Three-Homer Games
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The home run has been the measure of offensive excellence since Babe Ruth revolutionized the sport in the Twenties. Although the 1990's saw the advent of a high-offense era that shattered the single-season home run record, the single-game record is still safe. Only a handful of players have managed to hit four home runs in a game.
The Astros' franchise record for home runs in a game is three, first established by Jim Wynn in 1967. It would not be until twenty years later that an Astro would hit three homers early enough in a game to have an opportunity at a fourth. In fact, there have been only five such opportunities in franchise history, and all five have come up short of the major-league record.
This page is a tribute to the 11 Astros that have hit three homers in a game and of the 14 times they have accomplished this feat. I would like to personally thank David Smith at Retrosheet for the play-by-play information on this page.
The Three-Homer games:
Date | Player | Result | |
June 15, 1967 | Jim Wynn | Astros 6, Giants 2 | |
June 21, 1973 | Lee May | Astros 12, Padres 2 | |
September 10, 1987 | Glenn Davis | Padres 8, Astros 7 | |
June 1, 1990 | Glenn Davis | Giants 6, Astros 5 | |
June 24, 1994 | Jeff Bagwell | Astros 16, Dodgers 4 | |
April 21, 1999 | Jeff Bagwell | Astros 10, Cubs 3 | |
June 9, 1999 | Jeff Bagwell | Astros 13, White Sox 4 | |
July 28, 2001 | Vinny Castilla | Pirates 9, Astros 8 | |
April 16, 2002 | Lance Berkman | Astros 8, Reds 3 | |
September 16, 2003 | Richard Hidalgo | Astros 14, Rockies 4 | |
May 15, 2005 | Morgan Ensberg | Astros 9, Giants 0 | |
April 13, 2007 | Carlos Lee | Astros 9, Phillies 6 | |
August 10, 2019 | Yordan Alvarez | Astros 23, Orioles 2 | |
September 22, 2019 | George Springer | Astros 13, Angels 5 | |
October 5, 2017 | Jose Altuve | ALDS Game 1 | Astros 8, Red Sox 2 |
Fast facts about three-homer games:
Jim Wynn - June 15, 1967 - vs. San Francisco, Astrodome
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E San Francisco 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 2 8 0 Houston 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 x -- 6 13 1
1st inning: 2 outs, nobody on. Against starter Bobby Bolin, Wynn grounds
out to third base to end the inning.
4th inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Wynn leads off the inning with a solo homer
to left that ties the game at 1-1.
6th inning: 1 out, nobody on. Wynn breaks a 2-2 tie with a solo homer to
left-center.
8th inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Against reliever Bill Henry, Wynn extends
the Astros' lead to 5-2 with a solo homer to left.
For the night, Wynn went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.
Lee May - June 21, 1973 - at San Diego, Jack Murphy Stadium
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 1 1 0 5 0 0 2 0 3 -- 12 14 0 San Diego 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 -- 2 8 2
2nd inning: 0 out, nobody on. Against starter Bill Greif, May leads
off the inning with a solo homer to left.
4th inning: 0 outs, 1 run in, Bob Watson on first. May reaches on an error by shortstop
Derrel Thomas and would later score on a home run by Tommy Helms.
5th inning: 2 outs, nobody on. Against reliever Bob Miller, May singles
to left field but is stranded.
7th inning: 2 outs,
Bob Watson on first. May hits a two-run homer to left-center, giving the
Astros a 9-1 lead.
9th inning: 1 out, 1 run in, Bob Watson on first. Against reliever Gary Ross, May
hits his third homer of the game, a two-run blast to left-center that gives the
Astros a 12-2 lead.
For the night, May went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI.
Glenn Davis - September 10, 1987 - at San Diego, Jack Murphy Stadium
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 -- 7 9 0 San Diego 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 -- 8 17 2
2nd inning: 0 out, nobody on. Against starter Mark Grant, Davis leads
off the inning with a solo homer to left.
4th inning: 1 out,
Kevin Bass on second. Davis ties the game at 3 with a two-run homer to right.
6th inning: 0 outs, 1 run in,
Kevin Bass on first.
Davis rudely greets reliever Mark Davis with a two-run homer to left,
breaking a 4-4 tie.
