MLB teammates pull off HR feat not seen in 50 years
The Pittsburgh Pirates duo of Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco did something Saturday that’s only been done two other times in MLB history.
They hit back-to-back home runs in both games of a doubleheader against the Brewers.
Marte and Polanco struck first in the first inning of the opener, hitting back-to-back homers off Brewers starter Chase Anderson with one out in the bottom of the first.
They gave the Pirates the only two runs they would need as Pittsburgh won 2-1.
In the second game, Marte and Polanco took Brewers reliever Aaron Wilkerson deep back-to-back in the bottom of the 8th to put the Pirates up 5-0 on their way to a 6-2 win.
Pittsburgh not only swept Saturday’s doubleheader, they won all five games in the weekend series and have won six in a row overall. They enter the All-Star break at 48-49 and are 5.5 games back in the NL wild card race..
The only other duos to accomplish this feat were Frank Thomas and Dick Groat of the Pirates on July 7, 1957, and Sal Bando and Reggie Jackson for the A’s on July 7, 1968 — exactly 11 years later, according to MLB.com.
Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco of the @Pirates became the 3rd duo in MLB history to hit back-to-back homers in both games of a doubleheader.
The others:
Pittsburgh's Frank Thomas and Dick Groat on 7/7/1957
Oakland's Sal Bando and Reggie Jackson on 7/7/1968#LetsGoBucs— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 14, 2018
Marte now has 13 homers and 44 RBIs on the season. Polanco has 16 homers and 51 RBIs.
Marte and Polanco did their postgame interview together, appropriately enough. pic.twitter.com/tCYQhCmasr
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) July 15, 2018
“It’s a good momentum right now, a good feeling,” said Polanco in the post game press conference.
“It’s always fun to win,” Polanco told MLB.com. “We work so hard in the offseason and we prepare our bodies and mentally to come here and help the team because we know we have that potential. Just playing and being us, not trying to overdo things.”
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle praised their effort and attitude.
“I’ve continued to watch them develop and grow, and they’ve both faced some challenges. They continue to fight, as well,” Hurdle told MLB. “They’ve got a lot of fight in them. The game rewards effort. It rewards attitude. And it rewards work. And you’ve got to have skills.”
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