Game Notes – 07/21/2025

In 1923, while helping guide a Reds pitching staff to the best ERA In the Major Leagues, backstop Bubbles Hargrave also made an immense etching on the offensive side, posting a .333/.419/.521 line.  The effort not only gave the 31-year-old a place among the top-10 in the NL in all three categories, it made him the first player in Major League history to have at least 100 games behind the plate while authoring a .300/.400/.500 line.  Since this burst in the big league timeline, 23 more catchers have joined Hargrave in the club, including a few who made this a semi-routine development; Bill Dickey and Gabby Hartnett each had four campaigns that hit the bars, while Mickey Cochrane and Mike Piazza each had three.  The 11 combined efforts from Hartnett, Dickey and Cochrane all came between 1928 and 1939; after Dickey’s ’39 campaign, no other catcher managed the feat until Dick Dietz in 1970.  Things have been a bit more consistent since then; Ted Simmons and Carlton Fisk both made the grade in 1977, followed by efforts from Chris Hoiles, Dave Nilsson and Piazza (all three of his) in the 1990s, followed by Joe Mauer in 2006 and 2009, Jorge Posada in 2007 and Buster Posey in 2012.  This is the lineage, the sparsely populated territory Will Smith is moving toward.  

Will Smith homered twice to push his slash line to .326/.424/.556.  The work gives the Dodgers’ backstop a 174 OPS+, which is both a number that almost never has been generated by a catcher and is not even the best by one at the position in 2025 – Seattle’s Cal Raleigh is currently sitting on a 182.  Potentially, no season has ever seen anything like this double-dose, with 1972 the only reasonable parallel.  

1871-2024:  Players With 100+ Games at Catcher and an OPS+ of at least 160

1972    Johnny Bench with a 166 and Carlton Fisk with a 162

1993    Chris Hoiles with a 162

1995    Mike Piazza with a 172

1996    Mike Piazza with a 166

1997    Mike Piazza with a 185

2003    Javy López with a 169

2009    Joe Mauer with a 171

2012    Buster Posey with a 171

José Ramírez went yard for the 20th time in 2025 to reach a 20-homer, 20-steal season for the seventh time.  Those seven are more than any other third baseman has produced, with Howard Johnson (five) and Álex Rodríguez (three) the closest to him.  The seven also put him in some rather elite company across the board.

Most 20-20 Seasons, All Positions

10    Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds

9      Bobby Abreu

7      Eric Davis, Carlos Beltrán, José Ramírez

6      Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Raúl Mondesi, Álex Rodríguez

Paul Skenes worked six scoreless innings to record his first win since May 28 and lower his big league-leading ERA to 1.91.  The suppression works out to a 224 ERA+, a level that has been reached 19 times since 1893 by a qualified NL or AL hurler at season’s end.  There are two pitchers among this collection who produced their elite seasons while being younger than Skenes in 2025, who is in his age-23 season.  Here’s a look at the youngest, with Skenes thrown into the mix.

1985    Dwight Gooden posts a 229 in his age-20 season

1914    Dutch Leonard posts a 279 in his age-22 season

2025    Paul Skenes owns a 224 in his age-23 season

1905    Christy Mathewson posts a 233 in his age-24 season

1912    Walter Johnson posts a 243 in his age-24 season

Kyle Stowers hit his ninth homer of the month – second most in the Majors, behind Eugenio Suárez’s 10.  The tally also represents the second most by any Marlin ever in any July, with only Giancarlo Stanton (12 in 2017) having more.   

Eugenio Suárez’s 10th home run of the month got him to within one of the Diamondbacks’ high mark for any July, set by Jason Kubel in 2012 (Suárez also hit 10 in July of 2024 for Arizona).  The best mark for any player on any team in any July since 1901 lands at 16 and is shared by Albert Belle in 1998 and Mark McGwire in 1999.  There are four batters with 15 in a July:  Joe DiMaggio in 1937, Hank Greenberg in 1938, Joe Adcock in 1956 and Juan González in 1996.  

Bryce Harper doubled twice to continue a recent tear, now speaking of 13 extra-base hits in his past eight games.  The 32-year-old is closing in on 400 career doubles (he’s now nine shy of the milestone).  If he gets there in 2025 and if he also goes yard once more, he’ll be the ninth player in history to get to 400 two-base hits and 350 home runs through an age-32 season.  The group – consisting of Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Henry Aaron, Frank Robinson, Álex Rodríguez, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera – awaits.

