Game Notes – 07/02/2025

On May 25, 2008, in front of more than 46,000 folks at Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw struck out seven Cardinals batters, including three in the first inning.  That Sunday afternoon, Kershaw was just a couple of months past his 20th birthday and wearing #54 on the back of his Dodger whites – that’s the scene for his Major League debut.  That first frame – featuring a swinging strikeout of Skip Schumaker to open the contest, another swing and a miss for strike three against Ryan Ludwick and then a backwards K to finish off Troy Glaus and the inning – was literally the start of something special and historic, an evolving storyline that has electrified the diamond and directed so much focus and exhilaration at the white slab on that raised bit of dirt 60 feet and six inches away from the plate.

Clayton Kershaw’s third and final whiff of the game – a Vinny Capra backwards K to conclude the sixth inning – gave the left-hander his 3,000th strikeout.  

~The 3,000-K club now consists of 20 pitchers, including fellow southpaws Randy Johnson (4,875 strikeouts), Steve Carlton (4,136) and CC Sabathia (3,093).  Among all 20 members, Kershaw’s:

~2.52 ERA is the second lowest, behind Walter Johnson’s 2.17

~155 ERA+ is the best, ahead of Pedro Martínez’s 154

~1.014 WHIP is the lowest, ahead of Martínez’s 1.054

~6.9 hits per nine is second lowest, behind Nolan Ryan’s 6.6

~4.34 K/BB ratio is third best, behind marks by Max Scherzer and Curt Schilling

~.697 winning percentage is the best, ahead of Martínez’s .687

~27.3 K% is fourth best, behind marks from Scherzer, Randy Johnson and Martínez

~Kershaw reached the milestone at Dodger Stadium.  In the modern era, among the 125 pitchers with at least 200 home starts in their career, Kershaw is one of three to carry a K/9 in double digits for his home outings, with his 10.09 behind Randy Johnson’s 10.94 and Max Scherzer’s 10.63.  Nolan Ryan’s 9.82 comes in fourth and then the surprise hits – Charlie Morton and his 9.02 holding down the fifth spot.

~Of Kershaw’s 3,000 strikeouts, Brandon Belt took more than any other batter – 30. 

~Now, the Dodgers are one of five franchises whose career leader in strikeouts claims at least 3,000:

Walter Johnson had 3,509 for the Senators (Twins)

Bob Gibson had 3,117 for the Cardinals

Steve Carlton had 3,031 for the Phillies

John Smoltz had 3,011 for the Braves

Clayton Kershaw has 3,000 for the Dodgers

Mitch Keller (7.0 IP, 5 H) and two Pirates relievers combined for a six-hitter as Pittsburgh – for the third time in as many games – blanked St. Louis.  This 5-0 win gave the Pirates three straight shutouts against the Cardinals for the fourth time since 1901.

1958   August 1-August 3 (Gm. 1 doubleheader): 2-0, 1-0, 2-0

1976   October 2-October 3 (both ends of a doubleheader):  8-0, 1-0, 1-0

1992   June 30-July 1, July 30:  2-0, 1-0, 4-0

2025   June 30-July 2:  7-0, 1-0, 5-0

Aroldis Chapman worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning with one strikeout to notch his 350th career save – the 14th pitcher to get to this particular milestone.  Among these 14, Chapman’s K/9 (14.7), K% (40.0) and Hits/9 (5.3) are the best.  He’s the third southpaw to get to 350, joining John Franco (424) and Billy Wagner (422).

In the first game of a doubleheader (a 6-4 win over the Phillies), the Padres drew three of their runs by drawing a bases-loaded walk.  The franchise had seen a trio of such events in a game six previous times, most recently on September 8, 2021.  Hall of Famer Dave Winfield can get a shout here, as he drew 11 bases-loaded walks in his career with San Diego – the most for the franchise.  Dating back to 1969, Dwight Evans owns the most career walks with the bases juiced, 38 (Winfield is tied for fourth, with 29).

In contrast, the Phillies countered with Cristopher Sánchez in Game 2, and that meant walks were hard to work. The southpaw finished his day with five strikeouts and zero free passes, the fourth straight walk-free start he’s made.  He’s the sixth Phillies pitcher in the modern era to post a four-game streak (no one has gone longer) of outings featuring at least six innings and no walks.  By earliest to Sánchez:

1916    Al Demaree                 31.1 IP, 16 K’s

1954    Robin Roberts             36.0 IP, 14 K’s

1955    Robin Roberts             33.0 IP, 25 K’s

2021    Zach Eflin                    25.2 IP, 24 K’s

2022    Aaron Nola                  29.1 IP, 27 K’s

2025    Cristopher Sánchez    28.0 IP, 25 K’s

In the first game of a doubleheader, Riley Greene homered twice and matched a career high with six RBI to lead the Tigers to an 11-2 win.  The 24-year-old has 21 homers for the year and this performance marked his fourth multi-homer game of 2025.

