Strikeouts exceeded hits in the major leagues for the second time in three months Tyler Seguin Jersey , a deviation that had never occurred before this year.

There were 6,776 strikeouts and 6,640 hits in June, the Elias Sports Bureau said Sunday. That leaves the season totals at 21,090 strikeouts and 20,671 hits about halfway through the season.

Strikeouts had topped hits in a full month for the first time in April, when then there were 6,656 strikeouts and 6,360 hits. The previous low differential was in April 2017, when there were 138 more hits than strikeouts.

There were 7,033 hits and 6,971 strikeouts in May.

Strikeouts per game averaged 16.9 in June, up from 16.75 in May but down from 17.5 in April, which was a record for a full calendar month. Strikeouts have set a record for 10 consecutive seasons, and this year’s rate projects to 41,464. That would shatter last year’s mark of 40 Anthony Mantha Jersey ,104; the total was 32,884 in 2008.

There have been 2,822 home runs in 1,236 games, an average of 2.26. That represents a drop from 2.52 last year through June, when there were 3,024 in 1,199 games.

The average climbed from 1.90 before the 2015 All-Star break to 2.17 in the second half that year, then rose to 2.31 in 2016 and a record 2.51 last season.

Thus far this season, 32 percent of 94,241 plate appearances ended without a batted ball in play: 21,090 strikeouts, 8,081 walks, 952 hit batters and 23 catcher’s interference calls.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs waited and waited and waited Monday night. When the lights malfunctioned again and the forecast called for more rain, they finally said enough.

The rematch of the last two NL Championship Series was postponed by a mixture of poor weather and a limited power outage at Wrigley Field. It will be made up Tuesday afternoon as part of a day-night doubleheader.

It was sunny and hot in Chicago for most of Monday Darren Helm Jersey , but clouds began to roll into the area about two hours before the scheduled first pitch. An initial downpour stopped at one point and the grounds crew pulled the tarp off the field, only to put it back on after a short stretch.

There was also trouble with three banks of lights on the first-base side of the iconic 104-year-old ballpark that went on and off a couple times, in addition to some lights in the stands on the third-base side that were out when the game was called after a nearly 3-hour delay.

”It appears to be a limited power outage in the ballpark which is impacting the right-field light operation,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. ”Obviously can’t play baseball without a full bank of lights in the ballpark. Notwithstanding the lights, we’re also dealing with a pretty heavy storm system in the area, which we’re projected to get more rain here.”

Green said they don’t know the root cause of the power outage, but it appears to be in the ballpark itself and not in the surrounding neighborhood. He said the plan is to have ballpark fully operational by the start of the first game on Tuesday.

”But a lot of work needs to happen tonight to make sure we can do that,” Green said.

This is Los Angeles’ only scheduled trip to Chicago this season.

”It’s out of our control,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ”It’s one of those times when we spent a lot of time here, but there’s nothing else we could have done.”

Kenta Maeda, Monday night’s scheduled starter for Los Angeles, will get the ball for the opener of the doubleheader. Rich Hill will come off the disabled list to start Game 2.

Hill was placed on the DL on May 20 with a blister on his left middle finger, a recurring problem for the veteran left-hander.

The Cubs employed the same plan, with Tyler Chatwood going in the opener and Mike Montgomery staying in place for the previously scheduled game. Montgomery is 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA in four starts since he was inserted into the rotation after Yu Darvish was sidelined by right triceps tendinitis.

The Dodgers are making their first appearance at Wrigley since they advanced to the World Series with an 11-1 victory over the Cubs in Game 5 of the NLCS on Oct. 19. The same teams also met in the 2016 NLCS, with Chicago advancing on its way to its first championship since 1908.

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Jay Cohen can be reached at