Historic Chases · 2026-07-21

Kyle Schwarber (PHI) has struck out 152 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 (33) — one every 11.1 at-bats. The strikeouts are the price of the power.

The AL Central is a coin flip: Guardians (54-48) and Sox (53-47) are even in the standings — zero games back. The Rockies' single-season record is 49 home runs, set by Larry Walker in 1997. Hunter Goodman (COL) projects to 49 and would tie it.

Lines of the night: Zac Thornton earned his first career win ▶︎ watch; Marco Gonzales earned his first career save.

What changed from last season: Jackson Merrill (SD) — stolen bases up from 1 in 115 games in 2025 to 20 in 98 this season; Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) — walk rate up from 4.7% to 12.1% (29 in 620 plate appearances in 2025, 52 in 428 this season); Junior Caminero (TB) — walk rate up from 6.4% to 13.1% (41 in 643 plate appearances in 2025, 57 in 436 this season). 3 of 306 rate comparisons across 60 men on this season's leaderboards, corrected for having looked that many times.

Milestones reached last night: Ben Rice (NYY) reached 30 HR.

The so-what: Yordan Alvarez (HOU) has 33 home runs through 103 team games, a 52-homer pace — 11 behind Bonds's 2001 total at the same point (44 of his eventual 73). That gap is the whole story: it closes, or the chase does.