8th inning: 1 out, nobody on, Lance McCullers pitching. With a chance
to tie the game with his fourth home run, Davis grounds out to second.
For the night, Davis went 3-for-4 with 5 RBI.
Glenn Davis - June 1, 1990 - at San Francisco, Candlestick Park
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1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 R H E Houston 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 -- 5 5 0 San Francisco 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 1 -- 6 11 0
1st inning: 2 outs,
Craig Biggio on first. Against starter Trevor Wilson, Davis ends
the inning by forcing out Biggio on a grounder to shortstop.
4th inning: 1 out, nobody on. Davis gives the Astros a 1-0 lead with a solo
homer to right-center.
6th inning: 1 out, runners on 1st and 2nd. Davis puts the Astros up 4-1 with
a three-run homer to left, scoring
Bill Doran
and Craig Biggio.
8th inning: 1 out, nobody on, Jeff Brantley pitching. Davis drives
in the team's final run will a solo homer to left-center.
11th inning: 0 out, nobody on, Dan Schatzeder pitching. With a chance
for his fourth homer of the game, Davis leads off the inning by striking out.
For the night, Davis went 3-for-5 with 5 RBI.
Jeff Bagwell - June 24, 1994 - vs. Los Angeles (NL), Astrodome
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 -- 4 9 1 Houston 0 1 2 0 0 9 1 3 x -- 16 17 0
1st inning: 2 outs, nobody on. Against starter Ramon Martinez, Bagwell
strikes out to end the inning.
3rd inning: 1 out, 1 run in,
Craig Biggio
on second. Bagwell singles home Biggio to give the Astros a 3-0 lead.
6th inning: 1 out, nobody on. Bagwell hits a mammoth home run to deep left,
giving the Astros a 4-1 lead.
6th inning: 2 outs, 6 runs in, runners on second and third. In his second
at-bat of the inning, this time against Rudy Seanez, Bagwell caps a 9-run
outburst with a line-drive homer to right field, scoring
James Mouton and
Craig Biggio.
8th inning: 1 out, nobody on. Against reliever Brian Barnes, Bagwell
hits his third home run of the game, a shot to deep left, giving the Astros a 14-4
lead.
For the night, Bagwell went 4-for-5 with 6 RBI.
Jeff Bagwell - April 21, 1999 - at Chicago (NL), Wrigley Field
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 1 0 3 0 0 0 3 3 0 -- 10 13 0 Chicago 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 -- 3 10 2
1st inning: 2 outs, nobody on. Facing starter Scott Sanders, Bagwell
puts the Astros up 1-0 with a solo homer to left.
3rd inning: 1 out, runners on 1st and 3rd. Bagwell hits a three-run shot
to right, scoring
Ricky Gutierrez
and
Bill Spiers
to give the Astros a 4-0 lead.
5th inning: 1 out,
Bill Spiers on first.
After Spiers is caught stealing for the second out, Bagwell strikes out to end the inning.
7th inning: 2 outs, 1 run in,
Derek Bell
on second. Against reliever Rodney Myers, Bagwell gives the Astros a 7-0 lead with
a two-run homer to left.
9th inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Against reliever Dan Serafini, Bagwell
misses his chance for a fourth homer and grounds out to third.
For the night, Bagwell went 3-for-5 with 6 RBI.
Jeff Bagwell - June 9, 1999 - at Chicago (AL), New Comiskey Park
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 2 0 2 0 0 4 1 2 2 -- 13 17 1 Chicago 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 -- 4 9 2
1st inning: 0 outs, runners on first and second. Against starter James Baldwin,
Bagwell begins his game with a fly out to right field.
2nd inning: 2 outs,
Craig Biggio on first. Bagwell strikes out to end the inning.
4th inning: 2 outs, nobody on. Bagwell fouls out, completing an unusual inning
in which all three batters foul out to first base.
6th inning: 1 out, 1 run in, runners on 1st and 3rd. With the Astros up 5-0,
Bagwell greets reliever Sean Lowe with a three-run homer to left field, scoring
Craig Biggio
and Bill Spiers.
8th inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Against reliever Bill Simas, Bagwell
leads off the inning with his second homer of the game, a solo shot to left field
that gives the Astros a 10-2 lead.
