Skenes, Elly, Walker among week's statistical standouts

Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (June 28-July 4).

For Orlando: The Giants defeated the Dodgers on Brett Wisely’s walk-off home run last Friday. It was the Giants’ 31st walk-off home run against their historic rivals. Among the others? One from Orlando Cepeda on Aug. 18, 1961. The late Cepeda’s passing was announced mid-game at Oracle Park on Friday. Yet again, the Giants had the perfect way to honor a legend who has passed away.

Skenes Day: Through his ninth MLB start on Saturday, Paul Skenes has 70 strikeouts and just 10 walks. He’s the second pitcher with at least 70 strikeouts and 10 or fewer walks in his first nine career appearances since at least 1901. He joins 2014 Masahiro Tanaka, who had 73 strikeouts and eight walks. Overall, he is the ninth pitcher with at least 70 strikeouts in his first nine career appearances in that span and the first since Tanaka.

10-K again: Garrett Crochet’s start on Sunday was the sixth time he’s had at least 10 strikeouts in a game this season. The only pitchers with more 10-strikeout games in their first 18 career starts since at least 1901 are Hideo Nomo (eight), Corbin Burnes (seven), Fernando Valenzuela (seven), Al Downing (seven) and Dwight Gooden (seven).

Grand salami: Between June 22 and Sunday, the Brewers hit five grand slams in an eight-game span. The slams came from Brice Turang (twice), Rhys Hoskins, Jake Bauers and Jackson Chourio. They became just the second team in MLB history with five grand slams in an eight-game span, joining the 2020 Padres, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Tony Taters: Anthony Santander led the Orioles with 13 home runs in June, tied for the third-most in a calendar month in Orioles/Browns history. The only players ahead of him on the list are Jim Gentile in August 1961 and Harlond Clift in August 1938, each with 15. He tied Nelson Cruz in May 2014 and Frank Robinson in July 1966. As a team, the Orioles hit 60 home runs, the third-most in a calendar month in MLB history, behind the Yankees in August 2019 (74) and Braves in June 2023 (61).

Hey, Mr. DJ: On Tuesday, D.J. Herz had 10 strikeouts and no walks in his sixth career start. It’s already his second game with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in his young career. He’s one of two pitchers since at least 1901 with two such games in his first six career outings. He joined Stephen Strasburg in 2010, also for the Nationals.

Electric Elly: Elly De La Cruz made his presence known in his first career game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. He registered his fifth career game with at least a triple and a home run in his 183rd game. That tied Ted Williams for the most such performances in a player’s first 185 games since at least 1901.

Keeping it 100: On Monday, Nolan Jones had a 101.3 mph outfield assist, the fastest in MLB this season. On Tuesday, he had one at 100.8 mph, the second-fastest by any player in 2024. He is the first player with a 100+ mph outfield assist in back-to-back games under Statcast (since 2015) and the Rockies are the first team to have one in two straight games from anyone, according to MLB’s Jason Bernard.

Walk the walk: Christian Walker hit his 18th and 19th career home runs at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, in just his 42nd game there. That’s four more than any other player in his first 42 games at the ballpark. His 19 home runs there have all come since the start of 2018, eight more than anyone else as a visitor there in that span.

Current Ironman: Matt Olson has played 542 consecutive games entering Friday, dating to May 2, 2021. There have been only six other streaks of at least 500 since 2000, per Elias. They belong to 2000-07 Miguel Tejada (1,152 consecutive games), 2018-22 Whit Merrifield (553), 2010-14 Prince Fielder (547), 2000-03 Alex Rodriguez (546), 2003-06 Hideki Matsui (518) and 2004-07 Mark Teixeira (507).