Shoppach ties record with five extra base hits against Detroit
The Indians and Tigers were tied 12-12 in extra innings Wednesday night.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
CLEVELAND — Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach tied a major league record Wednesday night with five extra-base hits — two home runs and three doubles.
Primarily a backup during his career, Shoppach broke loose in the Detroit-Cleveland game that went into extra innings tied at 12.
The game was not completedin time for today’s edition.
Shoppach doubled and scored in the second, third and fifth innings. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth and tied the score at 12 with a one-out solo homer in the ninth. He drew an intentional walk in the 10th.
Shoppach became the eighth player in the majors to get five extra-base hits in a game, including two before 1900. He was only the second AL player to accomplish the feat — Indians Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau did it in 1946 with one homer and four doubles.
Shawn Green was the last player to do it in the majors. He homered four times and doubled for the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002.
Shoppach, who started his career in 2005 with Boston, began the day hitting .254 with 14 doubles and nine home runs. He has gotten more playing time this season following an injury to No. 1 catcher Victor Martinez.
Martinez played catch again Tuesday, moving back from 60 to 75 feet. He also took some dry swings and hit off a tee. Though there still doesn’t seem to be a firm timetable for his return to the active roster, it appears that Martinez will be back in the lineup by the middle of August. It has been six weeks since Martinez went on the disabled with a sore elbow. Doctors removed bone chips and cleaned out the area and predicted that he would be playing baseball again in six to eight weeks.
But even when Martinez does take his place behind the plate, Shoppach won’t fade away into the woodwork.
“Even when Victor comes back, he’s not going to play every day,” Indiana manager Eric Wedge said Tuesday. “He’s going to get more rest than he normally would, so he’ll also play more first base. It’s possible he could fill in at DH, too, but that depends on how much wear and tear it creates on his elbow.”
Wedge has been urging players on the disabled list to hang out at the ballpark for more than the time it takes to get their treatment and do their workout routine.
“Victor will go on the road with us now,” Wedge said. “We like to have both him and Josh Barfield stay around and watch the games.”