Skenes, J-Rod, Ohtani putting up historic stats

Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (Sept. 20-26).

Skenes Day: Through his 22nd career start on Sunday, Paul Skenes has 167 strikeouts. That’s the fifth-most by any player in his first 22 career appearances since at least 1901, trailing only 1995 Hideo Nomo (194), 1998 Kerry Wood (193), 2002-03 Mark Prior (172) and 1984 Dwight Gooden (171). Skenes has a 1.99 ERA, the second-lowest ERA in a pitcher’s first 22 career appearances, all starts, since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913, behind only 1973-74 Steve Rogers’ 1.95.

Tony Taters: Anthony Santander hit his 44th home run of the season on Tuesday. That gave him sole possession of the fifth-most home runs in a season by a switch-hitter. He trails only 1961 Mickey Mantle (54), 1956 Mantle (52), 2006 Lance Berkman (45) and 1999 Chipper Jones (45).

What a turnaround: The Astros clinched the AL West on Tuesday, capping off a turnaround from early in the season. They started 12-24. The only other teams to make the playoffs after losing at least 24 of their first 36 decisions are the 1914 Boston Braves (11-25), 1989 Blue Jays (12-24) and 1981 Royals (12-24; split season, finished first in division in second half).

First time’s the charm: Rookie managers Stephen Vogt and Joe Espada each led teams to division titles this year. That’s tied for the most rookie managers to win their divisions in a season (divisions began in 1969), with 2014 Brad Ausmus (DET) and Matt Williams (WSH) and 1981 Jim Fanning (MON) and Gene Michael (NYY), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (Note: Pat Murphy was SD interim in ‘15, so is not officially a rookie.)

Putting up zeroes: The Giants’ win on Tuesday was their third shutout win by at least nine runs on the road trip. That’s tied for most in a calendar month in MLB history. It’s the third such month in Giants history, joining July 1949 and May 1885. The only other teams with three such wins on the road in a calendar month are the Cubs in April 2016 and Yankees in June 2008.

JULIOOOO: On Wednesday, Julio Rodríguez hit his 20th home run of the season. He became one of two players in MLB history with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in each of the first three seasons of his career, along with Bobby Witt Jr. Rodríguez is hitting .359 with a .398 on-base percentage, .632 slugging, nine homers and 27 RBI in his last 26 games through Wednesday.

Nando: Fernando Tatis Jr. crushed a 448-foot home run at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. He is now one of four players with multiple home runs of at least 445 feet at Dodger Stadium under Statcast, joining Shohei Ohtani, Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig. He is the only visitor with multiple. He had 12 home runs in his first 33 games at Dodger Stadium, tied with Christian Walker and Ryan Howard for the most as a visitor in his first 33 games at the ballpark.

Shotime: Shohei Ohtani has 24 homers and 33 stolen bases since the All-Star break, each of which are the most or tied for most in MLB. The only player to lead MLB in both home runs and stolen bases for a second half (since the first All-Star Game in 1933) is 1955 Willie Mays, per Elias. Ohtani will join him if he maintains his leads.

Eye of the Tiger: The Tigers were eight games under .500 through 118 games and are now currently in a playoff spot. The only team to make the playoffs after being at least eight games under .500 after 115 games or later is the 1973 Mets, per Elias. They were eight games under through their 138th game of the season.

Current Ironman: Matt Olson has played 615 consecutive games entering Friday, dating to May 2, 2021. There have been only seven other streaks of at least 600 to begin in the divisional era (1969), per Elias. They belong to 1982-98 Cal Ripken Jr (2,632 consecutive games), 1975-83 Steve Garvey (1,207), 2000-07 Miguel Tejada (1,152), 1978-83 Pete Rose (745), 1981-86 Dale Murphy (740), 1973-78 Rose (678) and 1969-73 Sandy Alomar Sr. (661).