Historic Chases · 2026-04-18 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-04-18

Felix Reyes homered in his FIRST MLB AT-BAT — a home run in his FIRST MLB at-bat — done only ~130 times in history ▶︎ watch.

Taylor Ward has 11 doubles — projecting to 85, +2 vs Earl Webb's 67 pace. That pace would be the most doubles in any season since 1901. Needs 39 more to reach 50.

Andy Pages sits at .389 — the last .400 season was Ted Williams in 1941.

The so-what: Oneil Cruz is on a 40/40 pace — 6 HR and 9 SB, projecting to 46/69. 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.

The .400 chase: Andy Pages went 0-for-4 last night and saw his average slip 23 points to .389. That is 72 at-bats over 20 team games — a hot start rather than a .400 pace, and small enough that one 0-for-4 would take 20 points off it. The gap to .400 goes up once the sample can carry it.

Lines of the night: The Athletics came back from 5 runs down to win 7-6, and the Chicago White Sox blew a 5-run lead; Andrew Benintendi hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 19 ▶︎ watch; Bo Naylor hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 15 ▶︎ watch.

History movers: James Wood, after homering — Franchise RBI: 18 now, pace 138.9, record 131 (Vladimir Guerrero, 1999); Franchise Home Runs: 7 now, pace 54, record 46 (Alfonso Soriano, 2006).

That morning's stakes

What we were watching

MUST TRACK: Oneil Cruz is on a 40/40 pace — 6 HR / 9 SB, projecting to 46/69. Every game matters from here.

The .400 burndown: Andy Pages carries a .389 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .403 clip the rest of the way (206-for-511). That is .005 harder than yesterday. A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .400; an 0-for-4 raises it to .406.

Streak ladder: the Mets have lost 10 straight — 11 shy of the 2024 White Sox (AL record) (21); 13 shy of the 1961 Phillies (modern record) (23).

On this date in 2007, Mark Buehrle of the White Sox threw a no-hitter.

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 6 HR / 9 SB — 24 homers and 21 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 46/69.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Yordan Alvarez versus the great home-run seasons

Yordan Alvarez has 9 home runs through 22 team games, 1 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (10). Comparable chases finished with a median of 33 (95% CI 32-34); 6.4% reached 50 (4.4-9.4% at 95% confidence), from 373 comparable seasons.

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-1 season

If Matt Olson finishes at the current projection of 77, it would be the most doubles in any season since 1901 — no season on record has finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 46 home runs, set by Alfonso Soriano in 2006. CJ Abrams projects to 46 and would tie it.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Only X seasons ever

Yordan Alvarez is building a rare combination

At his current pace, Yordan Alvarez would reach at least 190 hits, and 60 HR. Only 2 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. It is the tightest of 2 statistical combinations the engine checked. The recent company includes Sammy Sosa (1998), Babe Ruth (1927).

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Closest to .400