Ellsbury On Inside-The-Park HR: 'It's Tiring'
BOSTON (CBS) – Jacoby Ellbury is having a power-surge for the Red Sox this season.
But the speedy centerfielder had to use his legs for his 28th home run on Monday night.
In the seventh inning of Boston's 18-9 win, Ellsbury took Orioles pitcher Jeremy Accardo to deep center. The ball just stayed in the park, but caromed off the railing of the Red Sox bullpen. It took a funny bounce, and as the Orioles chased it down, Ellsbury was rounding the bases.
By the time the throw came into home, Ellsbury was crossing the plate for his first career inside-the-park home run.
"It's tiring; I would have rather it just went over the fence," said Ellsbury after the nightcap of the day-night double-header. "It was exciting, my first one. It was fun."
"When I hit it I was hoping it would get out. Once I saw it hit the wall I saw it carom and I thought I had a pretty good shot at getting an inside the park home run," said Ellsbury, who finished the night 3-for-6. "When I saw (third base coach Tim Bogar) waiving me, I knew it was going to happen."
It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Red Sox since Kevin Youkilis rounded the bases in May 2007 against the Cleveland Indians.
For Ellsbury, it was his 78th extra-base hit of the season, the second most by a Red Sox centerfielder since Fred Lynn in 1979.
More importantly, it gave the Sox a little more of a cushion in a then-close game, putting Boston on top 11-9. They would add six more runs after Ellsbury's race around the bases, sealing the 18-9 win.
Read: Orioles Take Game 1 On Dropped Ball, Blown Call
"It was a nice win. To put up that many runs in a long day like this; it says a lot about our team," said Ellsbury. "We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys. It's a nice win, we control our own destiny. If we go out and play baseball like we can we'll be in good shape."
Later in the inning, waiver deadline pick-up Conor Jackson hit a grand slam, his first home run with Boston. After the game, Jackson was asked which homer was more impressive.
"I'll give it to Jacoby, that's pretty impressive right there," he said of the inside-the-parker. "He's one away from 200 hits, so that guy is doing something special this year."
Ellsbury is hitting .319 for the season, and has already set career highs in home runs (28), RBI (98), runs (114) and doubles (45).
