June 6, 2026

HRC Wrap-Up: June 5th, 2026

PROSTATE CANCER FOUNDATION’S HOME RUN CHALLENGE UPDATE

HRC Update – As of End of Day, June 5th, 2026

Top Headlines

42 Total Home Runs
- What a start to HRC! 42 home runs were hit league-wide, headlined by a jaw-dropping seven-homer outburst from the San Francisco Giants in their 18-3 demolition of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Washington Nationals were not far behind, launching five home runs of their own in a dominant 14-1 routing of the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Luis García Jr. accounting for three of them and six RBI in one of the most individually dominant offensive performances of the season. The Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies combined for five home runs in their 8-6 Phillies victory, with Randal Grichuk going deep twice for Chicago and Adolis García and Brandon Marsh each connecting for Philadelphia. The New York Mets quieted the San Diego Padres 5-0 behind a pair of home runs, the Los Angeles Dodgers needed just one, a walk-off blast by Freddie Freeman in the ninth, to edge the Angels 1-0 in a pitching duel for the ages, and the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins combined for four home runs in an 8-6 Kansas City victory that went down to the wire. From Petco Park to Wrigley Field, the long ball ruled the day.
PCF Team Makes First HRC Stop at San Diego!
- The PCF team kicked off the 31st Home Run Challenge at Petco Park on Friday night! We witnessed a fantastic performance from the NY Mets pitching staff, who shut out the stellar SD Padres offense 5–0, holding San Diego to just three hits. NYM SP Christian Scott turned in a gem of a start and the Mets’ home run ball did the heavy lifting offensively. NYM C Luis Torrens supplied the biggest blow, going deep for a two-run home run and finishing with two RBI and two runs scored, while NYM 1B Jared Young added a solo home run to push New York’s lead to four and cap a two-homer afternoon for the Mets. SD SP Michael King took the loss despite a reasonable outing, allowing both home runs and four earned runs over six innings, nearly a quality start, with SD RP Mason Miller surrendering a rate additional run in a rough two-thirds in the 9th. Christian Scott earned the win with 5.2 scoreless innings on three hits, and New York’s bullpen seamlessly closed out the final 3.1 frames without allowing a single baserunner to score, completing the shutout in convincing fashion.
- San Diego is now 32-30 and sits at 3rd in the NL West.
- New York is now 28-35 and sits at 5th in the NL East.
2 HRC Teams Battle it out as the Phillies Beat the White Sox
- The PHI Phillies outlasted the CWS White Sox 8–6 in a home run-heavy affair that saw four combined long balls account for the bulk of the damage across a game that was never truly settled until the final out. PHI RF Adolis García and PHI LF Brandon Marsh each went deep for the Phillies, with Marsh’s blast driving in two runs and García’s contributing another, while PHI SP Jesús Luzardo surrendered three home runs over six innings in a losing-pitcher-quality outing that nonetheless yielded a no-decision. CWS RF Randal Grichuk was the fireworks show for Chicago, hitting two home runs and driving in two runs in a two-hit performance, with CWS RF Derek Hill adding a solo shot of his own to give the White Sox three home runs on the day. PHI RP Jonathan Bowlan earned the win and PHI RP Jhoan Duran closed it out with a clean ninth for the save, while CWS RP Bryan Hudson took the loss after allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning in the seventh that extended the Philadelphia lead for good.
