Reds Rookie Aristides Aquino Reaches 13 Homers In First 100 Plate Appearances

MLB.com Reports:

Four games isn’t a long dry spell without a home run, but when it involves Reds right fielder Aristides Aquino, it sure can seem like it with the type of month he’s having.

During a 5-0 victory over the Marlins on Wednesday, the rookie slugger connected for a three-run home run in the first inning, making him the first Major Leaguer in the modern era to reach 13 homers in 100 career plate appearances.

• Box score

“It’s ridiculous, man. I’m really happy for him,” Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “He made a wholesale swing change from last year to this year. Obviously, the results speak for themselves, but he’s an infectious guy. He’s got an infectious personality. He keeps everybody smiling and laughing. I’m really happy that, one, he’s on our team and two, he’s had the start that he’s had. It’s been really cool to watch.”

Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies (2017) and Will Smith of the Dodgers this season were the only other Major League players since 1900 to connect for 12 homers in their first 100 plate appearances.

Pete Alonso Sets Mets Single-Season Home-Run Record

CBS Sports reports:

On Tuesday, New York Mets rookie first baseman Pete Alonso homered in the fourth inning to give his club a 1-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs. Alonso's home run was more significant than just putting the Mets in front, however, as it set a new single-season franchise record of 42. Just a few days prior, on Saturday, he had tied Todd Hundley and Carlos Beltran for the now-old record of 41.

Alonso had already set the National League rookie record for home runs, which previously belonged to Cody Bellinger, and is now 10 away from tying Aaron Judge's mark for the most ever by a freshman player. With more than a month remaining in the regular season, it seems fair to expect Alonso to threaten Judge's mark. At minimum, Alonso should make a run at Mark McGwire's mark (49) for the second-most ever by a rookie hitter.

If nothing else, it's worth noting that Alonso is the first rookie since Johnny Rizzo in 1938 to break his club's single-season record. Rizzo homered 23 times that year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Superstar Mike Trout Hits 43rd Homer, Reaches 100 RBI's

CBS Sports reports:

Trout went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over Texas on Tuesday.

Trout struck out in two of his first three plate appearances before crushing a 442-foot homer to left field in the eighth inning. The perennial MVP candidate has smashed 15 long balls since the All-Star break to take over the MLB lead with 43. He has scored 104 runs, driven in 100 and slashed .293/.436/.651 in 567 plate appearances.

Check out the video HERE.

Will this year be Trout’s best as a big leaguer though? In what is sure to be a highly non-controversial piece, one baseball writer has taken a stab at ranking his seasons (not including his brief 2011) of his career from worst to best. Read more HERE.

"This feels weird to say about an MVP-winning year, but 2014 is easily Trout’s worst full season as a major leaguer. It featured his highest strikeout total (and also the highest in the league) and lowest full-season WAR figure. He stole only 16 bases after swiping a combined 82 in his first two seasons. His walk rate plummeted to the second-worst mark of his entire career. He couldn’t figure out fastballs, slugging a paltry-for-him .507 against them. And overall, 2014 featured his worst batting average, on-base percentage and OPS+ figures."

Pete Alonso's 41st HR Ties Mets' Single-Season Record

MLB.com reports:

The bat model was a Dove Tail PA20, nicknamed “Haley’s Comet” as an ode to Pete Alonso’s fiancée. Alonso initially used it during his dramatic win over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the Home Run Derby last month. He brought it back Saturday for Players’ Weekend after breaking a flashier model featuring his nickname, a polar bear.

The choice proved wise. Upon clubbing a Max Fried fastball to deep center field in the fifth inning Saturday, Alonso clutched “Haley’s Comet” with both hands as he hopped toward first base. Only once the ball began descending did Alonso chuck the bat toward a patch of grass in front of the Mets’ dugout, freeing his right hand to curl into a fist.

The home run was Alonso’s 41st, matching the Mets’ franchise record with more than five weeks still to play. In a season that has already exceeded all rational expectations for his first year, and that stands a strong chance of ending with a National League Rookie of the Year Award, Alonso added another piece of history to his profile.

With 41 homers, Alonso matched Todd Hundley and Carlos Beltran, who have shared the Mets’ franchise mark since the latter hit his 41st in 2006. Alonso joined them in a 9-5 loss to the Braves at Citi Field; his homer briefly gave the Mets a 5-4 lead, though the Braves tied the game with a run in the sixth off starter Zack Wheeler.

