Historic Chases · 2026-06-29 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-06-29

No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: Jared Triolo hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 52 ▶︎ watch.

James Wood has struck out 123 times, projecting to 232. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901.

Also last night: The Pittsburgh Pirates came back from 5 runs down to win 11-7, and the Philadelphia Phillies blew a 5-run lead.

What changed from last season: Junior Caminero — walk rate up from 6.4% to 13.4% (41 in 643 plate appearances in 2025, 47 in 352 this season); Rafael Devers — walk rate down from 15.6% to 7.7% (112 in 719 plate appearances in 2025, 27 in 352 this season); Pete Crow-Armstrong — walk rate up from 4.7% to 10.6% (29 in 620 plate appearances in 2025, 38 in 358 this season). 3 of 291 rate comparisons across 49 men on this season's leaderboards, corrected for having looked that many times.

The so-what: Kyle Schwarber has 30 home runs through 85 team games, a 57-homer pace — 9 behind Bonds's 2001 total at the same point (39 of his eventual 73). That's the number that decides whether this season becomes a chase or a footnote.

That morning's stakes

What we were watching

On this date in 1990, Dave Stewart of the Athletics threw a no-hitter (one of 2 thrown on this date).

30/30 watch: Pete Crow-Armstrong sits at 17 HR / 20 SB — 13 homers and 10 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 32/38.

Bobby Witt Jr. sits at 28 stolen bases — two from the 30 mark.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons

Kyle Schwarber has 30 home runs through 85 team games, 9 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (39). Comparable chases finished with a median of 48 (95% CI 46-49); 34.3% reached 50 (24.1-46.3% at 95% confidence), from 67 comparable seasons.

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-20 season

If Kyle Schwarber finishes at the current projection of 57, it would rank No. 20 among all seasons since 1901 — only 19 finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 198 hits, set by Aubrey Huff in 2003. Yandy Díaz projects to 198 and would tie it.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Historical season twin

Whose season does Kyle Schwarber resemble?

The completed season closest to Kyle Schwarber's projected shape is Pete Alonso's 2019 (76% similarity). The match is strongest in runs, speed, average; the largest difference is run production. This is a comparison, not a forecast of how the season must finish.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Closest to .400