Zack Wheeler struck out 10 with no walks – the fifth time this season the Phillies’ right-hander has reached double-digits in K’s while submitting no free passes.  Those five are the most for the franchise in any season in the Modern Era, eclipsing the four produced by Cliff Lee in 2013 and Wheeler in 2021.  Overall, there are six pitchers since 1901 who’ve had more than five:

7    Gerrit Cole (2019)

6    Curt Schilling (2002)
6    Randy Johnson (2004)

6    Clayton Kershaw (2016)

6    Justin Verlander (2019)

6    Gerrit Cole (2021)

Elly De La Cruz produced a bit of a quirky line on Monday, scoring three runs while going hitless.  There have been 33 instances since 1901 of a Reds player scoring three-plus times without the benefit of a hit, with Joe Morgan being responsible for more (four) than any other  individual.  Overall, Morgan had five such lines in his career (his other came while playing for the Astros), tying Eddie Collins for the most by any player since 1901.  

The Blue Jays defeated the Yankees, 4-1, to extend their home winning streak to a franchise record 11 games.  The previous high mark – 10 – came from the 1985 club, and provides a nice starting point for looking at how Toronto’s streak in 2025 matches up with the best across the Majors. Since ’85, these Blue Jays are the 70th team to win at least 11 straight at home, with the 1988 Red Sox owning the longest run, a 24-gamer.  

~The Blue Jays are playing .692 ball (36-16) at home, the best percentage in the Majors in 2025.  The franchise’s best home winning percentage for an entire season came in 1985, when the Jays were 54-26 (.675).  There have been 95 teams since 1901 who produced a winning percentage of at least .700 at home, with three getting to the .800 mark:  the 1932 Yankees (.805), the 1961 Yankees (.802) and the 1931 Athletics (.800).  

Salvador Perez hit two out of the park to highlight a Royals’ win – the 20th multi-homer game of his career.   This game marked the 12th time Perez has been behind the dish for a portion of a contest where he had two longballs.  Those 12 match him with Smoky Burgess and Russell Martin for the 22nd most in the Modern Era, with Mike Piazza’s 35 reigning supreme.  Perez is now 10 longballs shy of 300 – a milestone that’s been reached by seven players with at least 1,000 games behind the plate.  He’s also nearing 20 homers for the season (he’s at 17) – right now, he’s tied with George Brett for the most 20-home run campaigns for any Royal (eight).  

Nick Kurtz hit his 19th homer of the season.  The Athletics’ first baseman is one of 43 first-year players in history to reach 19 longballs while being in an age-22 or younger season.  Chronologically, this list reaches all the way to 1889, when Bug Holliday hit 19 for Cincinnati in the American Association.  The list includes 500-home run club members Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews, Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray and Albert Pujols.  Kurtz claims an interesting placement among the entire group, as his current HR% (7.54) is beyond any of the percentages of any of the others.  The two highest come from Yordan Alvarez (7.32 in 2019) and Cody Bellinger (7.12 in 2017).  

Zac Gallen fanned six to reach 1,000 K’s for his career.  He’s the 131st pitcher to have at least 1,000 strikeouts through his first seven seasons, a roster that has seen peaks and valleys when it comes to the production of the hurlers (as defined by debut seasons).  For example, the 2010s are responsible for 18 of the hurlers, including Gallen, of course.  Here’s the entire breakdown for all 131.

1870s   (2) pitchers made their debuts

1880s   (21) pitchers made their debuts

1890s   (3) pitchers made their debuts

1900s   (5) pitchers made their debuts

1910s   (1) pitcher made his debut

1920s   (1) pitcher made his debut

1930s   (2) pitchers made their debuts

1940s   none

1950s   (3) pitchers made their debuts

1960s   (18) pitchers made their debuts

1970s   (5) pitchers made their debuts

1980s   (14) pitchers made their debuts

1990s   (10) pitchers made their debuts

2000s   (28) pitchers made their debuts

2010s   (18) pitchers made their debuts    

Behind Brandon Woodruff’s six scoreless innings, the Brewers rode to their 11th straight win.  The streak ties for the second longest in franchise history, matching the 2021 squad’s run.  The longest came in 1987, when the Brewers opened the year 13-0. 

Playing in his 69th career game, Braves DH Drake Baldwin drove in six runs.  The 24-year-old rookie is the 87th Brave in the Modern Era to have at least six RBI.  By age, he is the 10th youngest, just a stitch older than Jeff Francoeur when he drove in seven in April of 2008.  By experience, Baldwin is one of eight to have produced the big number so early into a career and the first to have done this since 23-year-old Kelly Johnson drove in six in his 15th career game in 2005.  

Chase Meidroth had three doubles and a single to help the White Sox to an 8-3 win – their fourth straight victory.  The winning streak has seen the team score at least seven runs in each contest (10, 10, 7, 8), the first time these two components have gone hand in hand for such a sustained stretch for the team since June-July of 2021, when they had a five-game streak, winning by the scores of 7-5, 7-6, 13-3, 8-5, 8-2.

~Meidroth fell one double shy of the team record, last accomplished by Marv Owen on April 23, 1939.  

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