A 16-run 8th at Wrigley, a load of leadoff HRs and more stats of the week

Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (April 18-24)

Wild one at Wrigley: In a crazy game at Wrigley Field, the Cubs and Diamondbacks combined to score 16 runs in the eighth inning. That was the most runs in an inning in the history of Wrigley Field, which opened in 1914 and became the Cubs’ home in 1916, per the Elias Sports Bureau. The prior record had been 15 on Aug. 25, 1922, in the fourth inning. That time, the Phillies scored one and the Cubs scored 14 in their half of the inning.

Flying fish: Mike Trout hit two home runs on Saturday and the first was particularly majestic, going 484 feet with a 115.4 exit velocity. It’s the longest home run in MLB since the start of 2024. Trout now has eight home runs of at least 470 ft under Statcast (2015), second to Giancarlo Stanton (10). His three home runs of at least 480 feet are tied with Stanton and Nomar Mazara for most in that span.

Red alert: The Reds won, 24-2, on Sunday and a big reason why was the production they got from the eighth and ninth spots, occupied by Noelvi Marte and Austin Wynns. They combined for 11 hits, the most by the eighth and ninth hitters in a game over the last 125 seasons. Marte and Wynns also had 13 RBIs, tied for the second-most from those spots in a game since RBIs became official in 1920. The Rangers had 14 RBIs from the eighth and ninth hitters on August 22, 2007, also in Baltimore.

My Girl: Francisco Lindor led off with a home run in the first inning on Monday, joining 2017 Curtis Granderson and 2004 Kaz Matsui as the only Mets with a leadoff homer in back-to-back team games. He added another home run later in the game for his 20th career multihomer game. Lindor passed Trevor Story for the third-most multihomer games while playing shortstop in MLB history. He trails only Alex Rodriguez (33) and Ernie Banks (24).

Zeroes: The Padres threw their seventh shutout of the season on Tuesday in their 24th game. Their seven shutouts are tied for the most through a team’s first 24 games in MLB history, along with the 1992 Braves, 1968 Cleveland, 1958 Yankees, 1945 Tigers, 1914 Red Sox and 1909 Athletics.

Holy Cow: The Cubs scored 11 runs on Tuesday, the seventh time they reached at least 10 runs this season, in just their 25th game. That is their most games with at least 10 runs through the first 25 games of a season since 1895. It also tied the 2012 Red Sox for the most 10-run performances through a team’s first 25 games in the last 20 years.

Laying lumber: James Wood crushed a leadoff home run on Wednesday to the tune of a 116.3 mph exit velocity. That tied Bryce Harper on June 15, 2017 for the Nationals’ hardest-hit home run under Statcast (2015). It’s also tied for the team’s fifth-hardest hit batted ball of any kind in that span.

Use the force, Luke: Twins No. 3 prospect Luke Keaschall has wreaked havoc on the bases so far in his very young MLB career. Keaschall stole two bases on Wednesday to bring him to five for his career in just five games. That’s tied for the most in a player’s first five career games in at least the last 125 seasons, along with 1996 Luis Castillo, 1991 Ced Landrum, 1987 Donell Nixon and 1985 Vince Coleman.

Corbin Barrels: Corbin Carroll hit a leadoff home run on Wednesday and added another in the seventh inning. Carroll’s nine home runs are tied for the second-most through the team’s first 24 games in Diamondbacks history, with 2010 Mark Reynolds, 2010 Kelly Johnson, 2004 Richie Sexson and 2000 Steve Finley. He trails only Luis Gonzalez, who had 13 home runs in 2001.

Current Ironman: Matt Olson has played 644 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).