Latest news with #Wilyer Abreu
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wilyer Abreu's go-ahead two-run home run (19)
Wilyer Abreu puts the Red Sox ahead in the top of 7th inning with an emphatic two-run home run to right field
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wilyer Abreu's go-ahead two-run home run (19)
Wilyer Abreu puts the Red Sox ahead in the top of 7th inning with an emphatic two-run home run to right field
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox' Wilyer Abreu makes history with two firsts on 'very special' night
BOSTON — On any other night, hitting two homers in the same game would make for a pretty special achievement. And for one of those home runs to be a grand slam would make it even noteworthy. But to hit a grand slam and an inside-the-park homer in the same game? That would be history-making. Advertisement To put things in perspective, Wilyer Abreu had never hit an inside-the-park homer or a grand slam in his career. Then, he hit both within the span of a few innings. That's the kind of night he had Monday night. In a 13-6 rout of the Cincinnati Reds, the Red Sox right fielder circled the bases in the fifth inning on a ball that bounced around the triangle in right-center, then added a bases-loaded shot over the bullpen three innings later. 'When I hit the ball, I thought it was a home run,' said Abreu of the inside-the-park shot. 'When I saw that the ball was heading to the triangle, I thought the ball might not be (going out), so I started running hard and luckily, I was able to get an inside-the-parker.' Advertisement The ball struck the top railing of the Red Sox bullpen nearest center field and bounded away from Cincinnati center fielder T.J. Friedl. As Abreu motored past second, he could hear the crowd urging him on and then got waved home by third base coach Kyle Hudson, beating the relay throw home from shortstop Elly de la Cruz. 'I was screaming, 'Run!' from the get-go,' said Alex Cora. 'For some reason, it's the summer, it's hot, but (Fenway) doesn't play like back in the day; it doesn't. Me and (Jason Varitek), we've been talking about it the last couple of days. So when he hit it, he thought he had it (out), but I was yelling, 'Run!' Then after that, he did.' 'That's something that doesn't happen every day,' said Abreu. 'I saw the last time it happened (for a member of the Red Sox) was 2018 or something like that, so it was very special for me to be the one.' 'To me,' said teammate Trevor Story, 'it's one of the most exciting plays in the game. I'm jealous because I don't have one yet. I'm always rooting for it, and seeing the possibility of it off the bat...I knew he hit it to the deepest part. I was kind of telling him, 'Hey, let's go! Let's go!' because you never know what can happen out there. But he made it easily. He was in no hurry in the beginning, so he deserved that one. That was awesome.' Advertisement Abreu said he had never hit an inside-the-park homer at any level before. Asked which he enjoyed more - the inside-the-park homer or the grand slam, he equivocated some. 'Obviously, the inside-the-parker, but you get tired,' he said with a smile. 'So for me, if you hit the ball and just jog around the bases, it's better.' The Red Sox have been pushing Abreu to drive fastballs down in the zone, and Cincinnati reliever Connor Phillips threw him one in the eighth that Abreu didn't miss. 'He gets a lot of pitches, especially fastballs, and he fouls them straight back,' Cora said. 'There's been a lot of communication lately about who you are as a hitter and what we need to attack. It's getting to the point of the season that tendencies are out there and you know who you are. So far, it's been an outstanding season for him. It's been great.' Advertisement Abreu became the first Red Sox player since Eduardo Nunez on March 29, 2018 to hit an inside-the-park homer and the first to do so at Fenway since Jacoby Ellsbury on Sept. 19, 2011. He also became only the fifth player in baseball history to hit an inside-the-park homer and a grand slam, joining Everett Scott (1923) Charlie Gehringer (1930), Jim Tabor of the Red Sox (1939) and Roger Maris (1958). Monday marked the eighth time in Red Sox history that a player had hit an inside-the-park homer and a conventional homer in the same game, and the first since Pokey Reese on May 8, 2004. Since returning from an IL stint with an oblique strain, Abreu is hitting .324 with three homers and 13 RBI in 10 games. Advertisement '(The at-bats) have been incredible,' said Abreu. 'I feel very good since coming back from the IL and you can see the results.' Abreu has 16 homers this season, or more than he hit all of last year, his first full season in the big leagues. He's on pace to hit nearly 30, but doesn't want to get caught up in projections. 'We'll see at the end of the year, what the numbers say,' he said. 'Personally, I feel very comfortable at the plate, I feel healthy. I feel like the experience is helping me a little more to get some adjustments going.' 'He's just an impact bat,' said Story of Abreu. 'He can do it all, man. He's very simple at the plate, he's very repeatable (with his swing). When he's hitting four-seamers like that, he can be really dangerous. Advertisement 'He turned around 99 mph a couple of times tonight. He's got 16 and he's missed a couple weeks of games. Just shows you the impact of his bat. He's a big part of our team.' More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
