I Breg Your Pardon

Alex Bregman (CHC): 3-6, 3 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI.

If you look hard enough, chances are you’ll find something new every night during the season. That’s the fun thing about baseball. But you didn’t really need to look that hard last night. The Cubs have been around since 1876, and yet, before last night, they hadn’t hit nine home runs in a game. Well, guess what, it happened. In case you were wondering, the Blue Jays (9/14/1987) are the only team in baseball to hit 10 bombs in a game. The Cubs also ended August with 62 home runs, second only to the 2019 Yankees for the most by a team in a single month.

So PCA must have hit five of them, right? Nope, he didn’t hit a single one of them. Wild, right? Bregman (3-6, 3 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI) finished the bombardment in the eighth with a flyball over the ivy in left against noted ace reliever Andrew Vaughn. Well, hey, that many home runs requires at least a little shenanigans. For bookkeeping purposes, Vaughn also coughed up home runs to Michael Conforto and Matt Shaw. DL Hall surrendered the home run to Cubs catcher Carson Kelly.

However, Chicago’s first five home runs (Tyrone Taylor, Nico Hoerner, Bregman, Seiya Suzuki, and Bregman again) came against a pitcher who entered the night with a 90% roster rate on Yahoo. That would be Kyle Harrison. Yep, many good fantasy teams had their dreams end last night. Bregman, meanwhile, joined Dave Kingman, Sammy Sosa, and Aramis Ramirez as the fourth Cub since 1900 to have multiple three-home run games in a single season (his first came in D.C. on 8/12). Bregman has 23 home runs for the year, and his .785 OPS ranks fourth among qualified third basemen. He and PCA are also the third pair of teammates to hit at least 12 home runs each in the same month, joining Rafael Palmeiro and Pudge Rodríguez, and Mantle and Maris. That seems like pretty good company.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:

Daylen Lile (WSN): 3-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.

Maybe he likes Mondays? Lile’s first home run of the night followed a one-out single from Andrew Pinckney in the fifth (406 feet, 102.2 EV). His encore two-run jolt came two innings later, much to the dismay of righty reliever Josh Ekness, and ultimately sealed a 6-3 Nats win in Miami. Lile’s 20 home runs are a career high, and he has had markedly better results in the second half (118 wRC+). The only clear knock on Lile is his tendency to chase bad pitches (89 DV).

Walker Jenkins (MIN): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

Well, that didn’t take long. And the man who coughed it up? That would be Zach McKinstry. Yep, that’s how last night’s blowout in Minny ended. Still, Jenkins will remember this one forever: a high-arching flyball that kicked off the right field foul pole on a 37-mph eephus. The 21-year-old lefty-hitting prospect owns a .940 OPS through his first 14 PAs.

Mark Vientos (NYM): 1-4, HR, R, RBI.

Vientos banged three home runs in a rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday and returned with a bang by hitting his 12th home run of the year while leading off the seventh against Tampa lefty Ian Seymour. Vientos, who hit cleanup last night, might be worth monitoring, considering he is just two years removed from an .838 OPS. However, he’ll have to prove he can hit righties (43 wRC+ this season). Unlikely? Yes, but I suppose there are worse things to keep tabs on in 15-teamers.

Randy Arozarena (SEA): 4-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI.

What a night in Fenway. Arozarena started the game with a high flyball off the Monster for a double. Two innings later, he cleared the wall with his 21st home run (402 feet, 103.3 EV). His next hit, a fifth-inning single, also came against Tolle. The 31-year-old Cuban star’s .836 OPS is fifth among qualified outfielders and the best we’ve seen from him since 2021.

Mickey Gasper (BOS): 1-4, HR, R, RBI, BB.

The Red Sox demoted Gasper yesterday, only to call him back hours later after Contreras landed on the IL. But Gasper proved that he was born ready by banging a splitter from George Kirby into the Red Sox bullpen for his sixth home run. The 30-year-old switch-hitter played first base and hit second last, and has been one of Boston’s most productive hitters (136 wRC+).

Vaughn Grissom (LAA): 3-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Grissom capped the big night with a two-run double in the eighth against David Bednar, who had entered in a rare non-save appearance to get some work in. The 25-year-old former Red Sox has been a regular in the Angels lineup, hitting behind Trout. However, he hasn’t done much (94 wRC+). Still, he’s there if you need at-bats in a deep points league.

Ryan Jeffers (MIN): 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.

Jeffers rung Jobe’s bell by blasting a letter-high fastball to the bleachers in left-center (420 feet, 104.6 EV); the three-run shot gave the Twins a 5-0 lead in the fifth. His 12th home run came two innings later against righty reliever Yilber Díaz. The 29-year-old catcher missed almost two months with a hamate fracture, but he has been very productive, totaling an .870 OPS that would rank first among qualified catchers. Oddly enough, this was his first home run since July 31st. Go figure.

Spencer Jones (NYY): 1-3, HR, R, RBI.

Walbert Ureña was untouchable last night, save for this towering solo home run from Jones while leading off the fifth (398 feet, 105.1 EV). He’s a fun player to wishcast, pairing a 14.7% barrel rate with exceptional athleticism. However, his 35.4% K rate and 35.6% chase rate are equally untenable.

Rafael Devers (SFG): 1-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB.

Bryce Elder tried to sneak an 0-1 cutter past Devers during his first at-bat. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. The solo home run completed the 29-year-old’s fifth 30-home run season, and his .820 OPS is tied for 12th among qualified first basemen. He has been particularly good after the ASB, thanks to a substantial drop in his K rate from 27.3% to 21.7%.

Manny Machado (SDP): 4-5, 2B, R.

That’s a season-high four hits, and the double snapped a ten-game extra-base hit drought. However, his .712 OPS is the lowest of his career. …And his 21.8% K rate is also a career-high. That’s not what you want to see from a 34-year-old slugger. But his 114 Process is still nearly a standard deviation above the norm, suggesting that he might be due for some positive regression.

Featured image by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X) and adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on Bluesky)