Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (June 20-26).
Shotime: Shohei Ohtani started the game for the Dodgers Sunday, then went on to triple and homer. It was the second time Ohtani has had at least a homer and a triple in a game he pitched in (May 15, 2023). He’s the only player with multiple such games in at least the last 125 seasons.
Big Dumper: Cal Raleigh hit his 32nd home run of the season on Monday. He continues to rewrite the record books. His 32 are four more homers than any other primary catcher before the All-Star break in a season, ahead of Johnny Bench in 1970. But we are so far beyond just catcher records at this point. Raleigh’s 32 home runs are three more than by any other switch-hitter before the All-Star break in a season.
Ring my Bell: Josh Bell hit a particularly impressive home run on Monday. It was on a pitch that was 4.65 ft. above the ground. That’s the highest pitch hit for a home run under pitch tracking (2008).
First-rounders galore: The Angels had eight of their first-round Draft picks appear in Monday’s game. They were Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Christian Moore, Reid Detmers and Sam Bachman. It was the first time that’s happened for a team since the Brewers on July 3, 1991, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They had Paul Molitor, Dan Plesac, Robin Yount, B.J. Surhoff, Dale Sveum, Bill Spiers, Gary Sheffield and Greg Vaughn.
Burn(s), baby, Burn(s): Chase Burns had an incredible debut on Tuesday, striking out each of the first five batters he faced and six of the first seven. Burns became the first starting pitcher in at least the Expansion Era (1961) to strike out his first five batters faced in his MLB debut, per Elias. The only other pitcher to strike out at least his first five batters in his debut in that span was Pete Richert, in relief, in 1962 against the Reds (first six).
Crochet-ing: With another outstanding performance on Tuesday, Garrett Crochet is up to 135 strikeouts while allowing just 28 runs. He’s the second pitcher in Red Sox history with at least 110 strikeouts and fewer than 30 runs allowed in first 17 starts of the season, joining Pedro Martínez in 2000 (177 strikeouts, 22 runs allowed).
Give us Moore: Christian Moore played his 12th MLB game on Tuesday, on the one-year anniversary of winning the Men’s College World Series with Tennessee. Safe to say, he celebrated in style. Moore tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with a home run and then won it with a walk-off homer in the 10th. Moore is the first player in at least the Expansion Era with multiple game-tying or go-ahead homers in the eighth or later, including the walk-off home run, in a single game within his first 12 career games. He’s also the second player in MLB history with a multi-homer game, including a walk-off home run, this early in his career, according to Elias. The other was Matt Thaiss on July 28, 2019, also for the Angels.
Soto homer: Juan Soto notched his 27th career multihomer game on Wednesday, breaking a tie with Jimmie Foxx for the most before turning 27 in MLB history. Soto is up to 19 home runs this year, tied with 2024 for his most through 81 team games in a season in his career. This also continued a hot month for Soto as he joined Darryl Strawberry in May 1987 as the only Mets players with 10 home runs and 20 walks in a calendar month.
Nobody beats the Miz: Jacob Misiorowski has allowed three hits total in three career starts through Wednesday. That’s the fewest of any pitcher in his first three appearances in at least the last 125 seasons, minimum 14 innings. He’s thrown five pitches at 102 mph or faster in his young career. That’s already the fourth most as a starting pitcher under pitch tracking (2008, including the playoffs). Only Hunter Greene (11), Justin Verlander (seven) and Jordan Hicks (six) have thrown more.
Current Ironman: Matt Olson has played 700 consecutive games entering Friday, dating to May 2, 2021. There have been only seven other streaks of at least 600 to begin in the Divisional Era (1969), per Elias. They belong to Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632 consecutive games from 1982-98), Steve Garvey (1,207, 1975-83), Miguel Tejada (1,152, 2000-07), Pete Rose (745, 1978-83), Dale Murphy (740, 1981-86), Rose (678, 1973-78) and Sandy Alomar Sr. (661, 1969-73).