Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts hit three home runs within the first five innings on Thursday night, giving him a record-tying six three-homer games in his career. The only other players with six three-homer games throughout baseball history are Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize.
Betts, signed to a 12-year, $365 million contract extension right before the start of this shortened season, began with an opposite-field two-run home run on an outside-corner fastball from young San Diego Padres phenom Chris Paddack in the second inning. He added a solo shot on an 0-2 sinker from Luis Perdomo in the fourth and another two-run homer on a 3-1 splitter from Perdomo in the fifth, lifting his slash line to .310/.372/.690.
Thursday marked the third time Betts has hit three home runs in the first five innings of a game, the most such occurrences in baseball history, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information. Sosa notched his sixth career three-homer performance in his 2,354th career game. Mize got there in his 1,884th game. Betts accomplished the feat in his 813th.
