Gerrit Cole reached 150 career wins. And it wasn't alone: Cesar Perdomo made his MLB DEBUT and threw 4.0 innings, struck out 4 and allowed 1 run — and Grant McCray played his first game since August 11 — 21 days away.
Nightly briefing
Who is chasing baseball history right now — and whether the numbers say they can get there.
Baseball last night
Overnight: Kyle Schwarber (PHI) added 2 strikeouts. Schwarber has struck out 198 times, projecting to 231. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901. League strikeout rates have roughly doubled since 1980, so the all-time list is not an even comparison. But he's doing damage too: he leads MLB in home runs (40) — one every 12.5 at-bats. The strikeouts are the price of the power.
No club in baseball has been hotter: the Phillies have won 22 of their last 30, 3 clear of the next club among the 30 with 30 games played. They were 10 games under .500 on April 24 (8-18); they are 79-60 now. The Phillies have won 6 straight, and are 10-0 in their last 10. Collapse watch in the NL East: the Braves' lead over the Phillies was 8.5 games 18 days ago — it's 3.0 now. The Braves have gone 9-8 while the Phillies went 14-2.
The so-what: Yordan Alvarez (HOU) is holding an AL Triple Crown — he leads the AL in average (.317), home runs (37) and RBI (94). Across both leagues he is 3rd in MLB in home runs and 4th in MLB in RBI. The three are not the whole of it: among the 71 qualified AL hitters he also has the highest on-base percentage (.433) and slugging percentage (.604), and the most total bases (299) and walks (96) — 4 of the 9 other categories this site checks. OPS is on-base plus slugging, so leading both puts his 1.037 on top as well rather than making it a category of its own. No one has won a Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, and only 17 have ever been won. The chase is not one number now — it is three, every night, until October.
For the second straight night: The Minnesota Twins hung 15 runs on the Detroit Tigers (15-2)
HISTORY LAST NIGHT: Lazaro Montes made his MLB DEBUT and went 2-for-4 and homered — and hit his first career home run ▶︎ watch; Luis De León made his MLB DEBUT and threw 1.0 innings, struck out 1 and allowed 2 runs ▶︎ watch.
Seasons on a historic footing: Jacob Misiorowski (MIL), 13.18 strikeouts per nine innings, 5th among the 9,603 qualified seasons on file, behind four seasons, led by Gerrit Cole's 13.82 in 2019; Dylan Cease (TOR), 12.72 strikeouts per nine innings, 6th.
Also last night: Connor Prielipp went 5.0 scoreless ▶︎ watch; Bradgley Rodriguez has not allowed a run in his last 13 innings; Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) hit 2 home runs ▶︎ watch.
Went deep more than once: Thomas Saggese hit 2 home runs — his first career multi-homer game ▶︎ watch.
What changed from last season: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) — walk rate up from 4.7% to 11.9% (29 in 620 plate appearances in 2025, 73 in 612 this season); Jackson Merrill (SD) — stolen bases up from 1 in 115 games in 2025 to 24 in 137 this season; Nolan Arenado (AZ) — strikeout rate up from 12.2% to 22.8% (49 in 401 at-bats in 2025, 104 in 457 this season); Taylor Ward (SEA) — home-run rate down from 6.2% to 1.5% (36 in 579 at-bats in 2025, 7 in 481 this season). 4 of 820 rate comparisons across 158 qualified hitters and pitchers, corrected for having looked that many times.
Lines of the night: TJ Rumfield's tiebreaking home run in the 7th put the Rockies ahead for good in a 4-2 win over the Orioles ▶︎ watch; Jose Trevino's tiebreaking single in the 8th put the Reds ahead for good in a 4-3 win over the Padres ▶︎ watch; Freddie Freeman (LAD) homered for the first time since July 4, ending a 47-game drought — his 16th of the season; Tyler Phillips went 5.0 scoreless — and came out after 69 pitches, having allowed no runs over 5.0 innings ▶︎ watch; Gavin Williams (CLE) allowed two hits over 7.0 innings (13 K) ▶︎ watch.
The chases moved: Luis Arraez (PHI) had 2 hits (166 for the season) — Batting Average, at .315; Otto Lopez (MIA) had 1 hit (166 for the season); Yandy Díaz (TB) had 2 hits (160 for the season); Bryan Reynolds (PIT) scored 3 runs (95 for the season); Wilyer Abreu (BOS) hit 1 double (34 for the season); Jordan Walker (STL) drove in 2 runs (99 for the season); Matt Olson (ATL) hit 1 double (33 for the season); Chandler Simpson (TB) had 1 hit — Batting Average, at .312; and 1 more.
