Twins Dig the Long Ball

Rod Carew

 Well, they did it , they broke the record.  The Twins have set a modern day record for the most home runs in a Major League Season.



The Twins have been pacing the world in home runs since the beginning of the season. We all knew that it was only a matter of time before they shattered the record for most home runs in a single season by any MLB team.
That day came on Saturday, in a losing effort against the Tigers in Detroit.
The Twins entered the day with 262 home runs on the season, five shy of the all-time record set by the 2018 Yankees. Garver got things started with a bang in this one, crushing a leadoff solo homer off of Matthew Boyd. Max Kepler then added a solo shot off of Boyd in the second inning and Jorge Polanco crushed a two-run shot in the fourth.
C.J. Cron also victimized Boyd, blasting a solo shot in the sixth to bring the Twins within one home run of the record. Nelson Cruz then got in on the action, crushing a solo homer off of Buck Farmer in the eighth inning to tie the record.
That’s when Garver took matters into his own hands again. The guy who had been counting down each of the Twins’ home runs over the last few weeks and keeping his teammates updated on how close they were getting to history, stepped to the dish to lead off the ninth inning. There, he pulverized the first pitch that he saw from Joe Jimenez for the team’s record 268th home run of the season.
When asked about hitting the record-breaking homer after the game, Garver told reporters, “Honestly, I’m happy, because first of all, homers are pretty cool and I like hitting them… Second of all, I looked in the dugout because we’re all fighting to kind of do the same thing.”
Garver also said that his batting gloves, hat, and the ball that he crushed into the left field bleachers have already been taken by MLB to go to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Eddie Rosario eloquently summed up his feelings on the record, saying, “When you’re hitting a lot of bombas, everybody’s hitting bombas, everybody’s happy.”
It really has been a team effort to accomplish this remarkable feat. Max Kepler has led the charge with 36 home runs on the season. Nelson Cruz has clubbed 34 in his first season with the Twins. Eddie Rosario has matched his career-high with 27 long balls.
Garver, who entered the season with seven career home runs to his name, has already launched 26 dingers. Miguel Sano has also crushed 26 homers -- in only 85 games. Free agent acquisitions C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop have chipped in 24 and 21 long balls respectively. Jorge Polanco has belted a career-best 20 of his own.
That’s not to mention 15 from Marwin Gonzalez, 12 from Jason Castro, 10 from Byron Buxton, 7 from Jake Cave, 4 from Ehire Adrianza, and three apiece from Luis Arraez and Willians Astudillo.
The Twins still have 27 games to go in the regular season. If they continue at their current pace, they’ll add another 53 homers to that total and finish with an unthinkable 321 home runs on the season.

Kershaw Streak Snapped

Clayton Kershaw wasn’t at his best in Saturday’s loss to the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on five hits over his five innings of work. Still, he struck out six and walked two on the night. Most of the damage done against him came via the long ball -- with a two-run blast by Christian Walker and a solo shot from Wilmer Flores in the third inning.
What’s surprising about the outing though, is the fact that Kershaw failed to pitch six innings. It’s the first time in 24 starts this season that Kershaw hasn’t gone at least six innings. That kind of consistency is incredible -- and certainly gets overlooked and perhaps underappreciated in today’s game.
Here’s the really jaw-dropping statistic from the star southpaw’s start on Saturday though. It marked the first time in his career that the Dodgers have scored four or more runs in a game that he started, and Kershaw wound up as the losing pitcher. In such instances entering Saturday, he had been 116-0. Remarkable.
Speaking of Christian Walker though, perhaps he’s a case study where batter vs. pitcher data actually tells us something. Entering play on Saturday, Walker had been a remarkable 4-for-8 with three home runs off of the Dodgers’ ace. Sure, it’s still an unbelievably small sample size, but when the results are that extreme, perhaps they’re worth noting. Unfortunately, for those who wish to take advantage of that information, Kershaw will not face the Diamondbacks again this season, so it’s simply something to file away for next year.

The 200 / 200 Club

On Saturday night, the 200 HR / 200 SB club just got a little younger.
Angels’ superstar Mike Trout became the youngest player in baseball history to hit both of those milestones, with his theft of second base in the second inning on Saturday.
At 28 years and 24 days old, Trout topped the previous record mark which was achieved by Barry Bonds, who hit the 200 / 200 mark with his 200th home run at the ripe old age of 28 years and 349 days.
Trout also became just the 40th player in MLB history to join the 250 HR / 200 SB club.
It remains to be seen if he’ll continue stealing bases at a proficient enough rate to ever join Bonds in the 400 HR / 400 SB club -- he’s the only player in MLB history to ever accomplish that feat.
In the process of locking up his third American League MVP Award -- and first since 2016 -- Trout is having an unbelievable season at the plate. With Saturday’s 1-for-3 effort, he’s now slashing .292/.438/.644 with a league-leading 43 homers, 101 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
We have a feeling there will be many, many more milestones in Trout’s future before all is said and done.

