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Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu played the 162nd game of his career Sunday against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to join Rudy York, Chuck Klein and Ryan Braun as the only players in MLB history with a .300 batting average, 40 home runs and 120 RBI through 162 games, per ESPN Stats & Info.

After recording one hit and one RBI in four at-bats during Sunday’s 5-3 victory, the 28-year-old Cuban has a .316 batting average, 41 home runs and 121 RBI for his career.

Per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com), Klein is the only player to best Abreu in each of those three categories through 162 games, having produced a .361 batting average, 44 homers and 129 RBI at the same stage in his career.

Klein did his damage for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1928 and 1929, with the second of those seasons starting a five-year stretch in which he led the National League in homers four times.

While he would go on to have a few more strong seasons, the Hall of Fame slugger was notable for his early peak, as he never hit more than 25 homers in a year after 1933, despite doing so in five straight seasons from 1929 to 1933.

York also had an early peak, but in his case, it wasn’t quite enough to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, as the catcher’s later years were overwhelmingly mediocre.

The group is rounded out by Braun, who also seems to be headed for a career that’s largely notable for its early peak. While it’s perhaps too soon to cast such a judgement on the Brewers outfielder, Braun simply hasn’t been the same player since serving his suspension in 2013.

Abreu surely hopes to have better longevity than the three players that preceded him, but it may be asking a bit much from a guy who made his MLB debut at the age of 27.

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The Red Sox are off to a historically good start to the 2015 campaign, having won their first three series for the first time since 1952, when they won the first six series in an ultimately disappointing season, per ESPN Stats & Info.

What’s even more impressive, the Red Sox have started so well despite a relatively poor start for the pitching staff. The club ranks 25th in team ERA (4.75) and 29th in starters’ ERA (6.16), although much of that can be attributed to a 14-run explosion by the New York Yankees on Sunday.

As expected, hitting has been the real strength of the club, with Boston’s 6.2 runs per game ranking second in the major leagues, behind only the 6.4 scored by the Kansas City Royals.

Of course, as the 1952 Red Sox showed, a good start often fails to translate into a successful season. That club finished with a 76-78 record, despite winning 12 of its first 15 games.

To be fair, this version of the Red Sox quite clearly has enough talent to avoid a similar fate, with the lineup led by a frightening mixture of new and familiar names. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, first baseman Mike Napoli and designated hitter David Ortiz are joined by offseason acquisitions Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, while rookie outfielder Mookie Betts is also subject to high expectations.

Given that the Red Sox have both star power and depth in the lineup, a mediocre season from the pitching staff should be good enough to secure a playoff spot.

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Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols hit the 522nd home run of his career during the first inning of Sunday’s 9-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. According to Baseball-Reference.com, this moved him past Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams for sole possession of 18th place on the all-time home runs list.

Pujols broke the four-way logjam at 521 with a solo shot to left field off Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, who would go on to pick up his second win of the season despite making an early mistake against one of the game’s all-time greats.

While the 35-year-old first baseman later added a double off Ventura, the rest of the Los Angeles lineup struggled to get anything going.

After dropping three consecutive home games to Kansas City, the Angels have scored just 16 runs through their first six contests of the season—even with a lineup that includes Pujols and outfielder Mike Trout.

The two stars have actually held up their end of the bargain, as Pujols has largely made up for a .182 batting average by hitting two home runs, while Trout owns a .400 batting average and .458 on-base percentage.

The other guys on the team should eventually provide some support as Pujols looks to climb further up the all-time home runs list.

Next up is Jimmie Foxx, sitting 12 home runs away at 534.

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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez had a memorable season-opening series against the San Diego Padres, as he became the first player in MLB history to hit five home runs through his team’s first three games of a season, per Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Stats & Info).

The fun started with a solo shot off Padres pitcher James Shields in the fourth inning of a 6-3 Opening Day win, with Gonzalez providing the Dodgers’ first run of the season. He finished the game with three hits in five at-bats, needing only a triple to complete the cycle.

The 32-year-old first baseman then hit another solo home run to tie Tuesday’s game at 3-3 in the eight inning, only to watch the Padres plate four ninth-inning runs against Dodgers pitcher Chris Hatcher, with help from an error by shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

Gonzalez made sure the Dodgers didn’t drop their first series of the season, as he saved the real fireworks for Wednesday’s rubber game.

