On this day in 1997 the Brewers lost to the Angels 6-5, but Jeromy Burnitz made history. In a sixth inning at bat against Anaheim starter Jason Dickson, he hit a solo home run as the second of back-to-back shots with Dave Nilsson. More importantly, though, the home run was Burnitz's fifth in as many days, setting a new Brewer franchise record. At that point in time there were only three Brewers who had held a four game streak: Greg Vaughn (1996), Sixto Lezcano (1979) and Lee May (1971). Five Brewers have reached four since (including Burnitz three more times), but no one has successfully homered in the fifth game.
Burnitz's streak is made all the more impressive by this fact: In two of the five games (the second and third of the streak), he entered the game as a pinch hitter and only received one plate appearance. He hit two run shots in both games.
While Burnitz holds the Brewer record, he still would've had a ways to go to reach the major league mark: Since 1919 three players have homered in eight straight games, most recently Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- AZL Brewer Dane Amedee, who turns 21.
- 1976 Brewer Bernie Carbo, who turns 64.