Monday, September 06, 1999
Homer barrage a record
Reds blast 5 to raise 2-game milestone to 14
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PHILADELPHIA — The Big Red Machine is back in business. The seat-denting business, that is.
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SUDDEN SLUGGERS
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The Reds' outbursts Saturday and Sunday enabled them to break major-league and National League records for home runs in two, three and four consecutive games. The details:
• Two games:
New major-league record: 14. Previous mark of 13 shared by San Francisco, April 29-30, 1961, and New York (AL), June 28, 1939 (double-header).
• Three games: National League record — 15. Previous NL mark (14) reached by four teams, most recently Milwaukee, June 8-10, 1961. Major league record: 16, by Boston, June 17-19, 1977.
• Four games: National League record — 17. Previous NL mark (16) reached by four teams, most recently Los Angeles, June 28-July 1, 1996. Major league record: 18, shared by Boston, June 16-19, 1977, and Oakland, June 25-29, 1996.
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The Reds set a major-league record with 14 home runs in two consecutive games, surpassing the 13 hit by the 1939 Yankees and the 1961 San Francisco Giants.
They hit five Sunday in a 9-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. That followed Saturday night's nine-homer outburst in a 22-3 rout, which featured another record — homers from eight different players.
The Reds' outbursts Saturday and Sunday also enabled them to break National League records for home runs in three and four consecutive games.
“It's competitive in the dugout right now, seeing who's doing what,” said Jeffrey Hammonds, who homered twice Sunday.
The Reds can set another major-league mark today if they homer three times against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field — where gusting winds often send medium-deep drives over the ivy-covered walls. That would give Cincinnati 17 homers in three games, surpassing Boston's major-league record of 16.
“Maybe the wind will be blowing out there, too,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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