Verdugo joins elite company with THIRD straight leadoff homer
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BOSTON -- Alex Verdugo has taken instant offense to another level.
On Saturday, Verdugo became the first player in Red Sox history to club a leadoff homer in three straight games, helping his team to a thrilling 8-5 win over the Dodgers in the process.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Verdugo is the third player since 1900 to hit a leadoff homer in three or more consecutive games.
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Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. performed the three-peat of leadoff blasts in 2018, opening both games of a doubleheader against the Marlins with a homer on Aug. 13 and also leading off the Aug. 14 contest with a dinger.
Brady Anderson holds the record by mashing four straight leadoff homers from April 18-21, 1996.
“It's cool [to be part of history], especially for me, because I'm not a home run hitter,” Verdugo said. “So to kind of see that and to know that, it's pretty cool but at the end of the day, it's not like I'm overthinking it or anything like that. It's just I’ve had a good little stretch right there in the leadoff spot so we’ve got to just keep having good at-bats and just keep squaring up the ball.”
After a chilly July (.151/.232/.247 slash line), Verdugo has come to life in August (.325/.356/.578). Four of his five homers this month have been leadoff shots.
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While much of the attention at Fenway Park this weekend has been focused on Mookie Betts returning to play against the Red Sox for the first time, Verdugo -- who was the key acquisition piece in that trade for Boston -- is also playing against the Dodgers for the first time.
“He’s in a good spot right now,” said Cora. “He got a breaking ball up in the zone, he put a good swing on it. He’s up for this series. For everything we’ve been talking about with the other guys, he’s part of the whole trade and the history of Dodgers-Red Sox. He’s excited about it.”