Yesterday (September 17, 2020), the surging New York Yankees faced off (In New York) against the Blue Jays and starter Chase Anderson – and chase Anderson they did, as the Bronx Bombers prevailed 10-7.
The big damage came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Third baseman (number-six hitter) Gio Urshela started it with a line out to deep center, followed by a walk to RF Clint Frazier. Then the wheels came off. Catcher Gary Sanchez doubled to left on a 1-0 pitch, LF Brett Gardner followed by hitting the first pitch in his at bat out of the park (to RF) and 2B DJ LeMahieu hit the first pitch he saw over the RF fence. Not to be outdone, 1B Luke Voit slashed the first pitch he saw for a home run to right-center. CF Aaron Hicks followed by fanning on three pitches. DH Giancarlo Stanton went back to the established trend for the inning, lacing the first pitch he saw for a home run to right-center. SS Gleyber Torres then worked the count full before hitting a home run to left-center – and that was all for Chase Anderson. Wilmer Font came on and retired the next two Yankee batters (Urshela and Frazier) to end the frame with the Yankees having plated seven runs to take a 9-2 lead (in a game they would win 10-7).
In the process, the Yankees became just the seventh MLB team to record a five-homer inning. More on that in a bit, but it should be noted the Yankees popped six home runs in the contest, making them the first team to collect six or more homers in three straight games and 19 home runs in a three-game series. The New York homers in that series belonged to Luke Voit (4); DJ LeMahieu (4); Kyle Higashioka (3); Gary Sanchez (2); Clint Frazier (2); Glyber Torres (1); Giancarlo Stanton (1); Aaron Hicks (1); Brett Gardner (1).
Now for those five-homer innings. First, few observations:
- Four of the seven five-homer innings in MLB history have been fashioned against the Reds. Ouch!
- The home team has launched the five-homer fireworks in six of the seven instances.
- Sixteen of the 35 home runs have come with two outs.
- The Milwaukee Brewers are the only team to both smash and surrender a five-home inning.
- Andy Seminick is the only player to strike two home runs in a team’s five-homer inning.
- Two of the five-homer innings includes an inside-the-park round tripper.
- Two of the five-homer innings included a home run by a pitcher.
- A total of 57 runs scored in the seven five-homer innings – the fewest at six, the most at 12.
Now a closer look.
June 6, 1939 …. Giants 17- Reds 3 …. In New York
Pitcher Manny Salvo hit an inside-the-park home run in Giants five-homer inning.
The first-ever five-homer inning also may be the most unlikely five-homer inning. It included the only home run of Giants’ pitcher Manny Salvo’s season and career (quite an historic salvo) – and that four-bagger was an inside-the-parker. It also included 2B Burgess Whitehead’s first homer of the season, one of only two he would hit that year. Among the five blasts were also LF Jo-Jo Moore’s second of the year and CF Frank Demaree’s second of the season. The pitchers who suffered the indignity of the five-homer fourth inning had a couple of great baseball names. Peaches Davis and Wesley Livengood.
In this game, the sixth-place Giants (20-24 record) surprised the league-leading Reds (29-15) by a 17-3 score, plating all 17 runs in the first five innings.
The record-setting five-homer power display came in the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Giants already up 6-0. Peaches Davis, who had relieved Johnny Vander Meer in the first inning (Vander Meer had given up six hits and three runs in 2/3 of an inning), retired Giants’ LF Jo-Jo Moore and SS Billy Jurges to start the inning. Then things went awry. C Harry Danning laced a home run to center (his sixth). Next, clean-up hitter Mel Ott drew a walk, 1B Zeke Bonura singled and CF Frank Demaree hit the second home run of the inning. That ended Davis’ day and brought Wesley Livengood (whose MLB career would consist of five appearances and a 9.53 ERA) to the hill. Livengood was not living so good. He walked Tony Lazzeri and then gave up a home run to 2B Burgess Whitehead. Giants’ pitcher Manny Salvo was up next. A weak hitter (at best), Salvo surprised everyone in the ball park with the only home run of his five-season MLB career – an inside-the-park round tripper off the right field fence. Next up was lead-off hitter Jo-Jo Moore, who hit the fifth and final homer of the inning. Jurges then drew a walk and, finally, Danning fanned to end the inning.
