The Tampa Bay Rays evened the World Series at 2-2 with a wild win in Game 4 on Saturday night (TB 8, LAD 7). Two solo home runs gave the Los Angeles Dodgers an early 2-0 lead, but the Rays answered back with a solo home run of their own. Breakout star Randy Arozarena hit it in the fourth inning.
The home run was Handsome Randy's ninth of the 2020 postseason, setting a new MLB record. Barry Bonds (2002), Nelson Cruz (2011), and Carlos Beltran (2004) had previously hit eight home runs in a single postseason. Corey Seager swatted his eighth home run of the 2020 postseason earlier in the Game 4, moving into a temporary tie for the all-time record.
Here is Arozarena's record-breaking blast. Throw his man a fastball and you will pay the price:
Thanks to the expanded 16-team format, Game 4 is the 18th game of this postseason for Arozarena. Bonds hit his eight home runs in 17 games in 2002. Cruz played 17 games in 2011, Seager has played 16 games this postseason, and Beltran hit his eight homers in only 12 games in 2004.
In Game 3, Arozarena set the record for most hits in a single postseason by a rookie with 23. Derek Jeter held the previous record with 22 hits in 1996. Jeter played in 15 games that postseason. Also, Arozarena is up 56 total bases this postseason, extending his single-postseason record.
Arozarena went into Game 4 hitting .354/.425/.800 during the 2020 postseason, and given how inconsistent the remainder of the Rays' offense has been in October it's no exaggeration to say they likely would've already been eliminated without his contributions. Not bad for a rookie, eh?
Speaking of his contributions, Arozarena was vital to the Rays' surreal ninth-inning comeback against the Dodgers in Game 4. Arozarena worked a seven-pitch walk off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the final frame and soon after came around to score the game-winning run on the wild sequence that followed Brett Phillips' two-out single.
