Bo Bichette is putting the Toronto Blue Jays on his back.
The young shortstop continued his hot streak Friday with an opposite-field home run to give the Blue Jays a lead on the Tampa Bay Rays in Buffalo. He's now homered in four straight games.
Bo showing off some crazy oppo power. 💪 pic.twitter.com/S4bwD6IttF
— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2020
The three-run homer made Bichette the first shortstop in baseball history to record an extra-base hit and an RBI in seven consecutive contests, according to Sportsnet Stats. Hall of Famer Paul Waner set the overall record by doing it in 11 straight games in 1927, according to Stathead. Waner and Chipper Jones (2006) share the record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit at 14.
Bichette's also halfway to tying Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, and Dale Long 's record for the most consecutive games with a home run.
The 22-year-old is slashing .345/.377/.672 with five home runs and 13 RBIs this season. Seven of his nine extra-base hits have come in the last seven games. Even before Friday's outburst, Bichette's brilliant start to his career had already put him in some elite company.
3 players in MLB history have amassed 80 hits, with 37 of them being extra base hits, in their first 58 big league games. Roy Weatherly and Joe DiMaggio (both in 1936), and Bo Bichette. As the kids like to say...that’s it. That’s the list. @BlueJays 👀
— Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN) August 14, 2020
"I think we're watching a star in the making," manager Charlie Montoyo said postgame, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Bichette's homer was part of a wild sixth inning for the Blue Jays, which also included blasts from Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernandez en route to a 12-4 win.
Toronto became the fourth team in history to hit at least six homers in back-to-back games, and the first since the 2012 Washington Nationals, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