June 2, 1949 … Phillies 12 – Reds 3 … in Philadelphia
Andy Seminick hit two round trippers in the Phillies’ five-homer inning.
In this one, Phillies’ catcher Andy Semincik hit three home runs in the game and two in the five-homer eighth inning. Notably, the outburst blew open a close game. Phillies’ pitcher Schoolboy Rowe, who had relieved Curt Simmons in the top of the eight, hit one of the five round trippers. It was his only homer of the season.
As already noted, this started out as a close game, with the Reds actually leading 3-2 after seven innings behind a strong performance by starting pitcher Ken Raffensberger (who would win 18 games that season). Things, however, went south in the bottom of the eighth.
CF Del Ennis (the Phillies’ clean-up hitter) led off the inning with a home run (his seventh of the season), which was followed by C Andy Seminick’s second home run of the game – marking Raffensberger’s exit. Jess Dobernic came on in relief and retired RF Stan Hollmig on a liner to short before giving up a home run to 3B Willie Jones (his third of the year). Dobrenic then induced a soft fly ball out to second base by 2B Eddie Miller, bringing up P Schoolboy Rowe, who had relieved Philadelphia starter Curt Simmons in the top of the eighth (Stan Lopata had pinch hit for Simmons in the bottom of the seventh). Rowe promptly rapped a home run to left (the only home run of the year for the 39-year-old veteran, in his last MLB season). Kent Petersen came on in relief of Dobernic and added fuel to the fire in this order: walk to CF Richie Ashburn; double to SS Granny Hamner; 1B Eddie Waitkus safe on an error (Ashburn scores); an Ennis’ single to right (Hamner scores); and Seminick’s second home run of the inning (third of the game and seventh of the season). That was the end of the home runs, but the inning continued with the Phillies adding another run on a hit batsman and a triple. Suddenly a 3-2 Reds lead was a 12-3 deficit.
August 23, 1961 … Giants 14 – Reds 0 … in Cincinnati
Lots of big names going yard in this one: Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou. You get the idea.
Notably, this five-homer, 12-run ninth inning broke open a tight contest. Note: While in the chart Cepeda is listed as the right fielder – the position at which he started the game, he was a left fielder when he hit his home run. Felipe Alou had just come into the game in the eighth inning, replacing LF Ed Bailey. At that point, Cepeda moved to LF and Alou took over in RF.
Jim Davenport contributed a three-run inside-the-park homer to the Giants record-tying inning.
As the game moved into the ninth inning, the Reds trailed the San Francisco Giants 2-0 and both starters (Juan Marichal for the Giants and Joey Jay for the Reds) were still in the game. A low-scoring game had been expected, Marichal came into the contest with a 12-7 record for the third-place Giants, while Jay was 18-7 for the first-place Reds.
In the top of the ninth, however, the Giants broke the contest wide open. First baseman Willie McCovey opened with a double off Jay and then scored on an error by Reds’ 2B Don Blasingame (after a Willie Mays’ pop out). LF Orlando Cepeda and RF Felipe Alou followed with a pair of deep home runs (to center and left, respectively). It was Cepeda’s 36th of the year and Alou’s 15th. That brought Jim Brosnan in from the bullpen – and led to a fly ball out by C John Orsino, singles by SS Jose Pagan and Marichal, 2B Joey Amalfitano reaching on an error by Reds’ third baseman Gene Freese (Pagan scoring), a three-run inside-the-park home run by 3B Jim Davenport (his eighth homer of the year) and a single to McCovey. Next in the line of fire (relieving Brosnan) was Bill Henry, who gave up a two-run homer to Willie Mays (his 34th of the season), a single to Cepeda, and had Alou reach on Freese’s second error of the inning (and the Reds’ third miscue of the frame). Orsino then took Henry deep (just his second of the year) before Pagan struck out to mercifully end the 12-run, ninth-inning uprising.
June 9, 1966 … Twins 9 – 4 … In Minnesota
The Twins trailed 4-3 in the seventh, when they broke the game open with a five-homer, six-run inning.
