Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson put on a hitting clinic Thursday night as he smashed three home runs to power his team to a 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
In the game’s first inning, Granderson fell behind in the count before taking a 93mph 3-2 fastball off righty Anthony Swarzak into the right-center field bleachers.
In the second, the swift-footed lefty again crushed a Swarzak fastball into the second deck in right field. In the fourth, against reliever Jeff Gray, he picked up No. 3 on a 2-2 changeup.
Curtis’ third bomb earned a curtain call from the crowd for becoming the first player to hit three homers in a game at the new Yankee Stadium.
“You don’t see that very often,” Manager Joe Girardi said of Granderson’s three-homer night. “So he should cherish it, and it’s fun to watch as a manager.”
Granderson’s last two at bats ended up as singles that helped him go 5 for 5 on the night, matching his career high of five hits in a game. With the amazing hitting performance, Curtis doubled his HRs on the year and raised his season batting average from .208 to .283.
”It was kind of cool,” Granderson said. ”Alex (Rodriguez) mentioned it before, ‘Definitely a night to remember,’ and I will.”
Granderson’s three-homer game — the first in his career — was the first for a Yankees player since Alex Rodriguez hit three at Kansas City on Aug. 14, 2010.
According to ESPN, Lou Gehrig is the only Yankees player to hit four homers in a game, which matches the major league record.
Watch Curtis Granderson’s 3 home runs in the video below:
via ESPN