• Box score

“It’s nuts,” Alonso said of the milestone home run. “As soon as the ball left the bat, I just knew it. The fans went absolutely nuts. It’s something you dream about as a kid. It’s surreal.”

Earlier this year, Alonso gave Dove Tail a list of suggestions for bat art. One was “Haley’s Comet” to recognize Haley Walsh, who accepted Alonso’s marriage proposal last November. The bat features a red, yellow and blue flame design, along with an axe handle that has become the signature of both Alonso and teammate Jeff McNeil.

• Diaz exits Mets' loss with muscle tightness

Major League rules prevent players from using bats with flashy designs during the regular season, however, leaving Alonso with few chances to swing it. His first prominent opportunity surfaced during the Home Run Derby, which he won. The next came during Players’ Weekend, the three-game event in which hitters are encouraged to decorate their bats as much as they see fit. On Friday night, Alonso tried a bat featuring a roaring polar bear, but snapped it on his first swing of the night. He tried two other bats in that game, including a bright orange model, finishing 1-for-6 with three strikeouts.

Dodgers Max Muncy Hits Dramatic Walk-Off Homer To Beat The Blue Jays

L.A. Times reports:

Boos accompanied Kenley Jansen’s every step from the mound to the dugout. For the sixth time this season, the Dodgers closer had blown a save opportunity. Once again, the home fans let him have it.

During last week’s trip, when he tossed two scoreless appearances in non-save opportunities, it looked as if Jansen had turned a corner after the latest rocky stretch in his inconsistent season.

When the right-hander took the mound Wednesday night, in a game in which starter Walker Buehler threw seven innings for his seventh scoreless start of the season, it looked like Will Smith’s fourth-inning home run was all the offense the Dodgers would need.

But Jansen couldn’t put away Rowdy Tellez with one out in the ninth. The Toronto Blue Jays first baseman worked the count full, then fouled off a four-seam fastball and cutter down-and-in. On the eighth pitch, Jansen tried to bury another cutter inside. Tellez got to it and lined it over the right-field wall to tie the score. 

“Went to the well one too many times,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It wasn’t a bad pitch, but when you give a guy like that — who has some power — multiple looks in the same quadrant, it decreases your margin.”

An inning later, Max Muncy bailed out his closer with a scorching line-drive home run of his own, handing the Dodgers a 2-1 win with his 11th walk-off of the year.

“I was looking for something out over the plate that I could get extended on,” said Muncy, who has homered in five straight games to increase his season total to 33. “He left something out there for me.”

Read more HERE.

Pete Alonso: Sets NL Rookie Homer Record

CBS Sports reports:

Alonso went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two RBI and two additional runs Sunday in the Mets' 11-5 win over the Royals.

Alonso took reliever Jacob Barnes deep in the top of the ninth for his 40th home run of the season, allowing him to take sole possession of the National League rookie record previously established by the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger in 2017. With 58 games left to play, Alonso will have a realistic shot at besting Aaron Judge's MLB rookie record of 52, which was also established in 2017. Like Bellinger and Judge before him, Alonso looks on track to claim Rookie of the Year honors, especially with one of his chief competitors for the award -- the Padres' Fernando Tatis (back) -- expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Pitcher Jake Arrieta Placed On The Injured List, Season In Question

 MLB.com reports:

Prior to Wednesday's game against the Cubs, the Phillies placed Jake Arrieta on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of first baseman Logan Morrison from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Arrieta has been pitching with a bone spur in his right elbow, and he said Wednesday that he is likely headed for surgery and "probably" will not pitch again this season if he undergoes the procedure.

The 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner with the Cubs, Arrieta has recorded a 4.26 ERA in 55 starts since he joined the Phils on a three-year, $75 million contract in March 2018. The deal includes club options for $22.5 million in '21 and '22.

The 33-year-old can opt out of the final year and $20 million remaining on his contract after this season, but he said he is unlikely to do so.

Zach Eflin is scheduled to start in Arrieta's place on Saturday against the Padres. Eflin was moved to the bullpen in late July, and he has posted a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 innings spanning four relief appearances.

Morrison's promotion comes after outfielder Corey Dickerson was hit by a pitch and exited Tuesday's game with a left hand contusion. The veteran slugger signed a Minor League contract with Philadelphia on July 15. He hit just .186 with a .644 OPS for the Twins last season, but he isn't far removed from producing a career-best 38 homers for the Rays in 2017.

Thomas Harrigan is a reporter for MLB.com.

