Historic Chases · 2026-05-26 RECONSTRUCTED

← 2026-05-25 All days 2026-05-27 →

Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-05-26

No history was made last night, but the box scores still talked: Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 28 ▶︎ watch; Jeremy Peña hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 18 ▶︎ watch.

Oneil Cruz has struck out 84 times, projecting to 247. Mark Reynolds' record is 223. That pace would be the most strikeouts in any season since 1901.

History movers: Yordan Alvarez, after a two-homer night — Franchise Home Runs: 18 now, pace 52.1, record 47 (Jeff Bagwell, 2000) · CJ Abrams — Franchise RBI: 46 now, pace 133.1, record 131 (Vladimir Guerrero, 1999).

Lines of the night: Brett Sullivan hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 27 ▶︎ watch.

What changed from last season: Rafael Devers — walk rate down from 15.6% to 5.8% (112 in 719 plate appearances in 2025, 13 in 224 this season). 1 of 113 rate comparisons across 19 men on this season's leaderboards, corrected for having looked that many times.

The so-what: Kyle Schwarber has 21 home runs through 55 team games, a 62-homer pace — 8 behind Bonds's 2001 total at the same point (29 of his eventual 73). That's the number that decides whether this season becomes a chase or a footnote.

That morning's stakes

What we were watching

Wild-card watch: the AL's last wild-card spot belongs to a losing record — the Twins (27-28) hold it, with the Mariners (27-29) half a game back.

Streak ladder: the Cubs have lost 10 straight — 11 shy of the 2024 White Sox (AL record) (21); 13 shy of the 1961 Phillies (modern record) (23).

On this date in 2004, Daryle Ward hit for the cycle.

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 11 HR / 17 SB — 19 homers and 13 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 32/50.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Kyle Schwarber versus the great home-run seasons

Kyle Schwarber has 21 home runs through 55 team games, 8 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (29). Comparable chases finished with a median of 44 (95% CI 42-47); 22.9% reached 50 (15.6-32.3% at 95% confidence), from 96 comparable seasons.

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-7 season

If Kyle Schwarber finishes at the current projection of 62, it would rank No. 7 among all seasons since 1901 — only 6 finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 131 RBI, set by Vladimir Guerrero in 1999. CJ Abrams projects to 133 and would clear it by 2.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2025

Only X seasons ever

Kyle Schwarber is building a rare combination

At his current pace, Kyle Schwarber 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 2025

Closest to .400