Ramos Raking

Wilson Ramos extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 24 games with a first-inning RBI single off of Jason Vargas in Saturday’s victory over the Phillies.
The Mets’ backstop has been sizzling at the plate during this impressive streak, hitting .446 (41-for-92) with three homers and 18 RBI, and even a stolen base for good measure.
The streak has done wonders for the 32-year-old backstop’s season-long numbers as well, as he’s now hitting a terrific .299/.360/.427 with 13 long balls and 66 RBI.

American League Quick Hits: Sean Manaea (shoulder) will make his long-awaited season debut on Sunday against the Yankees. … CC Sabathia landed on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation. The veteran southpaw got fluid drained from his ailing knee on Saturday and still hopes to pitch again in 2019. … Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone admitted that Edwin Encarnacion (wrist) could rejoin the team next week. … Indians’ outfielder Tyler Naquin will miss the remainder of the 2019 season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee. The injury occurred when he collided with the outfield wall after running down a fly ball during Friday’s game against the Rays. … The Red Sox signed Jhoulys Chacin to a minor league contract… Keon Broxton had his suspension reduced from two games to one. He’ll serve that suspension on Sunday… J.P. Crawford was unavailable for the Mariners on Saturday due to lingering hamstring tightness. …  Cam Bedrosian landed back on the injured list, this time with a right forearm strain. … Michael Chavis will be re-evaluated in Boston on Monday after being scratched from a rehab game on Friday with soreness in his side. … DJ LeMahieu smashed a walk-off home run off of Lou Trivino in the 11th inning on Saturday, leading the Yankees to victory over the Athletics. … Gary Sanchez clubbed a pair of homers in that one for the Bombers… Cavan Biggio homered and drove in three runs as the Blue Jays topped the Astros. … Ken Giles struck out the side against his former club in the ninth inning of that one to earn his 18th save… Ronny Rodriguez homered twice and drove in five runs as the Tigers out-slugged the Twins. … Ian Kennedy recorded his 24th save with a clean ninth inning against the Orioles. … Anthony Santander swatted a pair of home runs in a losing effort against the Royals. … Ji-Man Choi went 3-for-4 with a homer in a victory over the Indians. … Reynaldo Lopez gave up six runs in just ⅔ of an inning in a disastrous loss against the Braves… Mallex Smith swiped his league-leading 39th base in a loss to the Rangers. … Isiah Kiner-Falefa came through with a walk-off RBI single to beat the Mariners. … Albert Pujols launched his 20th home run and drove in three in a victory over the Red Sox.

National League Quick Hits: Brewers rookie second baseman Keston Hiura landed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. It’s unclear if the injury will end his season, or if he’ll be able to make a return in late September. … Freddie Freeman was pulled from Saturday’s game against the White Sox for precautionary reasons after being drilled by a pitch on his left foot. He’s expected to return to the lineup on Sunday. … Mike Moustakas missed his fourth consecutive game with a hand injury. The club is hopeful he’ll return to the lineup on Sunday. … Ketel Marte (hamstring) is expected to return to the Diamondbacks’ lineup on Sunday. … Jeff Samardzija will start against the Padres on Sunday, with Tyler Beede being pushed back until Monday against the Cardinals. …  Reyes Moronta will undergo an MRI on Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with an acute right shoulder strain. … Eugenio Suarez cranked his 39th home run as the Reds fell to the Cardinals in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. … Dexter Fowler had three hits, including a home run, to lead the Cardinals to victory in that one. … Bryce Harper clubbed his 29th home run and swiped a base in a loss to the Mets. … Raisel Iglesias suffered a blown save in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals and was yanked in favor of Kevin Gausman. … Sonny Gray allowed just an unearned run over 6 2/3 innings in a tough-luck no-decision there… Juan Soto clobbered his 30th home run of the season as the Nationals topped the Marlins… Teammate Anthony Rendon swatted his 30th and 31st home runs in that victory as well. In fact, he and Soto each hit their 30th bombs on back-to-back shots in the opening inning. … Stephen Strasburg matched his season high with 14 strikeouts over eight shutout innings in a masterful performance against the Marlins. … Eduardo Escobar left the yard for the third straight game as the Diamondbacks topped the Dodgers. … Dallas Keuchel won his third straight start, firing six innings of two-run baseball against the White Sox. … Josh Donaldson socked his 33rd dinger in that win. …Kevin Newman went 3-for-5 with a leadoff homer and three runs scored as the Pirates routed the Rockies. … Josh Bell slugged his 35th long ball in that one. …  Kirby Yates secured his league-leading 39th save as he closed out the Giants.