Blue Jays slugger Kendrys Morales extended his home run streak to six straight games on Saturday, with a two-run shot that put the Jays on the board and tied a franchise record. The auspicious moment arrived in the fourth inning; down 5-0 with a runner on first, Morales unloaded a 387-footer off of Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta that dipped well beyond the fence in center field.
The two-RBI blast was Morales’ 20th home run of the year. He’ll need to hit at least one more ball out of the park during Sunday’s series finale in order to surpass former Blue Jays outfielder Jose Cruz Jr., who crafted a six-game home run streak of his own back in 2001. According to MLB.com’s Ed Eagle, Morales is the second major-leaguer to replicate the feat in 2018 (behind the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter, who wrapped up his streak in mid-July) and the 29th to do it in MLB history. Until Saturday, no American League hitter had completed a six-homer streak in six years.
Even setting aside the ridiculous pace at which Morales has been collecting home runs this summer, it’s been a fairly productive year for the 35-year-old first baseman/DH as he works through the second of three seasons with the Blue Jays. Through the seventh inning of Saturday’s game, he’s batting a modest .261/.339/.475 with an .814 OPS and 0.8 fWAR in 392 plate appearances.
