Major League Baseball: Several Odd Things Occurred In Week 4 Of Season


Major League Baseball is four weeks into the 2015 season and several odd things have occurred already.

For starters, the Houston Astros (18-7) have won 10 straight games and are off to the best start in franchise history according to ESPN.com.

Houston defeated Seattle 7-6 on Sunday behind two home runs and four RBIs by Evan Gattis. Gattis, who started the season 0-for-20 with 12 strikeouts, has now six home runs in 23 games. The Astros are 18-0 this season when leading the game at some point.

Even more oddity from the Astros-Mariners series. On Saturday, the teams combined for a record breaking nine home runs with major league leading bomber Nelson Cruz swatting two on the day for his 12th and 13th of the season. The nine home runs traveled a total distance of 3,421 feet, with the longest home run reaching 424 feet according to ESPN Stats and Information Group.

Other weird things that occurred this week.

On April 27, Astros 25-year old third baseman George Springer became the the third player in franchise history to walk three times, steal three bases, but not record record a hit in a game. Springer did so against San Diego. ESPN.com‘s Doug Kern reports that Springer joined Gerald Young (1989) and Joe Morgan (1980) in achieving such a feat during a game.

Jay Bruce made Kern’s weird list twice. On April 27, Bruce became the first player since 2005 to hit a home run, a sacrifice fly, and draw three walks in a game. Then on May 2, Bruce became the first Red to hit two triples in a game since Dmitri Young did so in September, 2000.

Denard Span went 5-for-6 with four runs scored on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves to become the first Washington/Montreal leadoff hitter to record five hits and tally four runs in a game since Rondell White did so in 1995 (13 innings).

Jordan Zimmerman of the Nationals recorded his first hit in nine at-bats against the Atlanta Braves on April 29. Zimmerman knocked in three runs with that single becoming the first pitcher to do so since 1972.

Cincinnati Reds starter Mike Leake threw eight scoreless innings as the Reds defeated the Braves 5-1 April 30. Leake also blasted a three-run homer in the seventh inning becoming the first Reds pitcher to do so since Pete Harnish in 1999.

The Minnesota Twins earned a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox when Kennys Vargas lumbered home from third on a wild pitch. It was the first time that had occurred since August 24, 1985.

Washington defeated the New Yorks Mets at Citi Field 1-0 on both May 2 and May 3 to mark the first time a road team has recorded 1-0 victories versus the same opponent on back-to-back days since the 1996 Cardinals.

[Photo by Stacey Revere/Getty Images]

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