He hit solo home runs in each of his first three at-bats, going deep off Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner in the first, third and fifth innings.

Gonzalez then added an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, and while it appeared he might get a fifth plate appearance, the Dodgers only got one runner on base for the rest of the game.

Gonzalez thus finished the series with 10 hits in 13 at-bats (.769 batting average), piling up five home runs, two doubles, seven runs and seven RBI.

He enters Friday’s action as the early major league leader in batting average, home runs, RBI, runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

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After logging 2,001 regular-season games, Oakland Athletics designated hitter Adam Dunn is finally set to make the first postseason appearance of his career in Tuesday’s American League wild-card game against the Kansas City Royals. Per ESPN Stats & Info, Dunn will no longer sit atop the list for most games without a playoff appearance among active players.

That honor will now belong to Texas Rangers outfielder Alex Rios, who has played 1,586 games in the regular season without ever making it to the playoffs, per baseball-reference.com. The all-time mark is held by Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, who logged 2,528 games in a 19-year career that did not include any postseason appearances.

The well-traveled Dunn has now played for five different teams, having joined the Athletics in a trade from the Chicago White Sox at the end of August. At the time, the A’s had already begun their well-documented slide, yet still looked like a near-lock to make the playoffs.

Ultimately, it came down to the final day of the season, as the A’s sat just one game ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot entering Sunday’s action. Oakland pulled out a 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers, rendering Seattle’s 4-1 victory over the division-champion Los Angeles Angels for naught.

With Dunn not listed in Tuesday’s starting lineup versus Royals right-hander James Shields, there’s some chance that the 34-year-old DH won’t actually play in his first career postseason “appearance.”

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Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker, who is hoping to return from an oblique injury for the playoffs, set a franchise rookie record in recording 16 wins this season, per MLB Stat of the Day. The previous record of 14 was held by Dean Chance (1962), Marcelino Lopez (1965) and Frank Tanana (1974).

Though not considered an elite prospect, the 27-year-old Shoemaker was often dominant after joining the starting rotation in mid-May. He’ll finish the season with a 3.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 124/24 K/BB ratio over 136 innings, with those fantastic numbers complementing a sterling 16-4 record.

The right-hander had a pair of 10-strikeout performances, and he notably got better as the season went on, posting a 1.87 ERA after the All-Star break, compared to a modest 4.38 mark before the Midsummer Classic.

Despite starting just 20 games, Shoemaker leads all rookie pitchers in wins this season, sitting ahead of Kansas City Royals flame-thrower Yordano Ventura (14) and New York Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka (13).

It was an excellent year for rookie starting pitchers in the American League, with Colin McHugh of the Houston Astros, Jake Odorizzi of the Tampa Bay Rays, Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays and Roenis Elias of the Seattle Mariners also sticking out.

According to ESPN.com, there are seven rookie starters in the American League with 1.5 or more WAR this season, while New York Yankees rookie reliever Dellin Betances incredibly has 3.7 WAR through 70 appearances out of the bullpen.

If not for the presence of Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, the American League would have a slew of pitchers competing for Rookie of the Year honors this season. As is, Abreu rightfully looks like a lock to take home the trophy.

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Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and outfielder Marlon Byrd are the first teammates in MLB history to each strike out 180 or more times in a season, per Lee Sinins of Complete Baseball Encyclopedia.

Following Thursday’s game against the Florida Marlins, Howard has an MLB-high 188 strikeouts, while Byrd is tied for second place in the National League at 181 with Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond.

In the American League, only MVP front-runner Mike Trout (181) and Houston Astros first baseman Chris Carter (179) figure to reach 180, though Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (173) was well on his way before getting suspended for amphetamine use.

For Howard, the lofty strikeout total comes as no surprise, with this season marking the fifth time he’s piled up 180 or more in one season. Previously, Howard had 180-plus strikeouts in four consecutive seasons from 2006 to 2009, a span that also qualifies as the peak of his now-disappointing career.

In Byrd’s case, the strikeouts come as more of a surprise, as he had previously never topped 144, the total he posted last year. The outfielder’s late-career renaissance has not been hampered by his increased proclivity for the punch-out, as Byrd has more than made up for the lack of contact by posting the two best homer totals of his career in the last two seasons.

