No team in baseball history had ever hit four consecutive four home runs in the first inning until a quartet of St. Louis Cardinals players accomplished the feat in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carlson were the history-making crew, as each connected for a long ball against Phillies starter Kyle Gibson.
The four consecutive blasts also tie the MLB record for most home runs in a row in any inning. Only 10 other teams have achieved the feat.
Gibson was one out away from escaping the inning unscathed when the rush of homers came. But after allowing a two-out single to Paul Goldschmidt, Arenado started the home run party with a two-run blast. The homer came just one day after Arenado hit for the cycle for the second time in his career.
Gorman followed Arenado's homer with a 2-1 blast to right, while Yepez took a 1-2 pitch over the fence to left. Carson finished the historic run with a second-decker to right off a 1-0 slider.
The last time a team hit four consecutive home runs, the Cardinals were on the opposite side of fortune. The Chicago White Sox pulled off the feat against St. Louis on Aug. 16, 2020.
(Photo: John Geliebter / USA Today)
How much has the Cardinals' offense improved since last season?
Katie Woo, Cardinals beat writer: After spending the last two seasons ranking in the bottom-third of most offensive categories, the Cardinals' offense has made a remarkable turnaround in 2022. Coming into Saturday’s contest, St. Louis ranked fifth in baseball in team average (.254) and 10th overall in team OPS (.729).
The offense has been producing much more consistently this season, but what makes the Cardinals' lineup so tricky to navigate is the multiple different ways they can score. St. Louis is not overly reliant on the home run — the Cardinals rank league average in their home run per game ratio at 1.05 — but they do have power bats they can rely on when needed. The fact that two of their more intriguing power bars have come in the forms of their two young rookies in Gorman and Yepez this season is an added bonus to the lineup.
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How does the Cardinals' lineup compare to the rest of the NL Central this season?
Woo: The Cardinals were expected to be the team with the best defense in the division, as they usually are. But as they near the halfway point of the season, St. Louis can also make the argument that it has the most consistent offense.
The Reds, Pirates and Cubs are all rebuilding, and while the Brewers have an electric starting pitching staff, there continue to be questions over the sustainability of the offense. The Cardinals have the seventh-lowest strikeout rate in baseball at 7.73 strikeouts per nine innings, and are hitting nearly .300 on balls in play. Pair that with their versatility throughout the lineup and their speed and smarts on the base paths, and you can make the argument that the Cardinals' offensive makeup has been one of their stronger traits this season.
