Hit machine: Josh Hamilton watches his eighth-inning home run, his fourth of the game, against the Orioles on Tuesday. APBALTIMORE — Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm.The Texas Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batter's box against Baltimore right-hander Darren O'Day, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment."I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don't hit one," Hamilton reasoned, "I've still had a really good night."It turned out to be unforgettable.Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory Tuesday.Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against O'Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall."Obviously it's, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career," Hamilton said. "I was saying after I hit two I've never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got."It reminds you of when you're in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing."Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high."Amazing," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Josh came out tonight, and he wasn't going to be denied."The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900."History was witnessed tonight," Washington said."It's like anything else — you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in," Hamilton said. "I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then."Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat. The last to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium.Hamilton leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four held by eight players.Yankees 5, Rays 3In New York, David Robertson struck out Carlos Pena with the bases loaded to end a rocky ninth inning in his first save chance since Mariano Rivera's season-ending knee injury.Twins 5, Angels 0In Minneapolis, Scott Diamond pitched a career-best seven scoreless innings in his season debut and Ryan Doumit hit a two-run homer.Tigers 6, Mariners 4In Seattle, Justin Verlander won his 12th straight decision on the road and Prince Fielder homered.Ichiro Suzuki was 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Mariners.Royals 6, Red Sox 4In Kansas City, Billy Butler hit a mammoth three-run homer in the eighth inning to lead the Royals past Boston.Athletics 7, Blue Jays 3In Oakland, newcomer Brandon Inge hit a game-ending grand slam to cap a five-run ninth-inning rally for the A's against Toronto.White Sox 5, Indians 3 (10)In Cleveland, Alex Rios tripled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning for Chicago.White Sox pinch hitter Kosuke Fukudome was 0-for-1.NATIONAL LEAGUEPirates 5, Nationals 4In Pittsburgh, Rod Barajas hit a two-run homer off Washington closer Henry Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth.Mets 7, Phillies 4In Philadelphia, Lucas Duda had a tiebreaking, two-out RBI single in the seventh and the Mets took advantage of a defensive blunder.Astros 3, Marlins 2In Houston, pinch hitter Brian Bogusevic hit an eighth-inning RBI double and the Astros ended Miami's season-long seven-game winning streak.Braves 3, Cubs 1In Chicago, Dan Uggla hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning to lift Atlanta.Brewers 8, Reds 3In Milwaukee, Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run triple, helping the Brewers shake off their recent offensive struggles.Giants 2, Dodgers 1In Los Angeles, Ryan Vogelsong pitched into the eighth inning for the first time this season and the Giants ended a streak of 12 straight winning decisions at home by Clayton Kershaw.Cardinals 6, Diamondbacks 1In Phoenix, Carlos Beltran homered in his first two at-bats, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs for St. Louis, which handed Arizona its fourth consecutive loss.Padres 3, Rockies 1In San Diego, Will Venable tripled and scored in the first, then doubled in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning to back 37-year-old starting pitcher Jeff Suppan.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Hamilton blasts four homers
Hit machine: Josh Hamilton watches his eighth-inning home run, his fourth of the game, against the Orioles on Tuesday. APBALTIMORE — Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm.The Texas Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batter's box against Baltimore right-hander Darren O'Day, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment."I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don't hit one," Hamilton reasoned, "I've still had a really good night."It turned out to be unforgettable.Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory Tuesday.Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against O'Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the center-field wall."Obviously it's, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career," Hamilton said. "I was saying after I hit two I've never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got."It reminds you of when you're in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing."Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high."Amazing," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Josh came out tonight, and he wasn't going to be denied."The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900."History was witnessed tonight," Washington said."It's like anything else — you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in," Hamilton said. "I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then."Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat. The last to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium.Hamilton leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four held by eight players.Yankees 5, Rays 3In New York, David Robertson struck out Carlos Pena with the bases loaded to end a rocky ninth inning in his first save chance since Mariano Rivera's season-ending knee injury.Twins 5, Angels 0In Minneapolis, Scott Diamond pitched a career-best seven scoreless innings in his season debut and Ryan Doumit hit a two-run homer.Tigers 6, Mariners 4In Seattle, Justin Verlander won his 12th straight decision on the road and Prince Fielder homered.Ichiro Suzuki was 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Mariners.Royals 6, Red Sox 4In Kansas City, Billy Butler hit a mammoth three-run homer in the eighth inning to lead the Royals past Boston.Athletics 7, Blue Jays 3In Oakland, newcomer Brandon Inge hit a game-ending grand slam to cap a five-run ninth-inning rally for the A's against Toronto.White Sox 5, Indians 3 (10)In Cleveland, Alex Rios tripled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning for Chicago.White Sox pinch hitter Kosuke Fukudome was 0-for-1.NATIONAL LEAGUEPirates 5, Nationals 4In Pittsburgh, Rod Barajas hit a two-run homer off Washington closer Henry Rodriguez with two outs in the ninth.Mets 7, Phillies 4In Philadelphia, Lucas Duda had a tiebreaking, two-out RBI single in the seventh and the Mets took advantage of a defensive blunder.Astros 3, Marlins 2In Houston, pinch hitter Brian Bogusevic hit an eighth-inning RBI double and the Astros ended Miami's season-long seven-game winning streak.Braves 3, Cubs 1In Chicago, Dan Uggla hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning to lift Atlanta.Brewers 8, Reds 3In Milwaukee, Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run triple, helping the Brewers shake off their recent offensive struggles.Giants 2, Dodgers 1In Los Angeles, Ryan Vogelsong pitched into the eighth inning for the first time this season and the Giants ended a streak of 12 straight winning decisions at home by Clayton Kershaw.Cardinals 6, Diamondbacks 1In Phoenix, Carlos Beltran homered in his first two at-bats, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs for St. Louis, which handed Arizona its fourth consecutive loss.Padres 3, Rockies 1In San Diego, Will Venable tripled and scored in the first, then doubled in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning to back 37-year-old starting pitcher Jeff Suppan.
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