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Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story and Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager have both broken the MLB record for most home runs before the All-Star break by a rookie shortstop, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

The Midsummer Classic has been played since 1933, and Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra (1997) held the old record with 13 homers before the break.

The 23-year-old Story already has 16 entering Tuesday’s action, with 22-year-old Seager just a couple behind at 14.

While Seager was widely viewed as one of baseball’s elite prospects for the past few years as the 18th overall draft selection in 2012, Story was picked a bit later in the 2011 draft’s supplemental first round and never achieved top-prospect status.

Seager thrived in his first taste of the majors last season, posting a .337/.425/.561 stat line with four home runs, 17 RBI, 17 runs and two stolen bases in 113 plate appearances (27 games). He did, however, end the season on a sour note, recording just three hits in 16 at-bats in five playoff games as the Dodgers bowed out to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series. 

Story, meanwhile, spent last season at the Double-A and Triple-A levels prior to making his MLB debut on Opening Day this year.

He instantly made a name for himself by setting an MLB record with six home runs in his first four career games and then later setting a National League rookie mark with 10 homers in April.

Story has since tapered off quite a bit, largely because he leads the majors with a whopping 81 strikeouts, putting him on pace for an all-time record of 230, which would top the 223 recorded by Mark Reynolds in 2009.

Seager has a more balanced approach at the plate, sitting well ahead of Story in terms of batting average (.283 to .262) and on-base percentage (.340 to .315), albeit with the Rockies shortstop holding a significant advantage in slugging percentage (.563 to .526).

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Those interested in massive offensive numbers, look away. MLB as a whole set a record in May for the most strikeouts in a calendar month, totaling 6,726 to best the previous record of 6,591 set in September 2015, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The biggest culprit on that front was the Milwaukee Brewers, who were sat down via the strikeout 291 times in the month, followed by the Houston Astros (277), the New York Mets (272) and the Tampa Bay Rays (264). Surprisingly—or perhaps not—the Brewers were also first in walks (123), with the Astros second (116) in the category.

On the individual front, Brewers first baseman Chris Carter led the way with 43, with Orioles first baseman Chris Davis close behind at 42. Of players with 40 or more plate appearances, Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez recorded the highest strikeout percentage (45.3), and Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana was right behind him at 45.2 percent.

On the flip side, the pitchers doing the most damage to opposing lineups were Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw (65 strikeouts), Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer (60) and Miami Marlins righty Jose Fernandez (56)—all strong candidates to make the National League All-Star team.

As for relievers, Padres southpaw Brad Hand managed a whopping 27 strikeouts in 14 May appearances (18 innings), followed by 22-year-old Astros right-hander Michael Feliz, who fanned 26 batters over just 16.2 innings in May.

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw posted the best single-month WHIP by any starting pitcher (minimum five starts) since 1913, recording a sterling 0.52 mark over his six starts in May, per MLB Stat of the Day on Twitter.

Well on his way to a fourth Cy Young Award, the 28-year-old lefty went 5-0 with a 0.91 ERA in May, allowing just five runs (all earned) on 24 hits and two walks in 49.2 innings while striking out 65 batters.

Also impressive in April, Kershaw now owns a 7-1 record, 1.56 ERA and 0.65 WHIP for the season, with 105 strikeouts and just five walks in 86.2 innings (11 starts). He’s gone at least seven innings in every outing and has recorded double-digit strikeouts in seven of his last eight.

During his most recent start, against the New York Mets on Sunday, Kershaw became the first pitcher since 1900 to have five or fewer walks at the time he recorded his 100th strikeout in a season, per Elias Sports Bureau (via SportsCenter on Twitter). 

He also set a record for the most strikeouts (65) in a month featuring five or fewer walks and became just the fourth pitcher to record both a sub-1.00 ERA and 65-plus strikeouts in a calendar month, joining Randy Johnson (June 1997), Roger Clemens (August 1998) and Pedro Martinez (September 1999), per Elias (via ESPN.com).

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New York Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran recorded his 2,500th career hit during the fourth inning of Saturday’s eventual 9-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, thereby joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson and current teammate Alex Rodriguez as the only players in major league history with 2,500 hits, 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases, per Sportsnet Stats on Twitter.

