A PITCHERS' DUEL in one game: Michael King went 7.0 scoreless; Paul Skenes went 6.0 scoreless ▶︎ watch. Taj Bradley threw an IMMACULATE INNING (inning 5: 3 K on 9 pitches) — immaculate innings (3 strikeouts on 9 pitches) happen about 4 times a season — and struck out 11 over 6.2 IP ▶︎ watch.
Historic Chases · 2026-08-25 RECONSTRUCTED
Nightly briefing
Baseball last night
CJ Abrams is on a 30/30 pace — 29 HR and 26 SB, projecting to 35/31. Power and speed usually live in different bodies, which is why fewer than fifty players have ever managed both in one season. Both numbers have to land — that is what makes the club so small.
What changed from last season: Pete Crow-Armstrong — walk rate up from 4.7% to 12.3% (29 in 620 plate appearances in 2025, 71 in 578 this season); Jackson Merrill — stolen bases up from 1 in 115 games in 2025 to 24 in 130 this season. 2 of 269 rate comparisons across 45 men on this season's leaderboards, corrected for having looked that many times.
Lines of the night: Three go-ahead plays: Jarren Duran's tiebreaking home run in the 11th put the Red Sox ahead for good in a 7-3 win over the Marlins — and he drove in 4 runs ▶︎ watch; José Ramírez's tiebreaking double in the 10th put the Guardians ahead for good in a 8-6 win over the Angels — and he drove in 5 runs ▶︎ watch; Christopher Morel ended it with a walk-off ▶︎ watch. Steven Kwan had a perfect day: 5-for-5 — perfect 5-for-5 games happen roughly 15 times a season — and reached base 6 times — games reaching base six times happen roughly 10 times a season ▶︎ watch; Clay Holmes allowed two hits over 7.0 scoreless innings (5 K) ▶︎ watch.
Also last night: The Baltimore Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 13-1; Two two-homer games: Mickey Gasper hit 2 home runs ▶︎ watch; Yainer Diaz hit 2 home runs ▶︎ watch.
Went deep more than once: Vaughn Grissom hit 2 home runs ▶︎ watch.
History movers: Royals — Win Streak: 9 now, modern record 22 (Cleveland Indians, 2017).
Milestones reached last night: José Ramírez reached 30 SB.
Historical intelligence
How the night stacked up
Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons
Kyle Schwarber has 39 home runs through 133 team games, 17 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (56). Comparable chases finished with a median of 44 (95% CI 43-44); 4.5% reached 50 (2.2-9.1% at 95% confidence), from 154 comparable seasons.
Retrosheet · verified play-by-playA franchise record is under pressure
The single-season record is 198 hits, set by Aubrey Huff in 2003. Yandy Díaz projects to 187 and would finish 11 short.
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025Whose season does Kyle Schwarber resemble?
The completed season closest to Kyle Schwarber's projected shape is Anthony Santander's 2024 (83% similarity). The match is strongest in hit volume, runs, speed; the largest difference is power. This is a comparison, not a forecast of how the season must finish.
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025Closest to .400
.323AVG
61 consecutive hits needed to reach .400
EXTREME
Home Run Leader
39HR
48 projected HR · 17 behind Bonds's 73 pace
Hits Leader
161H
196 projected H · 54 behind Suzuki's 262 pace
Stolen Base Leader
42SB
51 projected SB · 66 behind Henderson's 130 pace
Doubles Leader
332B
40 projected 2B · 22 behind Webb's 67 pace
Triples Leader
163B
19 projected 3B · 14 behind Wilson's 36 pace
Triple Crown Watch (MLB)
.323AVG · 36 HR · 91 RBI
none higher AVG, 3 back HR, 8 back RBI full race on the Watch page
30/30 Club Pace
33/32HR/SB
40/39 projected HR/SB · team-game pace · 1 other in the hunt
ACHIEVED
Wins Leader (Team)
Brewers
81W
99 projected wins · record 116
IMPOSSIBLE
Run Differential Leader
Brewers
+160
+196 projected run differential