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Red Sox Outfielder Wilyer Abreu Makes Obscure History in Two Home Run Game

Abreu accomplished a feat we haven't seen since Roger Maris.

Blake Silverman

Boston Red Sox right fielder Abreu rounds the bases after hitting an inside the park home run during the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park.
Boston Red Sox right fielder Abreu rounds the bases after hitting an inside the park home run during the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park. / Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
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Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu had quite the unique game Monday night, hitting both an inside-the-park home run and a grand slam in the team's 13–6 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park.

He made it all the way around the bases and home safely in the fifth inning after he striped a ball to center field that took an awkward, unplayable bounce off the triangle wall at Fenway. Reds center fielder TJ Friedl slipped trying to redirect and track down the ball, allowing Abreu to make it home without a play at the plate. Then, in the eighth inning, he cleared the shallow wall at Fenway with the bases juiced to open up Boston's lead to eight runs.

He joined a small club of players who have hit an inside-the-park homer and a grand slam separately in the same game—a feat which hasn't been seen since Roger Maris in 1958 according to MLB reporter Sarah Langs.

Abreu's big day marked the sixth time in history a player has had an inside-the-parker plus a grand slam. Other than Maris, he joined Jim Tabor (1939), Charlie Gehringer (1930), Everett Scott (1923) and Jocko Fields (1890).

What a game for Abreu, which helped spark Boston's struggling offense to give the team just their second win over the past nine games. It's not every day you see a first for this century, let alone in the past 67 years. Keep this one in the back of your mind for a trivia question down the road.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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