Mookie Betts Sets New Red Sox Record With Fourth Three-Homer Game
BOSTON (CBS) -- Mookie Betts continues to crush baseballs this season.
Betts clubbed three homers in Wednesday's matinee against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park, the fourth time he's accomplished the feat in his career. That passes Ted Williams' trio of three-homer games for a new Red Sox franchise record.
Passing The Splendid Splinter in the record books is quite the accomplishment for anyone, but is even more incredible considering Betts is 25 years old and only in his fourth season.
With his three homers on Wednesday, Betts now leads all of baseball with 11 dingers. He first went deep on a 1-1 changeup to lead off the fourth inning, cutting the Royals' lead to 3-1. Boston tied the game later that inning on J.D. Martinez's two-run blast.
Betts homered again in the bottom of the fifth inning, crushing an 0-2 slider to give Boston a 4-3 lead at the time, and hit his third homer of the day in the seventh inning, another solo shot to center field to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead. All three of his homers came off Kansas City starter Danny Duffy.
That third homer ended up being pretty big too, as it was the difference in Boston's 5-4 win over Kansas City.
Wednesday was the second time this season that Betts has hit three homers in a game. He also sent three baseballs out of the park back on April 17 in Anaheim in a Boston win over the Angels.