9th inning: 1 out,
Russ Johnson
on first. Against reliever Keith Foulke, Bagwell hits
his third homer of a game, a two-run shot to left that completes the team's scoring
at 13 runs.
For the night, Bagwell went 3-for-5 with 6 RBI.
Vinny Castilla - July 28, 2001 - at Pittsburgh, PNC Park (Game 1)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 -- 8 12 0 Pittsburgh 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 -- 9 12 0
2nd inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Castilla leads off the inning with a solo
homer to left center, giving the team a 1-0 lead.
4th inning: 0 out, nobody on. Leading off the inning, Castilla flies out
to deep left.
5th inning: 1 out, runners on 1st and 3rd. Castilla homers to left field,
scoring
Craig Biggio
and
Lance Berkman,
giving the Astros a 4-1 lead.
8th inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Castilla leads off the inning with his third
homer, a solo shot to left that gives the Astros a 7-2 lead.
9th inning: 1 out,
Julio Lugo on 3rd. Going for his fourth homer, Castilla strikes out swinging.
For the night, Castilla went 3-for-5 with 5 RBI.
Lance Berkman - April 16, 2002 - at Cincinnati, Great American Ballpark
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 8 11 1 Cincinnati 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 -- 3 7 0
1st inning: 1 out,
Craig Biggio on 2nd,
Jeff Bagwell on 1st.
With Juan Acevedo pitching, Berkman homers to left, giving Houston an 3-0 lead.
2nd inning: 2 outs, nobody on. With two outs and two runs in, Berkman homers
to center for back-to-back blasts with Bagwell. Houston now leads, 7-0.
5th inning: 1 out, nobody on. With Jose Rijo now pitching, Berkman homers
to left, giving Houston an 8-0 lead.
7th inning: 1 out, nobody on. Facing Jim Brower with a chance for his 4th
homer, Berkman grounds out to shortstop.
9th inning: 2 outs,
Jeff Bagwell on 2nd.
With another chance for his fourth homer, Berkman is
called out on strikes by umpire Bill Miller to end the inning.
For the night, Berkman went 3-for-5 with 5 RBI.
Richard Hidalgo - September 16, 2003 - at Colorado, Coors Field
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 0 1 0 3 4 2 2 3 1 -- 14 12 1 Colorado 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 -- 4 9 3
2nd inning: 1 out, nobody on. With Chin-hui Tsao on the mound, Hidalgo ties
the game at 1-1 with his 25th home run of the season.
4th inning: 1 out,
Jeff Kent on 2nd.
Hidalgo walks and later scores on an
Adam Everett
home run.
5th inning: 2 outs,
Jeff Kent
on 2nd,
Lance Berkman
on 1st. Hidalgo blasts a 435-foot home run to center field against Aaron Cook.
The Astros now lead 8-1.
7th inning: nobody on. Hidalgo hits a solo home run over the left field wall
to give Houston a 12-2 lead.
9th inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Hidalgo strikes out against Justin Speier.
For the night, Hidalgo went 3-for-4 with 5 RBI.
Morgan Ensberg - May 15, 2005 - vs. San Francisco, Minute Maid Park
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E San Francisco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 4 1 Houston 3 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 x -- 9 11 0
1st inning: 2 out,
Willie Taveras
and
Lance Berkman
on base. With Jeff Fassero on the mound, Ensberg starts
the scoring with his 5th home run of the season.
5th inning: 2 outs, nobody on. Ensberg gives the Astros a 7-0 lead with a
2-out shot against reliever Jeremy Accardo.
7th inning: no outs, nobody on. Ensberg leads off the inning with the Astros'
final strike of the night, a solo homer against Jason Christiansen that gives Houston
a 9-0 lead.
For the night, Ensberg went 4-for-4 with 5 RBI.
Carlos Lee - April 13, 2007 - at Philadelphia, Citizens Bank Park
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 1 -- 9 8 1 Philadelphia 3 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 -- 6 11 0
2nd inning: 0 on, 0 out. Lee hit a solo homer to right off Brett Myers. Astros trail 3-1.
3rd inning: 3 on, 2 out.
Brad Ausmus
led off the frame with a double, then
Roy Oswalt
struck out.
