The Cleveland Guardians gave their fans a show on Friday.
Both legs of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers had the same ending: No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio crossing home plate in a cheering Progressive Field. The first game ended with a walkoff homer off the bat of the usually light-hitting shortstop.
The second game saw Rocchio score from third on the walkoff hit from double play partner Travis Bazzana in the 10th inning.
A two-walkoff day alone is a rarity in MLB. Sure, it happened four months ago with the Philadelphia Phillies against the San Francisco Giants, but it hadn’t been seen since 2004 before that.
Rocchio contributed even more to the first win as well, clubbing a game-tying grand slam in the fourth inning to set up his own later heroics.
Per Elias Sports, he is the first player to hit a grand slam and a walk-off homer in separate player appearances in the same game since Jack Clark in 1991. It’s only happened six times total in MLB history.
The two wins improve the Guardians’ record to 72-70, after entering the day at .500. That’s enormous, as they currently hold the American League’s final wild-card spot with a one-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. They also sit 2.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central.
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