5 runs on 0 hits!? Fall Leaguer accomplishes feat done only twice in MLB -- both times by HOFer
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Five runs scored on zero hits -- it just looks like a misprint in the box score.
Rays prospect Aidan Smith saw his Arizona Fall League average drop after an 0-for-2 day during Mesa’s 21-14 victory over Scottdale at Sloan Park on Tuesday afternoon yet still managed to deliver a nearly unprecedented performance -- one that has only been accomplished twice in big league history, both times by a Hall of Famer.
Smith, by virtue of four walks and a fielder’s choice -- along with a relentless offense that contributed to the second-highest scoring total in the AFL since 2005 -- was able to scamper around and touch home five times, all without picking up a knock.
The two times in Major League history that's happened:
Joe Morgan (Reds) -- June 30, 1977
Max Carey (Pirates) -- July 25, 1913
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At the Minor League level, where more than four times as many games are played per year than in the Majors, a zero-hit, five-run performance has been accomplished four times since 2005. But Smith finds himself in the rarest air when it comes to the AFL, which has no other record of such a game since at least 2005.
The Rays' No. 6 prospect, who spent a few months on the Top 100 list earlier this season, is looking to right the ship in Arizona after his first full season in the Rays organization. The 21-year-old -- acquired in the Randy Arozarena deal from the Mariners last July -- hit just .237 and carried a robust 31.2 strikeout rate in 102 games for High-A Bowling Green, although he did display his electricity on the basepaths with 41 swipes for the second consecutive year.
The right-handed-hitting outfielder is getting additional at-bats with Mesa in hopes of tapping more into his hit tool after receiving more than double the fourth-round slot bonus coming out of the Texas high school ranks in 2023. Upon his acquisition by the Rays, he was heralded as arguably the system’s best all-around talent, potential that he still has ample time to capitalize upon.
Smith might not have hit his way any closer to that Tuesday, but as they say, the name of the game is how many times you cross the plate.