This weekend's series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees may lack the rivalry's usual significance, but Luis Urías will at least walk away from Saturday's game (GameTracker) with a special place in history. The veteran infielder, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline, became the first Red Sox player to accomplish a feat in more than 80 years.
More specifically, Urías became the first Boston player to hit grand slams in consecutive games played since Jimmie Foxx did it in May 1940, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Take a look at Urías' Saturday grand salami:
Whereas Foxx's grand slams came in back-to-back games against the same foe (May 20-21 versus the Detroit Tigers), Urías had to wait a few days between his, as he clobbered the first grand slam in his final at-bat on Thursday night against the Washington Nationals.
Urías' blast on Saturday came in his first plate appearance of the day, meaning that he also became the first player to hit grand slams in consecutive trips to the plate since Josh Willingham did it back in 2009. Urías also became the first No. 9 hitter for the Red Sox to hit a grand slam against the Yankees since Luis Rivera did it on Aug. 31, 1990.
It's worth noting that CBS Sports highlighted Urías as an under-the-radar deadline addition we liked more than most. Here's part of what we wrote at the time:
It's more than a little surprising, then, that the Brewers were willing to bail on Urías after 49 bad games split between the majors and minors following a hamstring injury. Perhaps there's a deeper story here, or perhaps they just wanted to secure a return ahead of non-tendering him this winter. Either way, it seems like a smart buy-low gamble by Chaim Bloom that could pay dividends later this year and into the future.
In nine games with the Red Sox entering Saturday, Urías had hit .250/.323/.393 (91 OPS+) with a home run and five RBI.
