July 21, 2004

Hafner becomes 26th major leaguer to hit five homers in two games

One day after going 3-4 with two home runs and a career-high five runs batted in in the Cleveland Indians’ 8-5 win over the Anaheim Angels on Monday, former Cowley County Community College standout Travis Hafner went 4-4 with three home runs and six RBI in a 14-5 win over the Angels on Tuesday.

Hafner, the Indians’ designated hitter, became just the 26th player in major league history to hit five home runs in two games, and his 11 RBI over two games tied the Indians’ franchise record set by Earl Averill in a doubleheader against the Washington Senators on Sept. 17, 1930.

Since returning from the All-Star break, Hafner has gone 13-for-24 with seven home runs and 14 RBI in six games. His batting average of .331 is fifth best in the American League, and his 75 runs batted in ties him with teammate Victor Martinez for the fifth most in the league. He also is second in the league in doubles with 30, and 13th in home runs (17).

Two of Hafner’s three home runs on Tuesday came against left-handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn. However, Hafner has been nearly unstoppable against right-handed pitching this season. In 192 at-bats vs. right-handers, Hafner is first in the American League in batting average (.365), slugging percentage (.714), and on-base percentage (.455). Hafner bats left-handed.

Hafner’s stellar play has the Indians in contention in the American League Central as they trail the division-leading Minnesota Twins by just four games. Cleveland improved to 46-47 after its two-game sweep of the Angels.

Fellow Cowley County alumnus and current Milwaukee Brewer second baseman, Junior Spivey, is on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder injury. Spivey suffered the injury while sliding head-first into first base. In 59 games, Spivey is batting .272 with seven home runs and 28 runs batted in.