Historic Chases · 2026-07-08

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Baseball last night

History movers: Pete Crow-Armstrong (30/30 Club) up 74 → 78; Yandy Díaz (Batting Average) up 50 → 54.

Milestones reached last night: Pete Crow-Armstrong reached 20 HR; Jordan Walker reached 100 hits; Luis García Jr. reached 20 HR; Bobby Witt Jr. reached 100 hits; Fernando Tatis Jr. reached 100 hits.

The .400 chase: Otto Lopez went 2-for-4 last night and pushed his average up 2 points to .345. The gap to .400 is now .055.

The so-what: through 93 team games, Kyle Schwarber sits 10 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (42 at this point). That's the number that decides whether this season becomes a chase or a footnote.

What we were watching

The .400 burndown: Otto Lopez carries a .345 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .476 clip the rest of the way (129-for-271). A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .472; an 0-for-4 raises it to .483.

30/30 watch: Pete Crow-Armstrong sits at 21 HR / 23 SB — 9 homers short and 7 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 37/40.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons

Kyle Schwarber has 32 home runs through 93 team games, 8 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (40). Comparable chases finished with a median of 46; 27.9% reached 50 and 3.5% reached 60 (n=86).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play
If the pace holds

A projected top-19 season

If Kyle Schwarber finishes at the current projection of 56, it would rank No. 19 among all seasons since 1901 — only 18 finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021
Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The MIA single-season record is 221 hits, set by Juan Pierre in 2004. Otto Lopez projects to 219 and projects to finish 2 short.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021
Historical season twin

Whose season does Kyle Schwarber resemble?

The completed season closest to Kyle Schwarber's projected shape is Pete Alonso's 2019 (74% similarity). The match is strongest in speed, runs, 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 2021
Closest to .400
.345AVG
34 consecutive hits needed to reach .400
EXTREME
Home Run Leader
32HR
56 projected HR · 10 behind Bonds's 73 pace
Hits Leader
126H
219 projected H · 24 behind Suzuki's 262 pace
Stolen Base Leader
33SB
57 projected SB · 42 behind Henderson's 130 pace
Doubles Leader
262B
45 projected 2B · 12 behind Webb's 67 pace
Triples Leader
103B
18 projected 3B · 10 behind Wilson's 36 pace
Strikeout Leader
167K
294 projected K · record 383 (Nolan Ryan)
EXTREME
ERA Leader
1.62ERA
111.0 IP · chasing a sub-2.00 finish
ON PACE
Triple Crown Watch (AL)
.310· 29 HR · 67 RBI
2 / 1 / 1 in AVG/HR/RBI league ranks — full board on the Watch page
30/30 Club Pace
21/23HR/SB
37/40 projected HR/SB · team-game pace
ON PACE
Saves Leader
Cade SmithCLE
27SV
47 projected SV · record 62
EXTREME
Wins Leader (Team)
DodgersLAD
61W
105 projected wins · record 116
LONG SHOT
Run Differential Leader
DodgersLAD
+164
+283 projected run differential