BOSTON — A triple wasn’t enough for Travis Shaw.
Shaw, who hit his first career major league home run Saturday in the third inning of the Boston Red Sox’s 11-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park, stepped to the plate in the eighth inning needing just a triple for the cycle. The 25-year-old took things a step further, launching his second homer of the game — and of his career — to straightaway center field.
The eighth-inning blast capped a huge day for Shaw, who was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket before the game to fill in for injured third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Shaw reached base five times (two homers, a single, a double and a walk) and scored five runs as the Red Sox rolled to their third straight victory.
Shaw’s first home run to right field traveled an estimated 418 feet, according to ESPN Stats & Info. His second homer landed approximately 428 feet from home plate on the black tarp blocking off the center field bleachers for Saturday’s day game at Fenway.
Shaw is the first player this season to hit his first career home run as part of a multihomer game, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The last player to accomplish the feat was Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu, who hit two home runs April 8, 2014, to kick off a 36-homer rookie season.
