Historic Chases · 2026-09-10

Overnight: Kyle Schwarber (PHI) added 2 strikeouts. Schwarber has struck out 205 times, projecting to 226. 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 (44) — one every 12.0 at-bats. The strikeouts are the price of the power.

The Dodgers have won 7 straight, and are 8-2 in their last 10.

The so-what: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) is on a 40/40 pace — 41 HR and 36 SB, projecting to 45/40. Only five players have ever done it: Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, Soriano, and Ohtani. Power and speed in the same season is the whole story from here.

Lines of the night: Jared Jones carried a NO-HITTER into the 7th — broken up by a double — and allowed one hit over 7.0 scoreless innings (8 K) ▶︎ watch; Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam — and drove in 5 runs ▶︎ watch; Julio Rodríguez's go-ahead home run in the 7th put the Mariners ahead for good in a 4-3 win over the Rangers ▶︎ watch; Austin Riley's tiebreaking single in the 8th put the Braves ahead for good in a 3-1 win over the Rays ▶︎ watch; Jacob deGrom (TEX) allowed one hit over 6.0 scoreless innings (12 K) ▶︎ watch.

Also last night: Logan Gilbert (SEA) struck out 11 over 7.0 IP ▶︎ watch; Jared Jones has not allowed a run in his last 13 innings; Hagen Smith has not allowed a run in his last 13 innings.

Seasons on a historic footing: Jacob Misiorowski (MIL), 13.17 strikeouts per nine innings, 5th among the 9,603 qualified seasons on file, behind four seasons, led by Gerrit Cole's 13.82 in 2019; Dylan Cease (TOR), 12.66 strikeouts per nine innings, 7th.

What changed from last season: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) — walk rate up from 4.7% to 11.8% (29 in 620 plate appearances in 2025, 76 in 642 this season); Jackson Merrill (SD) — stolen bases up from 1 in 115 games in 2025 to 25 in 143 this season; Nolan Arenado (AZ) — strikeout rate up from 12.2% to 22.6% (49 in 401 at-bats in 2025, 108 in 478 this season); Taylor Ward (SEA) — home-run rate down from 6.2% to 1.4% (36 in 579 at-bats in 2025, 7 in 488 this season). 4 of 804 rate comparisons across 156 qualified hitters and pitchers, corrected for having looked that many times.

Milestones reached last night: Luis García Jr. (NYY) reached 30 HR.

Sweep watch: the Yankees swept the Rockies (3 games) — their 2nd sweep in 24 days. 1 other club was swept the same night.