Padres tie a very surprising National League record
In April, the San Diego Padres set a record in offensive futility, becoming the first National League team to be shut out in the first three games of a season.
That was then, this is now.
As the month of July draws to a close, the Padres offense is now in the midst of one of the most impressive power surges ever seen in MLB.
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In Wednesday’s 8-4 win against the Blue Jays, the Padres got home runs from Adam Rosales, Brett Wallace and rookie Alex Dickerson, who has personally homered in four straight games. On a larger scale, the Padres have now homered in 25 straight game as a team, which ties the National League record first set by the 1998 Atlanta Braves.
The @Padres have now homered in 25 consecutive games, tied for the 2nd-longest streak in MLB history (2002 Rangers – 27 games)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 27, 2016
As you can see, the Padres will have an opportunity to tie and then break the MLB record this weekend when they host the Cincinnati Reds.
It should be noted they’re only the fifth team in MLB history to homer in 25 straight games. Along with the previously mentioned Rangers and Braves teams, the ’94 Tigers and ’41 Yankees also reached 25 straight. San Diego also shattered its own franchise record of 14 games, which was set in 1998.
We’re talking elite territory here for an offense that’s not exactly loaded beyond home run leaders Matt Kemp (23) and Wil Myers (20). Ten different players have homered during the streak though, including Melvin Upton Jr., who was traded to Toronto on Tuesday.
Even with this ridiculous run, San Diego’s still middle of the pack in MLB with 120 homers (15th) and 445 runs scored (16th). They’ve also posted just an 11-14 record during the streak, so imagine where they’d be without this barrage.
Perhaps the Padres offense was motivated by Petco Park hosting the Home Run Derby. Or maybe It’s one of those baseball anomalies that doesn’t make sense on a scouting report or a statsheet, but becomes a reality.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
