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Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu hit both an inside-the-park home run and a grand slam in Monday night’s 13-6 victory against the Cincinnati Reds (box score). He became just the sixth player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish both feats in the same game, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
No player had done so since Roger Maris on August 3, 1958. Before him, only Jim Tabor (1939), Charlie Gehringer (1930), Everett Scott (1923), and Jocko Fields (1890) had pulled it off. Tabor, by the way, hit two grand slams as part of his contribution.
Abreu went 2 for 5 on the night, driving in five runs on his pair of home runs. The first, the inside-the-park home-run, came in the fifth inning and extended Boston’s lead to 5-0 when Reds center fielder TJ Friedl fell down and couldn’t field the ball cleanly, requiring right fielder Rece Hinds to make the recovery. Here’s a look at that scene in video form:
Abreu’s second home run, the grand slam, came in the eighth inning and put the Red Sox up by a 13-5 score. Here’s that blast in all its moving picture glory:
Abreu, 26 as of a week ago, only returned to the Boston lineup on June 20 following a stint on the injured list. He entered Monday hitting .253/.322/.473 (119 OPS+) with 14 home runs, 40 runs batted in, and four stolen bases. His contributions had been worth an estimated 1.9 Wins Above Replacement, per the estimates hosted at Baseball Reference.
With the win, the Red Sox are now 42-44 on the season. They’ll continue their series with the Reds on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Washington to face the Nationals for a weekend three-game set.