Craig Biggio
moved Ausmus to third on a groundout.
Morgan Ensberg
and
Lance Berkman both walked,
then Lee drove them in with a grand
slam to center off Myers. Astros lead 5-3.
7th inning: 0 on, 2 out. Lee hits a solo shot to center off Ryan Madson. Astros lead 9-3.
For the night, Lee went three-for-five with six RBIs.
Yordan Alvarez - August 10, 2019 - at Baltimore, Camden Yards
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Houston 3 5 1 0 4 1 6 0 3 -- 23 25 1 Baltimore 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 -- 2 6 1
1st inning: 0 on, 2 out. Alvarez hits a solo homer to right off Aaron Brooks. Astros lead 3-0.
7th inning: 3 on, 2 out. Alvarez hits a grand slam to right off Tayler Scott. Jose Altuve, Jake Marisnick, Aledmys Diaz score. Astros lead 20-1.
9th inning: 1 on, 2 out. Alvarez hits a solo homer to right off Stevie Wilkerson. Aledmys Diaz scores. Astros lead 23-2.
Although they don't count as runs batted in, Alvarez also was at the plate in the second when Alex Bregman scored on a balk and hit into a double play in the sixth when Jake Marisnick scored so Alvarez' at bats resulted in nine runs scored.
For the night, Alvarez was three-for-five with four runs scored and seven RBIs.
George Springer - September 22, 2019 - vs Los Angeles (AL), Minute Maid Park
Springer duplicated the feat his next two times up as Houston built a 13-2 lead and coasted to a 13-5 pennant clincher. It was the final home game of the regular season and the sellout crowd on a Sunday afternoon had plenty to cheer about. The Astros' 2011 first-round draft pick surpassed his previous career highs in batting average, homers, RBIs and OPS while providing highlight-reel defense in the outfield. |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E L.A. Angels 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 -- 5 8 0 Houston 1 2 0 1 6 3 0 0 x -- 13 15 1
1st inning: 0 on, 0 out. Springer hits a leadoff homer to left off Jose Rodriguez. Astros lead 1-0.
2nd inning: 1 on, 2 out. Springer hits a two-run shot down the left field line off Jose Rodriguez. Aledmys Diaz scores. Astros lead 3-1.
4th inning: 0 on, 2 out. Springer hits a solo homer into the Crawford Boxes off Jose Suarez. Astros lead 4-1.
Springer had the chance to double his RBI total when he came up in fifth with the bases loaded but he popped up into short right field off Justin Anderson which was caught by second baseman David Fletcher. Springer had a final chance for the elusive fourth homer in the seventh but he tapped back to pitcher Trevor Cahill for the first out of the inning.
After his third homer, he was tied with Alex Bregman for the team lead with his 38th homer of the year but Bregman didn't let that last long. He belted a solo homer in the fifth for his 39th long ball of the season.
For the day, Springer was three-for-five with three runs scored and four RBIs.
Jose Altuve - ALDS Game 1 - October 5, 2017 - vs Boston, Minute Maid Park
All three were solo shots and, even though the cozy Crawford Boxes beckoned pulled balls to left, Altuve did it the hard way in all three blasts, belting screamers to left-center into and beyond where the balcony of the limestone wall exists. Babe Ruth was the first to hit three homers in a postseason game, belting them in the 1926 and 1928 World Series. Altuve joined a select list of sluggers to have done so since then, all of them assuredly bigger and stronger than the tiny infielder. |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Boston 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -- 2 8 0 Houston 2 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 x -- 8 12 0
1st inning: 0 on, 1 out. Altuve hits a home run to left center off Chris Sale. This was a back-to-back homer after Alex Bregman's one-out blast. Astros lead 2-0.
5th inning: 0 on, 2 out. Altuve hits another solo shot off Sale to the same spot in left center. Astros lead 5-2.
7th inning: 0 on, 0 out. Altuve hits a solo homer deeper to left center off Austin Maddox. Astros lead 8-2.
Altuve did not get a chance to hit a fourth home run but he did ground into a double play to end the third inning in his other time up.
For the day, Altuve was three-for-four with three runs scored and three RBIs. He provided the momentum that saw Houston win their first American League pennant and first Worlds Championship.