Prior to 2013, Byrd never had more than 98 strikeouts or 20 home runs in one season. He then had 144 and 24 last year, only to top both marks in 2014. In addition to his 181 strikeouts, Byrd has 25 home runs heading into the final three games of the season.

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Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo had one highlight in an otherwise unimpressive outing against the Miami Marlins on Monday, breaking the all-time franchise record for strikeouts with his lone K of the night, per MLB Milestones.

After matching Ben Sheets’ team record of 1,206 strikeouts in his last outing, Gallardo recorded No. 1,207 with no outs in the second inning when he caught Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia looking on a low slider. The 28-year-old right can be excused for a lack of jubilance, as the previous two batters had both hit solo home runs.

Ultimately, Gallardo lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and two walks in a game the Brewers would eventually lose 6-4. The loss, Milwaukee’s third in a row and 12th in its past 13 games, dropped the Brew Crew six games back of the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.

Having allowed 10 earned runs in his last two outings, Gallardo has played his part in the stretch of futility, though he did toss six scoreless frames in an Aug. 27 loss to the San Diego Padres.

Long known for his ability to pile up punchouts, Gallardo has turned into more of a pitch-to-contact guy the past two seasons. After posting a K/9 of at least 8.99 in each of the previous four seasons, the Mexican righty saw that mark fall to just 7.17 last year. He’s taken another step back this season, with his K/9 sitting at just 6.56 after Monday’s outing.

The Brewers have a $13 million team option on Gallardo for 2015, and while that once looked like a sure thing to be picked up, the team may now give some thought to the $600,000 buyout.

One way or the other, Gallardo will hold the title of Brewers all-time strikeout king for quite some time, as no other pitcher currently with the franchise has more than 484 strikeouts in a Milwaukee uniform, with that mark held by Marco Estrada, who was demoted to the bullpen in July.

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Entering Friday’s action, Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins is the current National League leader in home runs (36), RBI (102) and slugging percentage (.566). If he’s able to maintain his status in all three categories through the end of the season, he’ll be the first NL player to do so since Dante Bichette of the 1995 Colorado Rockies, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Bichette finished second in MVP voting during his impressive ’95 campaign, accumulating 40 homers, 128 RBI and a career-high .620 slugging percentage. He also swiped 13 bases and collected a whopping 197 hits that season.

Although Stanton still has some catching up to do if he’s going to match those types of numbers, his performance has certainly warranted the MVP buzz that’s been catching steam in recent weeks.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Stanton was the first player in the majors to top 100 RBI during the 2014 season. He currently has 102, 10 more than Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (92), who is second in the NL entering Friday.

The Miami right fielder is also just one long ball shy of his career-best mark of 37, set back in the 2012 campaign. Wednesday’s eighth-inning, 400-foot shot tied him with Nelson Cruz of the Baltimore Orioles for the major league lead.

With respect to slugging percentage, Stanton is quite a bit behind Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, whose .602 mark makes him the only player in the majors slugging over .600.

With Stanton’s Marlins currently 5.5 games out of the NL wild-card hunt entering Thursday, his slugging prowess will surely be a key factor in any prospective playoff push.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference unless otherwise specified. 

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner was historically effective in August, joining Curt Schilling as one of two pitchers in the modern era to strike out 55 or more batters while walking three or fewer in a calendar month, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The lefty had a 1.57 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 4-1 record during his incredible August, which included a pair of complete-game shutouts and a 56-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio a for the month. He had a trio of double-digit strikeout performances among his six outings while recording a quality start each time out.

The 56 strikeouts were easily Bumgarner‘s personal best for a calendar month, surpassing the 48 he had in May of this year. With 199 for the season, he’s already matched his career high set last year after consecutive seasons (2011 and 2012) with 191 punchouts.

Having narrowly missed 200 strikeouts in each of the last three years, Bumgarner is set to hit the mark this Saturday, when he’ll face major league strikeout leader David Price and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

Schilling posted an insane 62-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio for the Arizona Diamondbacks in May of 2002 on his way to finishing the year with 316 strikeouts. No pitcher has reached 300 strikeouts in a season since both Schilling and teammate Randy Johnson (334) did so that year.

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