Elsewhere on the card: WSH beat ATL 9-5 (Yohandy Morales, 3 hits, 1 home run); TEX beat ATH 8-5 (Brandon Nimmo, 4 hits, 5 RBI); TB beat NYM 6-2 (Yandy Díaz, 2 hits, 1 home run); NYY beat LAA 7-3 (Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3 hits, 1 home run); CWS beat HOU 5-1 — Sean Burke went 5.2 scoreless; MIL beat CHC 9-4 (Joey Ortiz, 2 hits, 1 home run, 2 RBI); PHI beat AZ 7-1 (Jordan Lawlar, 2 hits, 1 home run).
Month in the books: the Phillies went 21-7 in August 2026, the highest win percentage any club posted in a full month this season. The franchise's best is still 22-5 in May 1976.
13.18
strikeouts per nine
Jacob Misiorowski · MIL
227 K in 155 IP · 26 starts
The season's pitching story, still running: Jacob Misiorowski has struck out 13.18 per nine innings through 155 innings and 26 starts, the best rate among the 51 qualified starters on tonight's board. Four of the 7,102 full-schedule qualified starter seasons the AL and NL have played since 1920 have finished a full schedule above it: Gerrit Cole's 13.82 in 2019, Spencer Strider's 13.55 in 2023, Randy Johnson's 13.41 in 2001 and Pedro Martinez's 13.20 in 1999. Above them on a short schedule: Shane Bieber's 14.20, over the 77.1 innings of 2020 and Jacob deGrom's 13.76, over the 68.0 innings of 2020. It was 13.23 a night ago.
- 14.20 Shane Bieber, 2020 (short schedule — 77.1 IP)
- 13.82 Gerrit Cole, 2019
- 13.76 Jacob deGrom, 2020 (short schedule — 68.0 IP)
- 13.55 Spencer Strider, 2023
- 13.41 Randy Johnson, 2001
- 13.20 Pedro Martinez, 1999
- 13.18 Jacob Misiorowski, this season so far
Sampling error on a rate over 155 innings is about 0.87.
Batter Strikeouts
NEGATIVE HISTORY
Kyle SchwarberPHI
Kyle Schwarber is on pace for 231 strikeouts
Mark Reynolds struck out 223 times in 2009, a mark that has survived the highest-strikeout era in history.
98History score
- Current
- 198
- Projected
- 231
- Record
- 223 Mark Reynolds, 2009
Triple Crown (AL)95
Yordan AlvarezHOU
Yordan Alvarez ranks 1/1/1 in the AL in AVG/HR/RBI. He leads all three.
Fastest Pitch89
Jacob Misiorowski
Record 105.8 · Aroldis Chapman, 2010
Jacob Misiorowski's 105.5 mph 4-Seam Fastball on June 26 is the fastest pitch of 2026.
Longest Ball79
Fernando Tatis Jr.
A 474-foot home run on July 21 — the longest ball of the season.
Run Differential78
AthleticsATH
-234 projectedRecord -349 · Boston Red Sox, 1932
Athletics are -201 in run differential and projecting to -234. The 1932 Red Sox bottomed out at -349.
30/30 Club78
Pete Crow-ArmstrongCHC
44/37 projectedRecord 54/59 · Shohei Ohtani, 2024▼ -1
Already in.
Hardest-Hit Ball78
Oneil Cruz
Record 122.4 · Giancarlo Stanton, 2017
A 119.0 mph double on April 16 — Stanton's tracked record is 122.4.
League Strikeout Rate78
MLB (league-wide)MLB
Record 8.68 · 2021 season
MLB hitters struck out more in 2021 than any season ever — 8.68 per team game. The league has been fighting its way back from the strikeout peak since.
Team Wins77
BrewersMIL
100 projectedRecord 116 · 1906 Cubs / 2001 Mariners
14 wins from a 100-win season.
The NL East is tightening. The Braves still lead, but the Phillies have cut the deficit from five and a half games to three games since August 18.
The Tigers have been better than 63-75 looks: their runs scored and allowed are those of a 74-win club.
Pace through history
A
Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons
Kyle Schwarber has 40 home runs through 139 team games, 19 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (59). Comparable chases finished with a median of 44 (95% CI 43-44); 2.5% reached 50 (1-6.2% at 95% confidence), from 162 comparable seasons.
Franchise pressure
A
A franchise record is under pressure
The Rays' single-season record is 198 hits, set by Aubrey Huff in 2003. Yandy Díaz projects to 188 and would finish 10 short.
The environment matters
A
This is an unusual batter-strikeout climate
MLB teams are averaging 8.42 batter-strikeout events per team game. The last completed season at least this high was 2024. The stored historical peak is 8.81 in 2019.