- Philadelphia is now 34-29 and sits at 2nd in the NL East.
- Chicago is now 33-30 and sits at 2nd in the AL Central.
Giants Offense Erupts in Road Rout over Cubs
- The SF Giants demolished the CHC Cubs 18–3 at Wrigley Field in one of the most lopsided offensive performances of the season, erupting for seven runs in the sixth inning alone and pounding out 19 hits on the day. SF 3B Matt Chapman was the centerpiece of the carnage, going deep twice and driving in a staggering eight runs, while SF SS Willy Adames matched him with two home runs and four RBI and SF DH Casey Schmitt added two more home runs and three RBI to give San Francisco seven home runs as a team. SF CF Jonah Cox chipped in a solo shot of his own as CHC SP Edward Cabrera absorbed the loss after surrendering three home runs and eight runs in just 3.2 innings, with position player CHC C Carson Kelly pressed into pitching duty late and allowing two more home runs in a mercy appearance. SF SP Robbie Ray earned the win with five masterful scoreless innings of relief, and the Giants’ offense made it abundantly clear this was no contest from the opening frame.
- Chicago is now 33-31 and sits at 4th in the NL Central.
- San Francisco is now 26-38 and sits at 4th in the NL West.
Diamondbacks Fall Big to Nationals
- The WSH Nationals steamrolled the AZ Diamondbacks 14–1 in a rout that was effectively over by the third inning, with Washington’s offense broke out for five home runs and 16 hits across nine dominant innings. WSH 1B Luis García Jr. was the story of the game, launching two home runs and driving in six runs in a performance that single-handedly outscored the entire Arizona lineup, while WSH LF Daylen Lile, WSH SS CJ Abrams, and WSH RF James Wood each added solo shots of their own to round out a five-homer barrage. AZ SP Merrill Kelly absorbed the loss in brutal fashion, surrendering three home runs and seven earned runs in five innings, and AZ RP Philip Abner was even worse in relief, allowing two more home runs and five runs in just 1.1 frames before Arizona mercifully handed the ball to position player AZ DH Adrian Del Castillo. WSH SP Foster Griffin earned the win with five efficient innings, allowing just one run on two hits, as the Nationals’ lone blemish was a solo home run by AZ C Aramis Garcia in what was otherwise a thoroughly one-sided afternoon.
- Arizona is now 33-30 and sits at 2nd in the NL West.
- Washington is now 32-32 and sits at 3rd in the NL East.
Philadelphia Sweeps San Diego for 2nd time in 9 games
- In a pitching masterpiece that came down to a single swing, the LAD Dodgers edged the LAA Angels 1–0 on a walk-off home run by LAD 1B Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the ninth, the lone home run of the game and the only run scored across eighteen half-innings of baseball. LAD SP Roki Sasaki was absolutely dominant, striking out ten batters over seven scoreless innings on just two hits, and LAD RP Edgardo Henriquez added three more strikeouts in a perfect eighth before LAA RP Kirby Yates entered the ninth and surrendered Freeman’s decisive blast without recording a single out, taking the loss. LAA SP Reid Detmers matched Sasaki virtually pitch for pitch, holding Los Angeles scoreless over six innings with six strikeouts of his own, and the Angels’ bullpen was equally strong until that fateful final at-bat. With no home runs, no runs, and next to nothing in the way of offense until the very last moment, Freeman’s walk-off was the only thing separating two pitching staffs that were otherwise completely in control all night.
- Los Angeles (D) is now 41-23 and sits at 1st in the NL West.
- Los Angeles (A) is now 24-40 and sits at 5th in the AL West.

