Two Rare Feats In One Day

[Twentytwofifty]

White Sox hit four straight home runs in sixth & Kotsay hits for the cycle

White Sox hit four straight taters in sixth
Thome, Konerko, Ramirez, Uribe achieve rare feat for Chicago
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
   
CHICAGO -- Toby Hall has one home run over his two seasons with the White Sox. So, the possibility of the backup catcher going deep at this point has been greatly reduced from the past years, when he flashed some power as an everyday player for Tampa Bay.

Yet, there was Hall swinging for the fences in the sixth inning of Thursday's 9-2 shellacking of the Royals at U.S. Cellular Field, trying to make Major League Baseball history. Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe already had gone back-to-back-to-back-to-back, so it was up to Hall to place the White Sox as the first team to hit five straight home runs.

Hall came up short, striking out swinging against Robinson Tejeda. But Hall's inning-ending whiff didn't lessen the excitement brought about by this first in the storied history of the White Sox franchise.

"I don't know if it's special. It's more of a quirky thing," said Konerko, whose 12th home run was second in this run of four. "You see a lot of special things, whether it's a guy hitting his 500th home run or something like that. This was more like [something] you probably won't see it again. You might see it once if you play the game for 10 or 15 years. You don't know when it's going to happen. You enjoy it after the fact."

"It's an honor for me, for the team being here that long, just to be part of it," added Ramirez, through translator Ozzie Guillen Jr.

Thome started the barrage with a 392-foot shot off reliever Joel Peralta, his three-run homer landing in the right-center-field bleachers with two outs. At that moment, it looked as if all Thome had done through home run No. 25 was give the White Sox bullpen a little breathing room and move within two home runs of Jimmie Foxx for 15th on the all-time list. Thome currently sits at 532.

Konerko hit the next pitch from Peralta just fair down the left-field line, and Ramirez chipped in his 12th on a 1-2 offering from the right-hander. That blast mercifully ended Peralta's afternoon.

"Every time we face Peralta, we can't even touch him," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen with a smile. "It's about time we do something to Peralta. I've never seen that before."

"The first two, you don't feel it," Peralta added. "The third one is the one you start feeling -- it's three in a row. [That is] the first time it's happened to me. It's not a good feeling, especially with me pitching good lately and with one game destroying everything I've done the last whole week."

Tejeda replaced Peralta, only to have Uribe deliver what Konerko termed as the toughest of the four home runs because it came off of a new pitcher. Uribe's drive came on a 1-2 pitch, traveling 347 feet, and ending a streak for the third baseman of 107 consecutive at-bats without going deep.

"I didn't know the home run I hit made history," said Uribe, through translator and reliever Octavio Dotel. "I feel real good to be part of that record."

"When something's going bad like that, we just want to jump in and finish it up," Tejeda added. "That's what was in my mind."

This long-ball barrage marked the fifth time the White Sox hit four home runs in an inning, and first since Aug. 27, 2007. A.J. Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye and Uribe went back-to-back-to-back against the Rays' Edwin Jackson, and Josh Fields added the fourth off of Dan Wheeler during a five-run seventh-inning rally at home.

Hitting four straight home runs in an inning has been accomplished on six occasions, with the last being done by Boston's Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek against New York's Chase Wright on April 22, 2007.

One of those other previous five moments came with Hall on the bench as part of the Dodgers on Sept. 18, 2006, when Jeff Kent and Drew homered off of San Diego's Jon Adkins to start a ninth-inning comeback, and Russell Martin and Marlon Anderson launched the first two pitches from Trevor Hoffman. On Thursday, Hall came up short in making the White Sox the first to hit five.

"We were rooting for Toby," Thome said. "We kind of exploded."

"Yeah, I'm part of history now," Hall added. "I told Uribe, 'You've got to go hit a home run.' I said, 'No pressure.' Then he goes out and does it."

Kotsay nets first Braves cycle since '87
Center fielder doubles in seventh inning to complete feat
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
   
ATLANTA -- Mark Kotsay became the sixth player in Braves franchise history to hit for the cycle on Thursday night at Turner Field.

Kotsay's seventh-inning double off Cubs reliever Bob Howry completed the cycle and provided him his 1,500th career hit. The Braves center fielder tripled in the second inning, homered in the fourth inning and singled in the sixth inning off Cubs starter Ted Lilly.

Kotsay became the first Braves player to hit for the cycle since Albert Hall accomplished the feat on Sept. 23, 1987, against the Astros. The other Braves who have realized this accomplishment were Herman Long (1896), Duff Cooley (1904), John Bates (1907) and William Collins (1910).

Kotsay became the first player to hit for the cycle against the Cubs since Willie McGee did so June 23, 1984, at Wrigley Field.

[OG Hack Wilson]

the cycles cool


but i'd rather get a 3 HR game than a cycle

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah but its baseball

[OG Hack Wilson]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

[OG Hack Wilson]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

[OG Hack Wilson]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

so you care for a dead sport in boxing but not baseball.   you sadden me


tony gwynn, yeah nigga got a big head too

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

so you care for a dead sport in boxing but not baseball.   you sadden me


tony gwynn, yeah nigga got a big head too

A sport requires athletes. Baseball players do no equal athletes. 

And boxing is far from dead. Dead would be a 1-1 tie in the top of the 11th.....id rather hang myself then have to live through watching that shit lol

[eS El Duque]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

Trust me..baseball players are athletes. Try playing any infield or outfield position. Try hitting a 100mph fastball..curve, slider....

fuck golf is boring as fuck since tiger aint around.

[herpes]

Only a slow mind thinks Baseball is a slow game.

[Don Jacob]

baseball is more exciting live than on tv...unless vin scully is calling it. but this year hasn't been as bad as recent years.

[J.D. Wykid, Esq.]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

so you care for a dead sport in boxing but not baseball.   you sadden me


tony gwynn, yeah nigga got a big head too

A sport requires athletes. Baseball players do no equal athletes. 

And boxing is far from dead. Dead would be a 1-1 tie in the top of the 11th.....id rather hang myself then have to live through watching that shit lol

wow. 

[herpes]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

so you care for a dead sport in boxing but not baseball.   you sadden me


tony gwynn, yeah nigga got a big head too

A sport requires athletes. Baseball players do no equal athletes. 

And boxing is far from dead. Dead would be a 1-1 tie in the top of the 11th.....id rather hang myself then have to live through watching that shit lol

wow. 

You know what cracks me up about those people, if baseball is so easy and you dont have to be an athlete to play it why aren't the nay sayers playing pro ball making 10 million a year.

[J.D. Wykid, Esq.]

yeah but its baseball

america's past time

cus passing time is all its good for.

and whats your sport?

golf??

Football/ Basketball/ Boxing

I think id actually rather watch a golf tournament these days then a baseball game lol

On a side note, i saw Tony Gwynn at the 7-11 by my place last week. That muthafucka got FAT as HELL lol

so you care for a dead sport in boxing but not baseball.   you sadden me


tony gwynn, yeah nigga got a big head too

A sport requires athletes. Baseball players do no equal athletes. 

And boxing is far from dead. Dead would be a 1-1 tie in the top of the 11th.....id rather hang myself then have to live through watching that shit lol

wow. 

You know what cracks me up about those people, if baseball is so easy and you dont have to be an athlete to play it why aren't the nay sayers playing pro ball making 10 million a year.

for real.  him saying baseball players arent athletes, would be like me saying "basketball players arent athletes, all they have to do is get the ball in the basket."  just plain stupid.