Historic Chases · 2026-06-13 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-06-13

Yoshinobu Yamamoto took a PERFECT GAME into the 8th — broken up by a field error ▶︎ watch.

Kyle Schwarber has struck out 104 times, projecting to 241. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901. But he's doing damage too: he is 2nd in MLB in home runs (24) — one every 10.6 at-bats. The strikeouts are the price of the power.

History movers: Yordan Alvarez — Triple Crown (MLB) · Luis Arraez — Triples: 6 now, pace 14, record 36 (Chief Wilson).

Lines of the night: Blaze Jordan hit his FIRST career home run ▶︎ watch; Samad Taylor hit his FIRST career home run ▶︎ watch; Pedro Ramírez hit his FIRST career home run ▶︎ watch; Chase Petty earned his FIRST career win ▶︎ watch.

The .400 chase: Otto Lopez went 2-for-3 last night and pushed his average up 3 points to .345. The gap to .400 is now .055.

The so-what: through 72 team games, Yordan Alvarez sits 8 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (32 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 .345 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .444 clip the rest of the way (158-for-356). That is .002 easier than yesterday. A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .440; an 0-for-4 raises it to .449.

On this date in 2012, Matt Cain of the Giants threw a no-hitter.

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 14 HR / 21 SB — 16 homers short and 9 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 32/48.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Yordan Alvarez versus the great home-run seasons

Yordan Alvarez has 24 home runs through 72 team games, 14 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (38). Comparable chases finished with a median of 43; 18.6% reached 50 and 4.3% reached 60 (n=140).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-19 season

If Kyle Schwarber finishes at the current projection of 56, it would rank No. 19 among all seasons since 1901 — only 18 finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 221 hits, set by Juan Pierre in 2004. Otto Lopez projects to 219 and projects to finish 2 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 .320 AVG, 50 HR, and 110 RBI. Only 12 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. The recent company includes Barry Bonds (2001), Luis Gonzalez (2001), Sammy Sosa (2001).

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Closest to .400