A PITCHERS' DUEL in one game: Michael King went 7.0 scoreless; Paul Skenes went 6.0 scoreless ▶︎ watch. And it wasn't alone: 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
Kyle Schwarber has struck out 189 times, projecting to 230. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901. League strikeout rates have roughly doubled since 1980, so the all-time list is not an even comparison. But he's doing damage too: he leads MLB in home runs (39) — one every 12.1 at-bats. The strikeouts are the price of the power.
The so-what: 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: 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; 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; 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; 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; 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.
That morning's stakes
What we were watching
The stretch run — 134 team games down, the crowns are in play. AL Stolen-base crown: Jazz Chisholm Jr. 35, Bobby Witt Jr. 35 — pace says 43–44; Bobby Witt Jr.'s pace takes the crown · NL RBI crown: Sal Stewart 99, Alec Burleson 96 — pace says 120–116; a coin flip to the wire · NL Batting title: Luis Arraez .321, Nick Gonzales .307 · AL Batting title: Yordan Alvarez .323, Chandler Simpson .308.
On this date in 2020, Lucas Giolito of the White Sox threw a no-hitter (one of 3 thrown on this date).
Kyle Schwarber sits at 39 home runs — one from the 40 mark.
Esteury Ruiz sits at 29 stolen bases — one from the 30 mark.
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)
.323· 36 HR · 91 RBI
1 / 2 / 5 in AVG/HR/RBI league ranks — full board 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