White Sox outfielder slows it down to sock pair of home runs

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 4/7/23

On Friday, Luis Robert hit a pair of unique home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

While a two-home run performance is impressive on its own, ESPN's Sarah Langs revealed another fascinating statistical wrinkle.

Roberts hit homers off pitches of 68.7 and 70.1 MPH on Friday. According to Langs, Robert joins Kurth Suzuki (2010) and Johnny Damon (2008) as the only players to hit two home runs off pitches 70 MPH or slower in a single game since pitch-tracking began back in 2008.

Suzuki and Damon's performances came against the same pitcher, notorious knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

For his part, Robert cracked both homers against Pirates starter Rich Hill, the second of which knocked the veteran out of the game.

Robert got to Hill for the first time in the top of the third, smashing a two-run shot 413 feet into the centerfield bleachers after putting a smooth swing on an 0-1 sweeper.

Then in the fifth, Robert laced another two-run homer off Hill, turning on a 3-2 curve ball.

The 24-year-old outfielder finished his big day going 3-for-5 with five RBI. Unfortunately for Robert, his efforts went to waste in what finished as a 13-9 loss. That defeat dropped Chicago to 3-5 on the young season.

Entering his fourth MLB campaign, Robert is off to a hot start in 2023, having launched four home runs with eight RBI while slashing .361/.361/.750 through eight games.

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