Every Monday Baseball Musings compares the offense of the current season to the offense of the previous season through the same number of full weeks. After nine full weeks in 2024, MLB games produced 8.64 runs per game versus 9.08 runs per game in 2023. That half run difference remains steady. Home runs, walks, and other hits all remain down leading to about 0.8 fewer batters reaching base per game, 23.26 in 2024 versus 24.09 in 2023.

The one trend that stands out in the data is the drop in walks as the season progresses. The first three and a half weeks averaged about 6.7 walks per game, with full week three coming in at 6.6 BB per game. Since then four of the six weeks came in below six walks per game, and over the last three weeks the average stands at about 5.8 walks per game. With strikeouts remaining low compared to last season, more balls in play means more action, even if hits are down.

Last week produced 8.4 runs per game. There is a nice oscillation week to week, as if the top of all the rotations are in sync with each other. You can follow the week by week data since 2015 here.