Lonnie Chisenhall isn’t the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of historic offensive performances. The show the Cleveland Indians third baseman put on Monday night, though, was one for the ages.
Chisenhall was scorching hot at the plate in a 17-7 rout of the Texas Rangers, becoming the first player in major league history to finish a game 5-for-5 with three home runs and nine RBIs.
[mlbvideo id=”33592175″ width=”640″ height=”358″ /]
Entering Monday, only three major leaguers since 1920 had compiled five or more hits, three or more homers and nine or more RBIs in a single game: Walker Cooper in 1949, Gil Hodges in 1950 and Red Sox Hall of Famer Fred Lynn in 1975. That trio has a combined 25 All-Star appearances between them.
Chisenhall, who has yet to spend a full season in the majors, was aware that nights like his don’t come around often.
“It’s a rare feat,” he said after the game, via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. “I’m happy to have accomplished it. I know a day like today is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Chisenhall is in the midst of the best offensive stretch of his career, posting a .385/.429/.615 slash line in 51 games for the surging Tribe. Each of those totals — as well as his monster 1.044 OPS — would lead the team had he enough at-bats to qualify.
The Indians have been on a tear of their own, winning nine of their last 10 games (including three-game sweeps of the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies) to climb within two games of the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.
