No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: Taylor Trammell hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 31 ▶︎ watch; Joey Loperfido hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 32 ▶︎ watch.
Historic Chases · 2026-06-23 RECONSTRUCTED
Nightly briefing
Baseball last night
Zach Neto has struck out 116 times, projecting to 232. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901.
History movers: Yordan Alvarez — Triple Crown (MLB).
Lines of the night: Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith, Taylor Trammell went BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK; Kahlil Watson hit his first career home run ▶︎ watch; The Philadelphia Phillies came back from 5 runs down to win 14-9, and the Washington Nationals blew a 5-run lead; Logan VanWey earned his first career win ▶︎ watch; Brandyn Garcia earned his first career save ▶︎ watch.
Also last night: Alex Call hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 48 ▶︎ watch.
Milestones reached last night: Nasim Nuñez reached 30 SB.
The so-what: Kyle Schwarber has 29 home runs through 79 team games, a 59-homer pace — 10 behind Bonds's 2001 total at the same point (39 of his eventual 73). Keep watching that number — it separates a run at the record from a very good season.
That morning's stakes
What we were watching
Wild-card watch: the AL's last wild-card spot belongs to a losing record — the Blue Jays (39-40) hold it, with the Athletics (38-41) a game back.
On this date in 1971, Rick Wise of the Phillies threw a no-hitter (one of 2 thrown on this date).
30/30 watch: Pete Crow-Armstrong sits at 17 HR / 18 SB — 13 homers and 12 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 35/37.
Bobby Witt Jr. sits at 28 stolen bases — two from the 30 mark.
Historical intelligence
How the night stacked up
Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons
Kyle Schwarber has 29 home runs through 79 team games, 10 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (39). Comparable chases finished with a median of 48 (95% CI 47-50); 39.7% reached 50 (28.1-52.5% at 95% confidence), from 58 comparable seasons.
Retrosheet · verified play-by-playA projected top-12 season
If Kyle Schwarber finishes at the current projection of 59, it would rank No. 12 among all seasons since 1901 — only 11 finished higher.
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025Whose season does Kyle Schwarber resemble?
The completed season closest to Kyle Schwarber's projected shape is Pete Alonso's 2019 (75% similarity). The match is strongest in speed, runs, hit volume; the largest difference is run production. This is a comparison, not a forecast of how the season must finish.
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025Closest to .400
.337AVG
34 consecutive hits needed to reach .400
EXTREME
Home Run Leader
29HR
59 projected HR · 10 behind Bonds's 73 pace
Hits Leader
105H
213 projected H · 24 behind Suzuki's 262 pace
Stolen Base Leader
31SB
63 projected SB · 33 behind Henderson's 130 pace
Doubles Leader
232B
48 projected 2B · 9 behind Webb's 67 pace
Triples Leader
93B
18 projected 3B · 9 behind Wilson's 36 pace
Triple Crown Watch (MLB)
.325· 25 HR · 56 RBI
3 / 2 / 6 in AVG/HR/RBI league ranks — full board on the Watch page
30/30 Club Pace
17/18HR/SB
35/37 projected HR/SB · team-game pace · 2 others in the hunt
ON PACE
Wins Leader (Team)
Dodgers
51W
103 projected wins · record 116
LONG SHOT
Run Differential Leader
Dodgers
+143
+290 projected run differential