The latest in a long line of bizarre homers

Plus: It's a great time to be Kyle Schwarber

Tuesday, September 02 View Online Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.   There are home runs hit every day in MLB that make us ooh and aah. It's easy to fall in love with this sport just by watching highlights of majestic, awe-inspiring homers.    It's also easy to fall in love with this sport by watching home runs cut from a very different cloth. Those odd-duck dingers. The homers that leave us asking deep, poignant questions such as "What was that?" and "Huh?"   Case in point: Trevor Story's at-bat in the sixth inning Monday at Fenway Park. The Red Sox shortstop drove a ball deep into the right-field corner that, in very quick succession, made contact with the glove of Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel, then the Pesky Pole, then Noel's glove again and lastly a fan in the stands. The umpires initially called it a foul ball. Story pulled in at second base, thinking he might have a double. But perhaps this was a home run? It was all pretty perplexing.    Fortunately before mass hysteria had a chance to take hold in Boston, the replay review official determined that Story had indeed hit a homer. The explanation, as said on the NESN broadcast, was that "all relevant angles showed the ball definitively struck the foul pole prior to the fielder demonstrating firm and secure possession."   That play would have fit perfectly onto a list of the weirdest homers in Major League history. And wouldn't you know it, MLB.com's Jason Foster just recently wrote about some of the game's quirkiest home runs.   It's a list full of bangers. There's Bartolo Colon's "impossible" dinger from 2016. There's the fly ball that bounced off of Jose Canseco's noggin and over the fence in 1993 -- a header that would make Lionel Messi jealous. There's Michael Morse's single in 2012 that became a grand slam that ended with a mime act, for some reason. One hundred percent pure gold, all of it.   Give yourself a few minutes and enjoy Foster's full selection of 14 wacky home runs. You probably remember where you were when you first saw them. Like many of the most historic and celebrated homers in MLB history, these bizarre long balls are impossible to forget.   -- Brian Murphy GAMES OF THE NIGHT Mets at Tigers (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Since the Mets have called him up, he's been a lean, McLean pitching machine. We're referring to Nolan McLean, whose spin rate is on another level. Winner of his first three starts, the Mets' top pitching prospect takes on the first-place Tigers, who are only a half-game up on the Blue Jays for the best overall record in the AL. Blue Jays at Reds (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Speaking of the Blue Jays, in a Labor Day matinee yesterday (or should we say Labour Day), Toronto's bullpen could not hold its end of the bargain for a comeback win vs. Cincinnati, which is four back of the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. The Jays have another shot to overtake Detroit for the best record in the league and keep the Yankees at bay. Yankees at Astros (8:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV and TBS): And speaking of which, the Yanks have feasted on two last-place clubs to climb within 2 1/2 back of first in the AL East. But now that the calendar has turned to September, the schedule picks up over the first two weeks, starting with the first of three against the Astros. Max Fried opens the set against Houston lefty Framber Valdez, who threw his best start in nearly a month his last time out on the bump. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT • Everything was coming up Kyle this weekend in Philly. Kyle Schwarber became the 21st player -- and third this year?! -- to hit four homers in a game on Thursday, then, wearing the same uniform, he returned to the field at Citizens Bank Park after the game to film a long-scheduled cameo for the Philadelphia-set comedy "Abbott Elementary." The next afternoon he earned the first pick in the Phillies players' upcoming fantasy football draft by hitting a golf ball closest to the pin placed in center field.   • Justin Verlander is certainly no stranger to strikeouts, but it had been a while since he punched out 10 in a game. The 42-year-old recorded the 73rd double-digit-strikeout game of his career but his first since 2022 on Sunday against the O's, becoming the oldest pitcher to achieve the feat since 44-year-old Randy Johnson in 2008. • Aaron Judge tied Yogi Berra for fifth on the Yankees' all-time home run list with his 358th career blast on Sunday in Chicago. With one more home run, he'll be alone in fifth. With three more, he'll tie Joe DiMaggio for fourth. Then the only names ahead of him will be Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig. Pretty good company.   • Juan Soto put in some labor on Labor Day, recording one of the best games of his already-storied career, hitting his second grand slam and ninth triple while tying a career high with six RBIs in a slugfest win in Detroit. It capped a massive weekend for the superstar, who hit .583 from Friday to Monday with four homers, 11 RBIs, five walks and three steals. ON THE MOVE, TO CONTENDERS While the elimination of the August waiver trade period in 2019 prevented last-minute deals for stars before rosters expand each September (a la Verlander to the Astros in '17), contending teams can still bolster their roster for the stretch run with waiver claims or by signing players who clear waivers.   Most importantly for this time of year, those players who are added by noon on Sept. 1 are also eligible for postseason rosters, and several playoff hopefuls took advantage of this opportunity over the weekend.   With the Pirates looking to give younger players more experience over the next month in hopes of turning things around in 2026, they made three veterans available to be picked up by contenders: infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and lefties Tim Mayza and Andrew Heaney. IKF was scooped up by the Blue Jays (who, coincidentally, dealt him to the Bucs at the '24 Deadline), Mayza was signed by the Phillies and the Dodgers signed Heaney to a Minor League contract.   Philadelphia also added right-hander Walker Buehler to its staff after he was let go by the Red Sox.   The Cubs were also active, adding veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, who had cleared waivers before being released by the Guardians, and right-hander Aaron Civale, who began the season in the NL Central for the Brewers before being dealt to the White Sox in June.    -- Ed Eagle WHAT A DEAL! The unofficial end of summer means it's your last chance to subscribe to MLB.TV for the low price of $23.   There are some intriguing stats races and playoff battles to track with three-plus weeks left in the season. And MLB.TV is your home to every minute of the action.   If you're looking for final-month drama -- maybe not this kind of drama -- then give yourself an early present and sign up before the 23rd Anniversary Sale ends tonight at 11:59 ET. © 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Please review our Privacy Policy. You (geoffgould.gr8iphone@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com. Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe  or log in and manage your email subscriptions. Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.