Game Notes – 08/10/2025

Rickey Henderson’s 25-year journey across the big leagues saw him don uniforms for nine different franchises, a voyage that ultimately produced 297 longballs to pair with his 1,406 thefts.  Many of the members of the 250-homer, 250-steal club experienced a fairly nomadic existence, with 10 of them playing for at least six franchises (no one played for more than Henderson).  Another half dozen represented at least four franchises, leaving nine with a more stationary narrative.   Álex Rodríguez played for three, while Willie Mays, Ryne Sandberg and Barry Bonds produced their power-speed demonstrations for two.  And that leaves a handful of players who reached the two milestones while having just one home from start to finish.  Three of those guys have been done for a while now – Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Craig Biggio and Derek Jeter.  The other two – well, they’re still piling up numbers for the only franchise they’ve ever embodied:  Cleveland’s José Ramírez and the newest member of the association, Houston’s Jose Altuve.

Jose Altuve hit his 250th home run to become the 25th player in history to pair that many longballs with at least 250 steals (he has 323).  

~Altuve is one of eight players to have at least 250 steals and 250 home runs for a franchise and the second to do this as a representative for the Astros, joining Craig Biggio.  The full list, by franchise:

Astros          Craig Biggio, Jose Altuve

Giants          Willie Mays, Barry Bonds

Brewers       Robin Yount

Cubs            Ryne Sandberg

Guardians    José Ramírez

Yankees       Derek Jeter

~Among the 25 players in the 250-250 club, the positional organizations show Altuve as one of four to have played at least half his games at second base, joining his fellow Astro Biggio, Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg.  There are three shortstops (Robin Yount, Derek Jeter and Hanley Ramírez) and one third baseman (José Ramírez) and that’s it for the infielders.

~Altuve became the 11th player to have at least half of his games at second base and a career line featuring at least 250 home runs.  The entire collection:

377    Jeff Kent

335    Robinson Canó

301    Rogers Hornsby

291    Craig Biggio

282    Ryne Sandberg

268    Joe Morgan

259    Chase Utley

257    Ian Kinsler

253    Joe Gordon

252    Bret Boone

250    Jose Altuve

Carlos Correa went 2-for-5 with a home run on Sunday and is slashing .405/.476/.622 since rejoining the Astros after three-and-a-half seasons with the Twins.  Correa has now produced multi-hit efforts in five straight games, the longest active streak in the Majors but still a far bit off the Astros franchise record of nine, shared by Jesús Alou (1969), Billy Hatcher (1987) and Jose Altuve (2015).

Isaac Collins hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Brewers another win.  

~Milwaukee improved to 73-44 for the year, with their .624 winning percentage at this stage of the season the best ever for the franchise.  The previous best came in 2021, when that club owned a .598 through 117 games.

~Milwaukee owns a +132 run differential, the best ever for the franchise through 117 games.  Before this year, the 1982 team’s +118 stood at the top.

~Milwaukee has won nine in a row, the second longest winning streak this season for the club after the 11-game run of success they had from July 6 through July 21.  Before this season, the Brewers had never had two winning streaks of at least nine games in the same year.  The 2022 Yankees had been the last team to be able to say this. 

Zack Wheeler (5.0 IP, 2 R) recorded his 10th win of the year.  The right-hander also owns a 165 ERA+.  If he finishes this campaign with at least a 150 it’ll mark the third time in his Phillies career he’s authored a season with double-digit wins and an ERA+ at least that high, which is a volume touched by two of the greatest ever.  

Phillies Franchise – Most Seasons With 10+ Wins and an ERA+ of at least 150

4    Steve Carlton (1972, 1977, 1980, 1981)

3    Pete Alexander (1915, 1916, 1917)

2    Roy Halladay (2010, 2011), Zack Wheeler (2021, 2024)

~Wheeler is not the only Phillies pitcher to be in the mix for a 10-win season with at least a 150 ERA+, as left-hander Cristopher Sánchez is at 11 wins and a 187.   There are two examples in the 142-year (completed) history of the Phillies in which two of their hurlers finished the year with 10+ wins and an ERA+ of at least 150.  The 1888 roster shows a pair of right-handers, Charlie Buffinton and Ben Sanders.  The 2011 team offers up – as potentially 2025 does – a lefty-righty combo, with Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Justin Verlander fanned six batters to end his day with 3,503 K’s for his career – the 10th hurler to reach that milestone (he sits six punchouts behind Walter Johnson at the moment).  Among this 10, Verlander’s:

~.628 winning percentage stands as the third best, behind Roger Clemens’ .658 and Randy Johnson’s .646.  

~128 ERA+ is fourth best, behind Walter Johnson’s 147, Clemens’ 143 and Randy Johnson’s 135.  

~1.136 WHIP is third lowest, behind Walter Johnson’s 1.061 and Tom Seaver’s 1.121.

~24.3 strikeout percentage is third best, behind Randy Johnson’s 28.6 and Nolan Ryan’s 25.3.

MacKenzie Gore struck out 10 batters to push his total for the year to 158.  Gore is now 42 punchouts away from becoming the fourth southpaw in Expos/Nationals history to reach 200 K’s for the year, after Patrick Corbin (238 in 2019), Jeff Fassero (222 in 1996) and Gio González (207 in 2012).  

James Wood drove in four runs in Washington’s victory on Sunday, the sixth time this season the 22-year-old has plated at least four.  Those six in a year match for the most by any Expo/National under the age of 23, tying Bryce Harper’s tally in 2015.  Before the franchise left Montreal, the high mark had been three, by Gary Carter in 1975.

