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Piece Making Peace

Ryan Howard set a pair of records last night in St. Louis.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

With his solo home run in the top of the sixth, Ryan Howard not only scored the game's winning, and only, run, he set two franchise records: it was the third time he had hit a solo home run in a 1-0 win by the Phillies, and the second this year. Inspired by Lorecore in last night's gamethread, I decided to investigate this further.

Since 1913, the Phillies have had 37 such games. Howard is joined by Andy Seminick, Del Ennis, Deron Johnson and Dolph Camilli as the only players with more than one. Must be something about those 'D' names, eh 'Dubel Herrera?

The most frequently victimized teams have been the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets, with five each. The Milwaukee Braves and Montreal Expos have been hit this way, but neither have the Atlanta Braves or Washington Nationals. Interestingly, Rick Wise was on the mound for the Phils in three of these games, and the Cardinals' Bill Singer was twice victimized. There has been one such leadoff hit (by Jimmy Rollins, natch) and one walkoff hit (by Bobby Smith, natch). Also Jim Bunning hit one.

The full list of such games is below:

Date Opponent Hitter Notes
6/18/1920 St. Louis Cardinals Walt Tragesser
8/23/1921 Chicago Cubs Cy Williams
8/6/1933 Milwaukee Braves Spud Davis
9/5/1934 Cincinnati Reds Dolph Camilli
9/17/1935 Cincinnati Reds Dolph Camilli
6/24/1939 Chicago Cubs Joe Marty
6/22/1944 Milwaukee Braves Ron Northey (15th inning)
8/21/1946 Chicago Cubs Del Ennis
6/4/1949 Chicago Cubs Andy Seminick
7/14/1949 St. Louis Cardinals Del Ennis (walkoff, off Max Lanier)
9/12/1950 St. Louis Cardinals Andy Seminick (off Max Lanier)
4/23/1961 Chicago Cubs Bobby Smith (walkoff)
5/5/1965 New York Mets Jim Bunning (pitcher)
7/7/1965 Pittsburgh Pirates Clay Dalrymple
6/28/1966 New York Mets Bill White
5/3/1967 Houston Astros Johnny Callison
8/26/1967 Pittsburgh Pirates Gene Oliver (Rick Wise pitching)
8/8/1968 Los Angeles Dodgers Dick Allen (vs Bill Singer)
6/12/1969 Los Angeles Dodgers John Briggs (leadoff, Rick Wise vs Bill Singer)
8/15/1969 Houston Astros Larry Hisle
4/25/1970 San Diego Padres Deron Johnson
5/20/1971 New York Mets Deron Johnson (Rick Wise pitching)
6/25/1972 Montreal Expos John Bateman
8/28/1973 San Francisco Giants Bill Robinson
6/27/1978 Montreal Expos Greg Luzinski
7/26/1983 Houston Astros Joe Morgan
5/31/1986 San Diego Padres John Russell
8/20/1986 San Francisco Giants Juan Samuel
7/8/1988 Cincinnati Reds Milt Thompson
7/12/1991 San Francisco Giants Darren Daulton
9/9/1997 New York Mets Rico Brogna
4/27/2003 San Francisco Giants Ricky Ledee (Kevin Milwood no-no)
4/16/2006 Colorado Rockies Ryan Howard
8/15/2008 San Diego Padres Pat Burrell
8/4/2012 Miami Marlins Jimmy Rollins (leadoff)
4/9/2016 New York Mets Ryan Howard
5/3/2016 St. Louis Cardinals Ryan Howard

The Phils 37 such games ranks them 8th overall in Major League history, which isn't terribly surprising given that they are one of the oldest franchises in baseball. The Cubs and Cardinals have 49 and 47, respectively, while the Rockies, of all teams, are on the bottom, with two.

Conversely, the Phillies have had this happen to them 36 times, ninth most in MLB history. The Reds and Cardinals are the most often hit (this thing needs a name, suggestions?), with 41 each. Again, surprisingly, the Rockies are last, with three.

One thing worth noting is that the Mets have been solo-soloed 23 times, but more by the Phillies than any other club.