The Cincinnati Reds crushed the St. Louis Cardinals 9-2 on Wednesday night. With the win, the Reds are now 60-61 this season and on their way back to their .500 record, they are now only 4.5 games away from the third and final wild card spot in the National League.
In the win, the Reds had a great night with outfielder TJ Friedl, who hit 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBIs. He also scored two runs. The home runs were his eighth and ninth of the season and they happened to come on his 29th birthday.
According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, those hits put him in fun history books alongside Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.
TJ Friedl is the second Reds player since at least 1901 to have a multi-home run game on his birthday. He joins:
28.04.94 Barry Larkin
Birthdays are important
TJ Friedl is the second Reds player since at least 1901 to have a multi-home run game on his birthday. He joins:
28.04.94 Barry Larkin
Birthdays are important https://t.co/PU6Gwk0nZe
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) 15 August 2024
Friedl has had an injury-plagued year for Cincinnati, making just 159 at-bats so far. He has nine home runs, 33 RBIs and an OPS of .747.
His batting average is .261 and he has hit 36 home runs. He made his major league debut in 2021, playing college basketball at Nevada.
The Reds have Thursday off before starting another crucial weekend series against the Kansas City Royals, who are themselves in playoff position in the American League.
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, when Michael Lorenzen (KC) faces veteran right-hander Nick Martinez, who has a 6-5 record and a 3.16 ERA this year.
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