Easy tonight
When rookie reliever Gene Stechschulte smacked a pinch-hit home run and Bobby Bonilla pitched for the Cardinals in their 17-4 loss to Arizona on Tuesday, it was the first time a pitcher homered and a position player pitched in the same game since June 23, 1986.
The Elias Sports Bureau dug up that Dane Iorg on that day gave up a two-run homer to pitcher Mike (Buffy) LaCoss in the Giants' 18-1 win over the Padres.
Our house is a very, very, very fine house
Here are three attendance notes:
The Padres drew 241,000 in their first six home dates.
The Brewers have already sold 2 million tickets and could hit 3 million. Their County Stadium record was 2,397,131 in 1983, the season after they made the World Series.
The Orioles are already down 5,821 per game, and that's what they're officially announcing.
Rock me on the water
Home run leaders by decade:
1990s: Mark McGwire, 405
1980s: Mike Schmidt, 313
1970s: Willie Stargell, 296
1960s: Harmon Killebrew, 393
1950s: Duke Snider, 326
1940s: Ted Williams, 234
1930s: Jimmie Foxx, 415
1920s: Babe Ruth, 467
(Source: Elias Sports Bureau)
At-bats needed to reach 500 home runs:
1. McGwire, 5487
2. Ruth, 5801
3. Killebrew, 6671
Don't look back
Matt Lawton went into the weekend leading the American League in walks with 19.
Down below the borderline
Julio Franco of the Mexico City Reds is leading the Mexican League in hitting at .453.
Do the evolution
Jim Thome's year-by-year OPS going into this season:
1996: 1.052
1997: 1.001
1998: .997
1999: .967
2000: .929
Money for nothing and your kicks for free
The Padres' rotation of Woody Williams, Bobby Jones, Adam Eaton, Kevin Jarvis and Brian Tollberg combine to make less money than Carlos Perez, who is currently pitching in Triple-A for the Dodgers.
Too many fish in the sea
Nickname of the week: "Sea Bass," given to erratic Marlins shortstop Alex Gonzalez because of his propensity to pout.
Land of hope and dreams
Here are four minor leaguers of note:
Giants Triple-A first baseman Sean McGowan is in the top five in the PCL in hitting, sixth in slugging and seventh in on-base percentage.
Padres' A-ball pitcher Dennis Tankersley, acquired in a deal from the Red Sox for Ed Sprague last season, has allowed one run and struck out 21 in 16 2/3 innings for Lake Elsinor.
Juan Cruz, 20, one of the Cubs' many top prospects, has struck out 10 in consecutive starts in Double-A. In three starts, he has pitched 17 innings and has 28 strikeouts.
Deion Sanders went into the weekend hitting .422 for the Reds' Triple-A team in Louisville.
And the Red Sox are winning*
Talkmaster Eddie Andelman of Boston sports station WEEI announced a contest for a celebration on Friday for the date when the Yankees are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. That's Red Sox Nation for you.
* a 1967 song recorded by Earth Opera
All I wanted
Three discs you should have:
Richard Thompson, "Action Packed"
The Push Stars, "Opening Time"
Amy Correia, "Carnival Love." She is from Lakeville, Mass., once home of the Ted Williams Camp and also is where Mets hitting coach Dave Engle's father was once a director.
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