~Greene’s 21 homers are the most before the All-Star break for a Tiger since J.D. Martinez clocked 25 in 2015.  If his RBI are added to the  mix, Greene is the first Tiger to post a pre-break 21-69 line since Miguel Cabrera was at 30-95 in 2013.  

1933-2025:  Tigers with 21+ HR & 69+ RBI Before the All-Star Break

1935    Hank Greenberg     25-101

1961    Norm Cash              24-70

1990    Cecil Fielder            28-75

1993    Cecil Fielder            23-77

1993    Mickey Tettleton      24-73

1997    Tony Clark               22-73

2010    Miguel Cabrera       22-77

2013    Miguel Cabrera       30-95

2025    Riley Greene           21-69

~Tigers with at least four multi-homer games in a season, before turning 25 years old:

5   Spencer Torkelson (2023)

4   Hank Greenberg (1935), Willie Horton (1965), Riley Greene (2025)

~This performance marked the seventh career multi-homer game for Greene.  In Tigers history, Al Kaline’s nine are the most before turning 25 years old, followed by Willie Horton’s eight.  Greene is tied with Hank Greenberg.  

Freddy Peralta (6.0 IP, 2 R) improved to 9-4 with a 2.91 ERA as the Brewers defeated the Mets, 7-2 in Game 1 of a doubleheader.  The right-hander is the first Brewer to have at least nine victories and a sub-3.00 ERA through 85 team games since Ben Sheets was 9-2 with a 2.83 in 2008.

Aaron Judge singled, doubled and homered (and drew a walk) and drove in three runs.  The line moved his season numbers to 31 HR, 70 RBI, 54 extra-base hits and 233 total bases.  Some context for a few of these numbers:  

~The 31 homers through 86 team games tie 2025 Judge with 2024 Judge and three others for the fifth most in Yankees history.  

36    Babe Ruth (1921)

35    Babe Ruth (1928), Roger Maris (1961)

32    Babe Ruth (1930)

31    Mickey Mantle (1956, 1961), Roger Maris (1960), Aaron Judge (2024, 2025)

~Last season, Judge had 55 extra-base hits through 86 team games.  Other Yankees to have at least 54:  Babe Ruth (1920, 1921, 1928) Lou Gehrig (1927, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1936) and Joe DiMaggio (1937).

~The 233 total bases through 86 team games are the most in the Majors since Luis Gonzalez had 244 in 2001.  The last season to see a Yankee have at least that many at this point was 1937, when Joe DiMaggio had 250.  In between DiMaggio and Gonzalez, these others hit/passed the 233 mark:  Joe Medwick (1937 as well), Jimmie Foxx (1938), Stan Musial (1948), Henry Aaron (1957, 1959), Ken Griffey, Jr. (1994) and Frank Thomas (also 1994).  

Matt Olson singled, doubled and grand slammed his way to extending his on-base streak to 32 games.  At 32, Olson is tied with Ronald Acuña, Jr. in 2019 for the ninth longest by a Brave in the 21st century.  

Hunter Brown allowed a pair of runs with eight strikeouts over six innings and came away with the win as Houston took down Colorado.  The right-hander is tied for third in the AL with nine wins, claims the lowest ERA at 1.82, and is third in strikeouts, with 126.  Using these Triple Crown numbers and Brown’s age as a baseline for exploration, here’s where one avenue leads …  In the All-Star era, there are six pitchers to be in an age-26 or younger season and get to the break with at least nine wins, at least 126 strikeouts and an ERA no higher than 1.82.  Those pitchers and their numbers, along with Brown’s:

1969    Steve Carlton            12 wins, 126 K’s, 1.65 ERA

1971    Vida Blue                   17 wins, 188 K’s, 1.42 ERA

1985    Dwight Gooden         13 wins, 153 Ks,  1.68 ERA

1997    Pedro Martínez         10 wins, 154 K’s, 1.74 ERA

2014    Clayton Kershaw       11 wins, 126 K’s, 1.78 ERA

2022    Shane McClanahan   10 wins, 147 K’s, 1.71 ERA

2025    Hunter Brown             9 wins,  126 K’s, 1.82 ERA

Jose Altuve singled twice, with his sixth-inning knock moving him past Jeff Bagwell and into sole possession of second on the all-time Astros hits list.  Altuve’s 2,315 career hits are also the 71st most for any player through an age-35 season, six shy of Rafael Palmeiro’s tally through that slugger’s age-35 campaign. 

Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.