Fernando Tatis, Jr. scored a pair of runs in San Diego’s victory, lifting his tally for the year to (a very distant behind the leader Shohei Ohtani) tie for second in the NL, with 82.  He’s scored all but one of those 82 while batting in the leadoff spot, with his 81 already the seventh highest tally for any Padres leadoff hitter.  Only one has ever reached 100 in a year – Rickey Henderson, who scored 103 runs for 1996 Friars.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Addison Barger and Ernie Clement took center stage with solo homers in Toronto’s win on Sunday, as all three round-trippers came in the eighth/ninth inning and all three either tied the game or gave the Blue Jays the lead.  The franchise’s history books reveal only one other contest that witnessed three game-tying/go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later.  On August 20, 1996, Domingo Cedeño (ninth inning), Carlos Delgado (13th) and Alex Gonzalez (14th) were the late-game, homer-hitting heroes.  

~Guerrero, Jr. also doubled in this game and now has 390 career extra-base hits.  35 players in history have produced more through their own age-26 seasons, with Cal Ripken, Jr. and Mookie Betts the closest ahead of Guerrero, with 394 apiece.  On this list, Freddie Freeman is tied for the 52nd most, with 358.  Now, Freeman, who homered on Sunday, has 926, which stands as the 20th most in history for any player through his age-35 campaign.  On this list, Freeman needs two more to tie Vladimir Guerrero (the elder).  

Shohei Ohtani led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, the 11th time this season the Dodgers’ star has gone deep to open the first frame.  Ohtani is four shy of tying the MLB record, held by Kyle Schwarber from last year’s campaign.  When Schwarber set the new standard, he broke a mark that had stood since 2003 – Alfonso Soriano’s 13.  

~In this game, Ohtani complemented his pop with his 17th steal of the year.  Ohtani has played 275 games with the Dodgers and has 19 contests repping them in which he’s homered and stolen a base.  In the Modern Era, two Dodgers have more, both with 21:  Willie Davis (1,952 career games with the Dodgers) and Davey Lopes (1,207 games with Los Angeles).

St. Louis right-hander Sonny Gray struck out seven against one walk – notable for the fact that the 35-year-old is leading the NL with a 6.73 K:BB ratio.  There are six pitchers in baseball history who, in an age-35 or older season, qualified for an ERA title and ended the year with a higher ratio that the one currently held by Gray:

9.58    Curt Schilling in 2002

7.84    Justin Verlander in 2018

7.44    Zack Greinke in 2020 (in 67.0 IP)

7.14    Justin Verlander in 2019

7.00    Cy Young in 1905

6.90    Cy Young in 1904

Cal Raleigh homered for the third straight game (this after going yard once in his previous 10 affairs) and now sits with 45 four-base hits for the year.  

Most HRs Through 119 Team Games

51    Barry Bonds (2001)

48    Babe Ruth (1921), Roger Maris (1961)

47    Mark McGwire (1998, 1999), Sammy Sosa (1999)

46    Sammy Sosa (1998), Aaron Judge (2022)

45    Babe Ruth (1928), Mickey Mantle (1961), Luis Gonzalez (2001), Cal Raleigh (2025)

~With 45 home runs, Raleigh sits in a tie for the second most for any player with at least half of his games at catcher, matched with Johnny Bench’s tally from 1970.  His 45 also tie for the third most for any switch-hitter, matched with the totals from Chipper Jones in 1999 and Lance Berkman in 2006.

Luke Keaschall’s two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th gave the Twins a 5-3 win over the Royals and Keaschall his first career walk-off hit.  

~With his 3-for-5 day at the plate, the 22-year-old extended his on-base streak to cover all 12 games in his big league career.  For all Senators/Twins, his run comes in as the fourth longest.  

Senators/Twins:  Longest On-Base Streak to Open a Career

15    Joe Judge (1915-1916)

13    Babe Ganzel (1927), Glenn Williams (2005)

12    Luke Keaschall (2025)

~In his intrepid start, Keaschall has 17 hits with eight going for extra bases.   He’s the second Senator/Twin to reach these numbers through his first 12 Major League games, joining Tim Teufel, who had 19 hits with six doubles, a triple and two home runs in 1983.

~Keaschall now has four multi-RBI games in his 12-game career.  He’s the third Senator/Twin to be able to make this claim, and the names span almost the entirety of the franchise’s existence, with the list beginning at Lew Drill in 1902.  In between Drill and Keaschall, Kennys Vargas had four in 2014.

Spencer Steer and Noelvi Marté assembled almost identical lines, each authoring three-hit, four-RBI efforts that came with a double and a home run (Marté scored three times, Steer two).  This game and the two performances made this contest the ninth for the Reds since 1901 to see multiple players produce lines with three-plus hits, four-plus RBI and at least two extra-base hits.  There was one occasion – on May 19, 1999 – when the Reds’ box score showed three players hitting these marks (the provocateurs that day were Sean Casey, Jeffrey Hammonds and Brian Johnson).  

Kerry Carpenter doubled and homered (and had a sac fly) for the Tigers, extending a pair of narratives for the 27-year-old left-handed hitter.  

~All of his damage in this game came against right-handers and Carpenter is now slugging .554 in 1,010 career plate appearances against righties.  This decade, there are 123 players who own at least 1,000 plate appearances against right-handers as left-handed batters, with Carpenter’s .554 slugging mark coming in as the sixth best.  Shohei Ohtani (.624), Bryce Harper (.562), Juan Soto (.559), Yordan Alvarez (.557) and Rafael Devers (.557) are ahead of the Tigers’ outfielder/DH.

~There are 228 players right now who have posted at least 25 plate appearances this month, with none of them currently owning a better slugging percentage than Carpenter’s .880 (Shea Langeliers and Brice Turang are 2-3, with an .875 and .867, respectively). 

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