When the Boston Red Sox connected for four home runs in the fourth inning of their July 17 game against the Detroit Tigers, it was just the 51st time in major-league history that a team had gone deep four or more times in one inning. Even more remarkable, the Red Sox hit all their homers after two were out, a first in the AL. The Red Sox who connected were Donnie Sadler, Darren Lewis, Nomar Garciaparra and Mo Vaughn. It was the seventh time in Red Sox franchise history that a quartet had homered in one inning. The major-league record for most homers in an inning after two outs is held by the 1939 New York Giants, who had five players (JoJo Moore, Harry Danning, Frank DeMaree, Burgess Whitehead and Manny Salvo) go deep in the fourth inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds.
TWIN KILLING
When Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners tossed a one-hitter against the Minnesota Twins on July 16, it was the second time since 1970 that the Twins have had a no-hitter and a one-hitter thrown against them in the same season. Earlier this season David Wells of the New York Yankees pitched a perfect game against them. In 1970, Dick Bosman of the Washington Senators one-hit them on August 13 and Vida Blue of the Oakland A’s no-hit them on September 21.
SMOOTH CONSISTENCY
Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves needs just two victories to reach 15 for the season. If he gets the two victories, he will chalk up his 11th consecutive season of 15 or more victories. Maddux is just the ninth major-league pitcher to post that many victories in 10 straight seasons. The eight other pitchers who posted 15 or more victories in 10 straight years are all in the Hall of Fame. They are: %%
Pitcher Career 15 or more
Victories Years
Cy Young 1890-11 15 1891-05
Gaylord Perry 1962-83 13 1966-78
Christy Mathewson 1900-16 12 1903-14
Jim ”Pud” Galvin 1879-92 11 1879-89
Warren Spahn 1942-65 11 1953-63
Walter Johnson 1907-27 10 1910-19
Tim Keefe 1880-93 10 1881-90
Kid Nichols 1890-06 10 1890-99
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POPCORN
Pitcher Todd Van Poppel was traded from the Texas Rangers to the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 17. Van Poppel was the first-round draft pick of the Oakland A’s in 1990 but hasn’t lived up to his early promise. The Pirates are the fifth team to take a chance on the right-hander since the A’s released him in 1996. Van Poppel started for the Pirates on Wednesday night and a recorded a victory. With all his struggles, Van Poppel has compiled the second-highest ERA of any major-leaguer with a minimum of 450 innings pitched. Only Jim Walkup, who pitched for the St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers from 1934-39, had a higher career ERA. The 10 highest ERAs for pitchers with 450 or more innings are: %%
Pitcher Years ERA
Jim Walkup 1934-39 6.74
Todd Van Poppel 1991-present 6.30
Leo Sweetland 1927-31 6.10
Claude Willoughby 1925-31 5.84
Vic Frasier 1931-39 5.77
Les German 1893-97 5.61
Russ Van Atta 1933-39 5.60
Bert Inks 1891-96 5.52
Bill Trotter 1937-44 5.40
Roxie Lawson 1930-40 5.37 %%
