No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: Ernie Clement hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 30 ▶︎ watch; Nick Castellanos hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 19 ▶︎ watch.
Historic Chases · 2026-04-29 RECONSTRUCTED
Nightly briefing
Baseball last night
Taylor Ward has 13 doubles — projecting to 73, +1 vs Earl Webb's 67 pace. That pace would be the most doubles in any season since 1901. Needs 37 more to reach 50.
Ildemaro Vargas sits at .372 — the last .400 season was Ted Williams in 1941.
The so-what: Oneil Cruz is on a 40/40 pace — 9 HR and 10 SB, projecting to 47/52. Only five players have ever done it: Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, Soriano, and Ohtani. Power and speed in the same season is the whole story from here.
History movers: Matt Olson, after homering — Franchise RBI: 28 now, pace 146.3, record 139 (Matt Olson, 2023); Total Bases: 77 now, pace 402, record 457 (Babe Ruth, 1921).
Lines of the night: Miguel Andujar hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 20 ▶︎ watch; Will Benson hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 23 ▶︎ watch.
Sweep watch: the White Sox swept the Angels (3 games) — their 2nd sweep in 27 days. 1 other club was swept the same night.
That morning's stakes
What we were watching
MUST TRACK: Oneil Cruz is on a 40/40 pace — 9 HR / 10 SB, projecting to 47/52. Every game matters from here.
The .400 burndown: Ildemaro Vargas carries a .372 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .406 clip the rest of the way (160-for-394). A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .403; an 0-for-4 raises it to .410.
Wild-card watch: the AL's last wild-card spot belongs to a losing record — the Tigers and the Rangers are level on 15-16, with the Blue Jays (14-16) half a game back.
On this date in 2022, 5 Mets pitchers combined for a no-hitter (one of 2 thrown on this date).
30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 9 HR / 10 SB — 21 homers and 20 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 47/52.
Historical intelligence
How the night stacked up
Aaron Judge versus the great home-run seasons
Aaron Judge has 12 home runs through 31 team games, 2 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (14). Comparable chases finished with a median of 37 (95% CI 35-39); 8.2% reached 50 (5.5-12% at 95% confidence), from 280 comparable seasons.
Retrosheet · verified play-by-playA projected top-1 season
If Matt Olson finishes at the current projection of 68, it would be the most doubles in any season since 1901 — no season on record has finished higher.
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025A franchise record is under pressure
The single-season record is 198 hits, set by Aubrey Huff in 2003. Chandler Simpson projects to 200 and would clear it by 2.
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025Aaron Judge is building a rare combination
At his current pace, Aaron Judge would reach at least 60 HR, and 100 RBI. Only 10 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. The recent company includes Cal Raleigh (2025), Aaron Judge (2022), Barry Bonds (2001).
SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025Closest to .400
.372AVG
4 consecutive hits needed to reach .400
NEAR PACE
Home Run Leader
12HR
63 projected HR · 2 behind Bonds's 73 pace
Hits Leader
39H
211 projected H · 10 behind Suzuki's 262 pace
Stolen Base Leader
13SB
68 projected SB · 12 behind Henderson's 130 pace
Doubles Leader
132B
73 projected 2B · +1 vs Webb's 67 pace
Triples Leader
43B
22 projected 3B · 2 behind Wilson's 36 pace
Triple Crown Watch (MLB)
.355· 11 HR · 26 RBI
3 / 3 / 4 in AVG/HR/RBI league ranks — full board on the Watch page
30/30 Club Pace
9/10HR/SB
47/52 projected HR/SB · team-game pace · 11 others in the hunt
ON PACE
Wins Leader (Team)
Braves
22W
115 projected wins · record 116
NEAR PACE
Run Differential Leader
Braves
+69
+361 projected run differential