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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.