle Schwarber is building a rare combination

At his current pace, Kyle Schwarber would reach at least 60 HR, and 110 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