Beltran’s milestone hit was a solo home run to left field off of Rays pitcher Matt Moore, cutting Tampa Bay’s early lead from 5-0 to 5-1. The Rays quickly put the game out of reach over the following two innings, extending the lead to 9-1 by the bottom of the fifth, which allowed Moore to pick up his second win of the year.

Beltran made outs in his other two plate appearances, and he was removed from the contest early due to tightness near his right scapula, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican outfielder—who has 404 homers and 311 steals to go along with his 2,500 hits—was subsequently held out of the lineup for Sunday’s series finale, allowing 26-year-old Aaron Hicks to get the start in right field.

While his .263 batting average and .290 on-base percentage don’t impress, Beltran clearly still has plenty of pop left in his bat, boasting 12 home runs, 31 RBI and a .537 slugging percentage through 48 games, putting him on pace for 41 homers and 105 RBI.

Of course, given his age and injury history, Beltran probably won’t play enough games to have a real shot at reaching 40 homers for just the second time (2006) in his career.

Regardless, his longevity and five-tool skill set should help to make a strong case for the Hall of Fame whenever Beltran does decide to retire.

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias, 19, became only the third teenager in the last 20 years to pitch in a major league game when he stepped onto the mound for the first inning of Friday’s eventual 6-5 loss to the New York Mets, per ESPN on Twitter.

The hard-throwing left-hander thus joined Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez (2005) and Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy (2012)—both of whom also debuted at the age of 19.

Prior to Hernandez, the last 19-year-old to pitch in the majors was Todd Van Poppel of the 1991 Oakland Athletics, while Jose Rijo of the 1984 New York Yankees was the last player to debut at 18, per Baseball-Reference.com (h/t High Heat Stats MLB via ESPN.com’s SweetSpot Blog).

Widely viewed as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Urias earned his call-up by dominating the competition at Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier this season, posting a 4-1 record and 1.10 ERA through 41 innings with 44 strikeouts, only eight walks and just two home runs allowed.

The Dodgers plan to strictly monitor his pitch count, as the 19-year-old phenom has yet to eclipse 82 in any outing this year.

He lasted just 81 pitches in Friday’s debut, giving up three runs (all earned) on five hits and four walks in 2.2 innings, though he did settle down a bit after allowing all three of those runs in the opening frame.

Many baseball eyes have drawn parallels between Urias and longtime Dodger left-hander Fernando Valenzuela, as both southpaws hail from northern Mexico and were brought up by the Dodgers at 19 years old.

Although the comparisons don’t seem unfair, Urias may have to wait a bit longer to make his mark, as L.A. optioned him back to the minors after Friday’s contest, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group.

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Following Monday’s outing against the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had thrown as many shutouts (3) in the month of May as the rest of MLB combined, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Of course, this isn’t the only gaudy statistic Kershaw has churned out lately.

Not only is the man undefeated in May (5-0), but he also flaunts a 0.64 ERA with 55 strikeouts compared to only two walks.

For the season, Kershaw boasts a 7-1 record, 1.48 ERA and 19.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Compare this to last season when Kershaw sported a 2-3 record, 4.32 ERA and 4.6 K/BB ratio on May 23.

Remarkably, following that relatively poor start, he went on to finish third in NL Cy Young voting, as he was his usual dominant self for the rest of the season.

Now, a fourth Cy Young Award may be in the cards, even with last year’s winner—Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta—off to a dominant start of his own.

Arrieta owns an 8-0 record and 1.29 ERA, but his 63-20 K/BB ratio isn’t nearly as impressive as Kershaw‘s insane 95-5 mark.

Should Kershaw corral a fourth Cy Young, he would tie Greg Maddux and Steve Carlton for the third most in MLB history, behind only Randy Johnson (5) and Roger Clemens (7).

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Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki collected a pinch-hit single during the eighth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, bumping him up to 2,950 hits for his career.

Even more impressive, Suzuki started his career in Japan at the age of 18, playing nine seasons with Orix of the Japan Pacific League before finally joining MLB in 2001 as a 27-year-old with the Seattle Mariners. 

As a rookie, he led the league in hits (242), stolen bases (56) and batting average (.350), earning not only an American League Rookie of the Year award but also AL MVP honors. He even took home the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards and was named as a starter for the All-Star Game.

Suzuki’s first season started an incredible run of individual achievements, including 10 straight All-Star Game appearances and 10 straight Gold Gloves as well as three Silver Slugger awards.

