Padres vs Dodgers: Mookie Betts joins Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize as he ties record for most three-homer games
Mookie Betts delivered in style for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, August 13, when he hammered three home runs within the first five innings against the San Diego Padres. This feat meant he now joins the elite club of Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize in MLB history to have a record of six 3 HR games in his playing career. And he got there faster too. Mize took 1884 games to achieve the feat and Sosa did it in his 2354th game. Betts did it in 813 (Stats via ESPN Stats & Information).
It was a bit of a slow start to Betts's time with the Dodgers. He came in as an off-season trade and went on to sign a 12-year, $365 million contract. According to CBS Sports, his record now sees him whacking 319/.380/.694 with six doubles, seven homers, 15 RBI and 14 runs for the Dodgers. Twitter was abuzz with fans weighing in on the feat.
For starters, they were still working on believing: "This is an absolutely insane stat," read one of the tweets.
And then came the opinions: "No trade will ever have been enough for Betts. Will go down as one of the best to play the game," a fan opined.
No trade will ever have been enough for Betts. Will go down as one of the best to play the game
— ً (@luisHotspur) August 14, 2020
The Fantasy leaguers will be a happy bunch. "If you have Mookie Betts in your #FantasyBaseball league. Good on you," a tweet read.
If you have Mookie Betts in your #FantasyBaseball league. Good on you.
— TJ 🔇 Beyond Wonderland (@SeatownNerd) August 14, 2020
Betts had Chris Paddack to thank for the motivation. It started with him getting hit by a pitcher from Paddack and then in reply, he went 4-4 the rest of the night with 3 homers. He cracked one in the second inning, followed it up with two more off Luis Perdomo in the fourth and the fifth and the numbers read .310/.372/.690. This was his first multi-HR game. The last one came against the New York Yankees when he was part of the Boston Red Sox outfit.
He currently leads the pack of Dodgers hitters with seven home runs on the season and the 27-year-old looks like he is stopping no time soon.
What are your thoughts on his record-breaking performance?