Things did not start out well for the Twins on the day of their historic power display. With the game being played at Metropolitan Stadium (Bloomington, MN), the Athletics got off to a fast start, knocking out Twins’ ace Camilo Pascual in the top of the first. (Pascual lasted 2/3 of an inning, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk.) With Catfish Hunter on the mound, the Twins’ chances looked slim. The Twins scored one in the fifth and two in the sixth (on a Harmon Killebrew home run) and then, trailing 4-3, broke the game open with five home runs in the seventh.
It started innocently enough with a Catfish Hunter walk to C Early Battey, followed by an infield fly out for 2B Bernie Allen. That brought pinch hitter (for the pitcher) Rich Rollins to the plate, and he hit the inning’s first homer (just the second of ten HRs Rollins would hit in 1966). Lead-off hitter SS Zoilo Versalles followed with his fifth homer of the year – and Paul Lindblad replaced Hunter on the mound. Lindblad got Twins’ LF Sandy Valdespino on a grounder to short, but then gave up consecutive round trippers to RF Tony Oliva (his 14th) and 1B Don Mincher (his sixth). That brought John Wyatt in from the bullpen and he quickly gave up a home run to 3B Harmon Killebrew (his second of the day and 11th of the year). Wyatt then gave up a double to RF Jimmie Hall and C Earl Battey reached on an error before 2B Bernie Allen ended the inning on a ground ball (catcher to first).
April 22, 2006 … Brewers 11 – Reds 0 … in Milwaukee
The Brewers were less than hospitable hosts to the Reds on April 22, 2006 – when they pounded the visitors 11-0, racking up the fourth five-homer inning against the Reds’ franchise along the way. The outburst came in the bottom of the fourth inning with starter Brandon Claussen still on the mound and the Reds trailing 3-0.
Milwaukee 3B Bill Hall (the number-six hitter) started it with a home run (his third of the young season). Then 2B Richie Weeks singled to left, scoring on C Damian Miller’s home run (his first of the year). That seemed to establish a (brief) HR-1B-HR pattern, as Brewers’ pitcher Dave Bush followed the Miller home run with a single and CF Brady Clark backed up the Bush single with his first home run of 2006. SS J.J. Hardy broke the pattern with a home run (his third of the year). At this point, Claussen had faced six batters in the inning, giving up four home runs and two singles – and his day was done. Chris Hammond came on in relief and provided just that, striking out the first two batters he faced (RF Geoff Jenkins and LF Carlos Lee). Then Prince Fielder gave the Brewers a piece of the five-homers in one inning record, hitting his third of the year. The carnage ended on a fly out to center by Hall.
July 27, 2017 … Nationals 15 – Brewers 2 … in Washington
The Nationals (60-39, running away with the NL East) faced off (at home) against the Milwaukee Brewers, who were trying to keep pace with the division-leading Cubs in the NL Central. Washington was starting its staff “ace” – Max Scherzer – going for his twelfth win. Milwaukee countered with Michael Blazek getting his first start of the season (fifth appearance). It was also the first start of Blazek’s four MLB seasons (109 appearances). After Scherzer worked a 1-2-3 top of the first, Blazek gave up a two-run home run to Bryce Harper to fall behind 2-0. Neither team scored in the second and Scherzer continued to hold the Brewers scoreless in the top of the third.
In the bottom of the third, Scherzer drew a walk to start things off. Center fielder and leadoff hitter Brian Goodwin followed with a home run to right (his tenth HR of the season). Then SS Wilmer Difo hit one out to right-center (his third HR of the season). Next, RF Bryce Harper hit his second long ball of the game (27th of the season) to left-center and Ryan Zimmerman added the fourth consecutive blast of the inning (his 21st of the year) to left-center. Daniel Murphy then flew out to center, and 3B Anthony Rendon followed with the fifth homer of the inning (his 21st), this one to straight-away center. That prompted a pitching change. New Brewers’ moundsman Wily Peralta gave up two singles and a double – and one more run – before getting out of the inning.
September 17, 2020 …. Yankees 10 – Blue Jays 7 … in New York
The details of this one were discussed at the top of this post; but here’s the obligatory BBRT chart.
Primary Resource: Baseball-Reference.com
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