Although there isn’t much left to accomplish, the future Hall of Famer could top off his career by becoming the 30th member of the 3,000-hit club.

Of course, Suzuki also had 1,278 hits in Japan, with his combined total of 4,228 sitting just 28 shy of Pete Rose’s all-time MLB record (4,256).

Suzuki did face easier competition in Japan, but with schedules consisting of just 144 games, he never recorded more than 546 at-bats or 210 hits in a single year.

In comparison, he topped 675 at-bats in nine of his 11 full seasons with the Mariners, including a 2004 campaign that saw him log 704 at-bats and an MLB-record 262 hits while playing 161 games.

It’s still not clear if Suzuki will reach 3,000 career MLB hits, as he only has 15 in 46 at-bats (.326 average) through the first 40 games of Miami’s season, having started in just seven of his 30 appearances.

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New York Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran hit his 400th career home run during Sunday’s 7-5 win over the Chicago White Sox, joining Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones as the only switch-hitters in MLB history with 400 or more homers, per MLB Stat of the Day.

The 39-year-old outfielder picked a nice time for his milestone blast, with his two-run homer off White Sox relief pitcher Zach Duke giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Beltran hit the long ball from the right side of the plate, giving him 116 homers (29 percent) as a right-handed batter compared to 284 (71 percent) as a left-handed batter.

Of course, he’s only taken 2,711 of his 10,069 career plate appearances (26.9 percent) from the right side, as the majority of pitchers are right-handed.

While most switch-hitters exhibit a clear preference for hitting from one side or the other, Beltran has similar numbers from both sides, with a bit more power as a right-handed hitter and a few more walks as a left-handed batter.

He owns a .280/.357/.485 lifetime triple-slash line from the left side of the plate compared to a .281/.345/.505 line from the right side.

Given his age, Beltran will almost certainly retire as the fourth-leading home run-hitter among switch-hitters, as Mantle and Murray are both members of the 500-homer club, while Jones retired with 468.

Beltran has already done enough to garner serious Hall of Fame consideration, but he might need another solid season or two—and perhaps a World Series ring—in order to truly make his case iron-clad.

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New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard had an enjoyable night at the plate in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and joined Walt Terrell (1983) as the only pitchers in Mets franchise history to hit multiple home runs in a game, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Syndergaard started the scoring with a solo home run off Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda in the top of the third inning, but the Dodgers then fought back to take a 2-1 lead courtesy of solo homers from shortstop Corey Seager (third inning) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (fourth inning).

Unfazed, the 23-year-old Syndergaard stepped up to the plate with a pair of runners on base in the fifth inning, and he proceeded to hit the ball over the left-center field fence to give his team a 4-2 lead.

He thus became the first pitcher to homer twice in an MLB game since Micah Owings accomplished the feat in 2007 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, per Sportsnet Stats.

In addition to providing all four of his team’s RBI, Syndergaard held Los Angeles to just the two aforementioned runs on six hits and a walk over eight innings, striking out six batters in an effort that improved his record to 3-2 and his ERA to 2.53.

Mets closer Jeurys Familia did let things get a bit interesting in the bottom of the ninth, but he ultimately struck out Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig for the final out of the game.

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The Boston Red Sox scored 13 or more runs in each contest of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics, becoming the first team since the 1999 Cleveland Indians to plate 13-plus runs in three consecutive games, per ESPN Stats & Info.

After losing two of three games to the rival New York Yankees in a weekend series in the Bronx, the Red Sox returned home and beat the Athletics by scores of 14-7 (Monday), 13-5 (Tuesday) and 13-3 (Wednesday).

According to MLB Stat of the Day, the Red Sox had previously never scored 13-plus runs in three straight games, despite being one of the oldest franchises in baseball.

It obviously takes a team effort to sustain that kind of production throughout a series, but there were still a few notable standouts, including 26-year-old outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who had eight hits, three home runs and 13 RBI over the course of the three-game set.

Even more encouraging for Boston, first baseman Hanley Ramirez continued his hot-hitting ways, with his five hits in the series boosting his batting line to .297/.343/.453.

After tallying just one home run and 13 RBI in April, the 32-year-old slugger already has three long balls and eight RBI through his first nine games in May.

With stalwarts David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia also swinging the bat well this season, the Red Sox appear to have a dangerous offense that features an ideal combination of young talent and proven veterans.

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