Top Five Teams in Home Runs during HRC	# of HRs during HRC	Bottom Five Teams in Home Runs During HRC	# of HRs during HRC
1. SF	7	1. MIA, SD, LAA, PIT, CIN, KC, MIL	0
2. WAS	5
3. CHW, BAL, BOS, DET, NYY, NYM, TEX, PHI	2

Top Five Players in Home Runs during HRC	# of HRs
1. Willy Adamaes, SF SS	2
2. Matt Chapman, SF 3B	2
3. Luis García, Jr., WAS OF	2
4. Casey Shmitt, SF DH	2

Player	HRs	Career Span	# of Games
1. Barry Bonds	762	22 years	2,986
2. Hank Aaron	755	23 years	3,298
3. Babe Ruth	714	22 years	2,503
4. Albert Pujols	703	22 years	3,080
5. Alex Rodriguez	696	22 years	2,784
6. Willie Mays	660	22 years	2,992
7. Ken Griffey Jr.	630	22 years	2,543
8. Jim Thome	612	22 years	2,543
9. Sammy Sosa	609	18 years	2,354
10. Frank Robinson	586	21 years	2,808
11. Mark McGwire	583	16 years	1,874
12. Harmon Killebrew	573	22 years	2,435
13. Rafael Palmiero	569	18 years	2,831
14. Reggie Jackson	563	21 years	2,820
15. Manny Ramirez	555	19 years	2,302
16. Mike Schmidt	548	18 years	2,404
17. David Ortiz	541	20 years	2,408
18. Mickey Mantle	536	18 years	2,401
19. Jimmie Foxx	534	20 years	2,317
20. Willie McCovey	521	22 years	2,588
20. Frank Thomas	521	19 years	2,322
20. Ted Williams	521	22 years	2,292

Player	HRs	Career Span	# of Games
1. Giancarlo Stanton	456	17	1,750
2. Mike Trout	418	16	1,711
3. Aaron Judge	385	11	1,204
4. Manny Machado	380	14	1,954
5. Paul Goldschmidt	379	16	2,112
6. Freddie Freeman	377	17	2,240
7. Bryce Harper	377	15	1,848
8. Kyle Schwarber	363	12	1,351
9. Nolan Arenado	361	14	1,845
10. Carlos Santana	335	17	2,212

Other Fun Facts:

The 2019 Atlanta Braves hit more home runs in the month of June – 56 – than any other team in history.
In 2017, the Cincinnati Reds Scooter Gennett became one of the unlikeliest players to hit four home runs in a single game; Gennett hit his record-tying home runs in an HRC game.
The Atlanta Braves (2023) and Minnesota Twins (2019) hit 307 home runs each in a single season, more than any team in history.
Babe Ruth led the American League in home runs 12 times; the first time was in 1918 when he hit 11 home runs (and won 13 games as a pitcher).
In 2021, Miguel Cabrera became the last MLB player to top 500 home runs; 34-year-old Giancarlo Stanton is the current active leader with 408.
Mark McGwire hit more home runs per at bat – 10.61 – than any player in history. Aaron Judge (11.9) and Pete Alonso (13.27) have the best ratios among current players.
Sammy Sosa has 3 of the 6 seasons with the most HRs hit, hitting 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, and 64 in 2001. However, he never once lead the major leagues in home runs. Despite his prowess as a power hitter, he was surpassed in all 3 seasons, in the 1998-99 seasons by Mark McGwire, and in 2001 by Barry Bonds.
Weirdly enough, no one has ever hit 55 HRs in a season.
Hitting a grand slam is incredibly impressive enough. Hitting multiple in the same game is nearly unheard of. Even more absurd, multiple grand slams in the same inning? Only one player has accomplished that feat – and that is Fernando Tatis. On April 23rd, 1999, he hit two grand slams as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, facing the Los Angeles Dodgers that day. His son, Fernando Tatis Jr, is now a superstar outfielder for the San Diego Padres.
The first Home Run was hit by the Chicago White Stockings infielder, Ross Barnes, on May 2, 1876. Despite being nearly 150 years ago, the Chicago White Stockings are still an MLB team – but not the White Sox. The White Stockings actually became the Chicago Cubs.
Andy “Pepper” Oyler, known as a small player, had the shortest home run in baseball history – an [astonishing] 24-inch home run. As the story goes, the weather conditions in Minnesota were poor that day, and the hard-hit ball went directly into the mud in front of the plate. By the time they had found the ball, Oyler had cleared the bases, for an inside the park home run.
What’s perhaps more impressive than hitting any Home Run or Grand Slam? Robbing one! How about Mike Cameron, former All-Star and gold glover, known as being one of the only players to amass 250 home runs and 250 steals in their career. On May 2, 2002, not only did he hit 4 Home Runs in the game, with his 5th hit missing the wall by just feet, making it all the way to the warning track, he also robbed a home run.