Not 1. Not 2. Not 3. But, yes, FOUR freaking home runs were hit by Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz in the team’s 15-3 win on the road over the American League-West rival Houston Astros on Friday night.
Furthermore, Kurtz, who was the Athletics’ designated hitter on Friday night, finished the game 6-for-6. Here’s Kurtz’s historic night by the numbers.
1A: Kurtz became the first rookie in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game.
1B: As a result of his Friday night offensive barrage, Kurtz now leads the AL in, well, everything offensively in the month of July: home runs (11), RBIs (27), batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.494), slugging percentage (1.082), OPS (1.576), runs (22), doubles (13) and extra-base hits (25).
2A: Kurtz is just the second player since 1900 to total both four home runs and six hits in a single game, Shawn Green (2002) being the other.
2B: Kurtz is just the second player in Athletics history to total at least three home runs and five hits in a single game, Jimmie Foxx (1932) being the other.
2C: Two of Kurtz’s four home runs came in the eighth inning or later.
2D: Two of his four home runs were on pitches outside the strike zone.
3: Of his four home runs, three were sent to the opposite field.
5: Of his six hits, five were extra-base hits: four home runs and one double.
Best game ever by an MLB player? Nick Kurtz’s incredible night on Friday has a strong argument. (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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6: In what was maybe the most overlooked six-hit performance in MLB history — that’s what four long balls does to one’s attention span — Kurtz became the 119th player to accomplish the feat.
8A: Kurtz became just the eighth MLB player in the 21st century to hit four home runs in a single game.
8B: It’s the eighth time that an Athletics player has logged six hits in a single game.
8C: Kurtz drove in eight runs.
9: It’s the ninth time that a player has scored six runs in a single game and the first time in Athletics history.
19: The number of total bases that Kurtz accumulated, which ties an MLB record since 2000.
20: Kurtz became the 20th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game.
64: Kurtz entered Friday with a .622 slugging percentage and left the night with a .686 slugging percentage, an .064-jump.
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