Houston Astros outfielder George Springer has hit home runs in four consecutive games to set a new franchise record for rookies, per Jose Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle.
Springer led off the top of the eighth inning in Monday night's game against the Kansas City Royals with a shot over the left field fence off of reliever Luis Coleman. The home run capped a 4-for-4, three-RBI night for the young star and marked his fourth consecutive game with a long ball.
Springer crossed the plate five times in the contest, representing the most runs by an Astro in one game since Cody Ransom scored five times in a Sept. 20, 2007 game against the St. Louis Cardinals, per Ortiz. With his big night, Springer also managed to stretch his hitting streak to eight games.
The 24-year-old rookie started his home run streak on May 21 with a solo shot off of Los Angeles Angels starter Jeff Weaver. He then added two home runs in Saturday's contest against the Seattle Mariners before hitting a two-run shot off of Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma on Sunday. The last non-rookie Astro to hit a home run in four consecutive games was Lance Berkman in July 2010, per CBSSports.com.
Since his Apr. 16 call-up from the Astros' AAA affiliate in Oklahoma City, Springer has 37 hits in 35 games, including eight home runs. Oddly enough, seven of his eight home runs have occurred on the road, with only one so far at Minute Maid Park.
Springer has also collected six doubles and seven multi-hit games, not to mention a team-high (tied with Jason Castro) 25 RBI. The rookie's .500 slugging percentage and .848 OPS are both tops on the Astros this season.
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