All articles tagged with #home runs
Shohei Ohtani hit his 30th home run of the season, extending a six-year streak of 30+ HR seasons, as the Dodgers defeated the Rockies. With pitching limited by an injury since July 3, his impact is primarily with the bat, helping LA to stay atop the NL West and fueling his NL MVP chase alongside Pete Crow-Armstrong.
New St. Louis Cardinal Joshua Baez homered in each of his first three plate appearances against the Cubs, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs as the Cardinals won 8-4. His 449-foot leadoff shot on the first pitch and two more HRs made his debut one of the most explosive in MLB history, a feat that puts him on the early pages of the career-homer list and drew a packed support crowd in Chicago.
Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez became the first player in MLB history to homer in his first three big-league at-bats, notching three homers at Wrigley Field after leading the minor leagues with 36 homers prior to his promotion.
St. Louis Cardinals prospect Joshua Báez homered in each of his first three MLB at-bats, becoming the first player in history to start his career with a three-homer game. Coming off a strong Triple-A Memphis season (103 games, .256/.328/.573 with 34 HR), Báez provided an immediate boost for the Cardinals as they chase a playoff spot, with his early blasts fueling a game that featured multiple lead changes.
Murakami belted two homers on bobblehead day as the White Sox crushed the Astros 12-3, fueling a move to the AL Central lead and boosting Murakami to 22 homers on the season after his return from a hamstring injury; his parents were in attendance but must return to Japan to care for their dogs.
Sports Illustrated’s Verducci explains Boston’s rapid revival: a management shift to Chad Tracy, a focus on throwing strikes and flawless defense, a surge in home runs, a lockdown bullpen, and a bit of luck, turning a 5.6% playoff probability on June 18 into a 66.9% chance and a 17–2 surge that has Boston looking like a playoff team.
Pete Crow-Armstrong powered a five-homer Cubs attack in a 9-7 win over Baltimore, becoming the first MLB player this year with a 20/20 season as he also hit his 20th (and 21st) homers. Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly added back-to-back shots, and Chicago survived late bullpen hiccups to extend its win streak; the Cubs remain in the mix for the postseason as they head into a potential series sweep the next day.
The Minnesota Twins hammered four home runs, including two by Josh Bell, to build an early 6-0 lead against a struggling Yankees squad and cruise to an 11-4 win at Yankee Stadium. Brendan Beck allowed three runs in the first and two in the second, while Camilo Doval struggled later, fueling a comeback attempt that fell short as New York’s offense stalled (1-for-10 with runners in scoring position) despite Jasson Domínguez’s homer and a late resilience. The loss extends a rough stretch for the Yankees, who dropped to 49-39 and have been sputtering offensively for weeks.
Washington hit five home runs, including two apiece from Luis Garcia Jr. and Daylen Lile, to beat the Pirates 9-5 and push Pittsburgh back under .500. Mitch Keller gave up five runs in six innings as the Nationals jumped out to a 3-0 start, while the Pirates finally rallied with four doubles in the ninth to make it closer. Reynolds hit his 150th career homer, but the early deficit proved too much; Pittsburgh heads to Saturday’s matinee with Braxton Ashcraft vs. Zack Littell.
Dansby Swanson hit three homers, giving him five in two games to tie MLB's record for back-to-back multi-homer performances, as the Cubs slugged eight total homers in a 23-3 rout of the Padres at Wrigley. Suzuki hit his 100th Cubs homer, the game featured a late position-player pitching appearance, and Jordan Wicks earned a three-inning save as Chicago extended its win streak.
Jac Caglianone led Kansas City with three hits, including two homers, as the Royals blew past the Rays 12-5. Loftin added a four-hit night with a homer, Avila worked five innings despite infield miscues by Salvador Perez, and the bullpen closed it out. The win showcased heavy offense across the lineup, but Kansas City remains near the bottom of the AL standings in a strangely competitive season where even the wild-card leaders aren’t thriving.
Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami continued a historic power pace, belting his 20th home run in 55 MLB games to sit third all-time for first-55-game HRs (behind Cody Bellinger and Wally Berger) while being tied for the AL lead in homers with Yordan Alvarez. He carries a .240/.375/.561 line with 42 runs and 40 RBI as Chicago sits 28-27 and in playoff contention, aided by his two-year, $34 million deal after his Nippon Professional Baseball MVP/Triple Crown years.
Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones went 2-for-4 with a 117-mph solo homer and a 111-mph grand slam for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in a 7-1 win, highlighting a standout performance amid a weekend of mixed results across Yankees’ minor-league affiliates.
Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox has broken Shohei Ohtani’s record for the most home runs by a Japanese-born player in their first 21 MLB games, belting seven homers through 21 games and adding an eighth soon after. Ohtani had five in his first 21 games, and Murakami’s torrid start also puts him among a small group of players with multiple 3+-game homer streaks in their first 22 MLB games, signaling a historic, rapid transition to major-league pitching.
Murakami has homered in each of his last three games for the White Sox, including his first MLB grand slam, yielding a .916 OPS (161 OPS+). Despite eye-popping power and walk rate, his in-zone contact is weak and strikeouts are high, reflecting a three-true-outcomes profile that shines on chase and waste pitches but struggles on pitches in the heart of the zone. If the early pace holds, he could approach 60 homers, but the sample size is small and the early results are mixed as he adjusts to MLB.