© David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Last night in Cincinnati, Reds left fielder Scooter Gennett had a very good week. Gennett, who was not even supposed to be in the lineup before a batting practice-rainstorm altered manager Bryan Price's plans, entered the game with three home runs and 20 RBI for the season. He now has seven, and 30. He became just the 17th player in major league baseball history to hit four home runs in a game, and the first to do it since Josh Hamilton in 2012.On Monday, Gennett had broken a 0-19 stretch with a seventh inning double against the Cardinals that ended up being the game winner. Gennett's night on Tuesday was a little less dramatic—at least on the scoreboard since the Reds trounced the Cardinals 13-1. Gennett's first at bat on Tuesday gave little notice of what was to come: a little flare single to left, driving in Billy Hamilton. Four home runs—including a grand slam—and nine RBI later, and he's getting curtain called in Cincinnati.His teammates had some fun with it after the game, talking about Gennett like he's the stalwart power hitter that makes the lineup click:
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A raw offensive rating system that awards one point for every total base, walk, RBI, run scored, and stolen base rates this as the second best offensive performance in history.After all of that, Gennett's name will now go down in history with the likes of Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Gil Hodges, and Shawn Green."When you've got Scooter on your team, everything's easy," Reds starter Tim Adleman joked after he went seven innings allowing just one run on three hits to earn his fourth win, and he was pretty much an afterthought as reporters waited for Gennett to finish stripping down to his underwear so that every single thing he wore – aside from his underwear – could be authenticated by Major League Baseball officials.