Yankees Slugger Gleyber Torres Hits 13th Homer Against The Orioles, Sets Mark

 MLB.com reports:

“Obviously, he's killed us all year. We are supposed to be making better pitches to him or not let him beat us, and we continue to throw the ball in the middle of the plate.”

You know a player’s having a pretty good season when the opposing manager -- in this case Baltimore's Brandon Hyde -- has that to say after the game. But it wasn’t just the three home runs Gleyber Torres hit across the two games of the Yankees' doubleheader sweep Monday at Yankee Stadium, including two in New York's 11-8 victory in the second contest. It’s the 13 homers he’s hit against the Orioles this year -- out of 26 total.

There are a lot of stats surrounding what Torres has done so far this season, both against the Orioles and overall. To recap the most notable of those:

• The 13 homers vs. the Orioles this season are the most by a player against a single opponent in the divisional era (since 1969).

• The 13 homers vs. the Orioles are tied for the second most by a player against a single opponent in a season in MLB history (record is Lou Gehrig's 14 vs. Cleveland in 1936).

• Torres is the first player since Roger Maris in 1961 vs. the White Sox -- his record-setting season -- with 13 homers against a single opponent in a season.

• Torres’ five multihomer games vs. the Orioles are the most by a player in a season against a single opponent.

• With 50 career homers, he’s the third-youngest Yankees player to reach that mark.

• Torres is the youngest player in American League history to reach 8 career multihomer games.

• The second-year player has surpassed his rookie-year homer total of 24.

• Torres is the first player since Mike Schmidt (1983 vs. the Expos) to homer in both games of a doubleheader twice against the same team in the same season. Torres also homered in both games of a twin bill vs. the Orioles on May 15.

Reds Outfielder Astrides Aquino Sets A New MLB Record!

UPI.com reports:

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Astrides Aquino continues to be on fire to start his career, hitting a record eight home runs in his first 12 Major League Baseball games.

Aquino made his MLB debut Aug. 1. He went deep for an eighth time during the Reds' 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals Monday at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. 

 "I wanted to go out there and do my job the best that I can do," Aquino told reporters. "[I wanted to] try to compete and do my best."

Aquino, 25, is now hitting .429 with eight homers and 16 RBIs this season. He went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, two strikeouts and a run scored in Monday's loss. 

 "A lot of us say we've never seen anything like it, and that would explain it: It's never happened before," Reds manager David Bell said. "We've been talking about him now. The great thing is, with the success, just the way he is handling it, his maturity level and he's handling it with a lot of poise.

We believe in him and believe he's going to keep going. We're going to need him to. It has been fun to watch for everyone."

The Reds took an early lead Monday when Jesse Winker led off the game with his 16th home run of the season. But the Nationals answered with three runs in the bottom of the opening inning. Jose Iglesias plated Tucker Barnhart in the top fo the second inning to close the Reds' gap to one run.

Aristides "The Punisher" Aquino Hits 3 HRs, Has 7 in 10 Career Games

MLB.com reports:

In Aristides Aquino's first three at-bats against the Cubs on Saturday, “The Punisher” indeed punished. Aquino slugged three home runs in the first four innings, and the Reds hit six during a 10-1 rout at Great American Ball Park.

Aquino homered in three consecutive innings, and he tied Rockies shortstop Trevor Story's Major League record with seven homers over his first 10 games with the Reds.

The pitching performance of Reds starter Sonny Gray shouldn’t be overlooked. Gray allowed two hits and four walks while striking out seven over six scoreless innings. He didn’t have a Cubs hit on his line over the first four innings. That improved his record to 7-6 with a 3.10 ERA over 23 starts.

Leading off the second inning against starter Kyle Hendricks, Aquino pulled a sinker into the left-field corner for his first homer. It set a Reds franchise record with five in his first 10 career games. According to Statcast, it wasn’t the usual moonshot that Aquino has often hit. The exit velocity was 87.6 mph, and the ball traveled a projected 344 feet. The drive had an expected batting average of .080.

The following inning with two outs, Aquino extended his still-fresh record with a sixth homer, also to left field. It sparked a rally of six straight hits during the four-run inning off Hendricks, who was knocked out of the game following a Jesse Winker double.

The new pitcher, Dillon Maples, fared no better in the fourth inning. Two batters after Eugenio Suarez hit a leadoff homer, Aquino went deep again. This time, it was a monster shot that carried well over the visitors bullpen in left-center field to make it a 9-0 game.

Statcast projected the distance of the homer at 452 feet, and it left his bat at 107.4 mph.