Historical season twin
A
Whose season does Kyle Schwarber resemble?
The completed season closest to Kyle Schwarber's projected shape is Anthony Santander's 2024 (87% similarity). The match is strongest in hit volume, speed, runs; the largest difference is power. This is a comparison, not a forecast of how the season must finish.
Under the surface
Deep signals
ICE
Grant Taylor · 18.1 straight scoreless IP Hershiser's record is 59
drought groupThe power outage is plural: Bryan Reynolds (15 HR) hasn't homered in 30 games; Freddie Freeman (16 HR) hasn't homered in 30 games. The longest quiet stretches of their seasons are costing them the pace.
pace surgeSurging: Fernando Tatis Jr. has pushed his home run pace from 16 to 22 in three weeks — 7 in 19 games where his own rate predicted 1.9. One of 73 pace comparisons run tonight.
Tonight's stakes
What to watch today
The hot hand: Tyler Soderstrom brings a 11-game hitting streak into tonight. Streaks get interesting at 20 and historic at 30.
Tightest race: the AL West — Astros (70-69) lead Rangers (69-70) by 1.
Year-over-year: the White Sox are 73-65 — 23 wins ahead of where they stood on this date last season (50-88).
Behind the plate: John Libka leads the board at 97.9% on 145 calls; Emil Jimenez sits last (92.4%). Biggest miss: a strike 6.1" off the zone.
The stretch run — 141 team games down, the crowns are in play. AL HR crown: Yordan Alvarez 37, Junior Caminero (TB) 37 — pace says 43–43; a coin flip to the wire · NL Hits title: Luis Arraez 166, Otto Lopez 166 — pace says 192–192; a coin flip to the wire · NL ERA title: Jacob Misiorowski 1.97, Chris Sale (ATL) 2.06 — a coin flip to the wire · AL Batting title: Yordan Alvarez .317, Chandler Simpson .312.
Rookie watch: Sal Stewart (CIN) has 105 RBI — the most in baseball (from a board of 52).
Franchise ladder watch: Fernando Tatis Jr. sits at 874 career hits — 5 from Chase Headley's 879 on the Padres' all-time list.
The Athletics have lost 5 straight, and are 2-8 in their last 10.
The White Sox lead the AL Central by 3 over the Guardians. The Rays lead the AL East by 4 1/2 over the Yankees.
Freddy Peralta: lowering his ERA to 4.96 from 5.33.
Jake Irvin: lowering his ERA to 5.57 from 5.82.
Call-ups: Yohandy Morales (Nationals), Leo Bernal (Cardinals), Eduardo Rivera (Red Sox), Ethan Salas (Padres), Lazaro Montes (Mariners), Hancel Rincon (Cardinals), Luis De León (Orioles), Dylan Ross (Mets), Victor Scott II (Cardinals), Alex Cook (Rays), Cesar Perdomo (Giants), Nick Morabito (Mets), Jedixson Paez (Red Sox), Carlos Hernández (Guardians), Zach Morgan (Giants), Jared Simpson (Nationals), Blake Burkhalter (Braves), Sean Keys (Blue Jays), BJ Murray Jr. (Cubs), Ben Ross (Twins) and Blas Castaño (Rockies) — the first of them to homer tonight would be the 277th player since 1916 to do it in his MLB debut.
The Diamondbacks activated Lourdes Gurriel Jr. off the injured list.
The Tigers activated Riley Greene off the injured list — he had not appeared since August 11.
Last night was the Phillies' 10th victory in 10 games — and the Braves' 8th loss in 10.
Last night was the Tigers' 9th loss in 10 games.
On this date in 2019, Justin Verlander of the Astros threw a no-hitter (one of 3 thrown on this date).
Career milestone watch: Dylan Cease sits at 75 career wins — 25 from 100; Freddie Freeman sits at 383 career home runs — 17 from 400.
Multi-homer machine: Alex Bregman has 3 multi-HR games (tracked since July 13).
Clean gloves: the Royals have played 14 straight errorless games.
From nowhere: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) is now 2nd of 10 on MLB's home-run board — he wasn't on it a month ago, when it ran 10 deep.
Luck watch: J.T. Realmuto is hitting .222 while his batted-ball quality says .261. Statcast's verdict: the hits are coming.
How to read the site
The chase, in plain English
No one is chasing .400 this season; the season log has the date it closed. Yordan Alvarez leads MLB at .317.
Every chase gets a 0–100 History Score against the record book, allowing home-run pace, streaks, Statcast extremes, and even negative history to share one radar.