Home run hat tricks for Cano, DeJong, Cruz and Betts

It's easy to become desensitized to all the big home run numbers these days.

Still, this past week was pretty special.

Robinson Canó, Paul DeJong, Nelson Cruz and Mookie Betts each hit three homers in a game — and they did it on consecutive days. The unprecedented streak of home run hat tricks began with Canó on Tuesday and was capped, somewhat fittingly, by Betts on Friday.

St. Louis Cardinals' Paul DeJong hits a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Jose Osuna during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. It was DeJong's third home run of the game. (AP PhotoGene J. Puskar)

It was the fifth time in his career — one shy of the major league record — that Betts hit three homers in a game.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time in major league history there were even three straight days with a three-homer game. There have now been 15 of them this season. The first three-homer game was by Paul Goldschmidt back on March 29. The longest stretch without one was 21 days, between Christian Yelich (April 15) and Justin Turner (May 7).

Only two teams this season — the Cardinals and Twins — have had more than one player pull off the feat. Cruz and Max Kepler did it for Minnesota, DeJong and Goldschmidt for St. Louis.

Minnesota Twins' Nelson Cruz points to the sky at home plate after hitting his third home run of the game during the fifth inning of a baseball game as Chicago White Sox catcher James McCann, left, looks on Thursday, July 25, 2019, in Chicago. (AP PhotoJeff Haynes)

Only the Yankees and Pirates have been victimized more than once. New York allowed three homers to Betts and Travis d'Arnaud. Pittsburgh gave up three to DeJong and Derek Dietrich.

According to the Baseball-Reference.com play index — which includes data going back to 1908 — the most three-homer games in one season was 22 in 2001. Barry Bonds did it twice that year en route to the single-season home run record. Sammy Sosa had three three-homer games between Aug. 9 and Sept. 23. Jeromy Burnitz and Richie Sexson accomplished the feat in the same game for Milwaukee, in a September win over the eventual champion Diamondbacks.

Aside from 2001, only two other years are still ahead of 2019 on the list. There were 19 three-homer games in 2016, including two by Betts. There were 16 in 1999.

Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts hits a two-run homer in front of New York Yankees catcher Austin Romine in the fourth inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park, Friday, July 26, 2019, in Boston. It was his third home run of the game. (AP PhotoElise Amendola)

Elsewhere around the majors:

HANGING AROUND

The Milwaukee Brewers have been outscored by 16 runs on the season, but they're five games over .500 and just a game out of first place in the NL Central. Milwaukee just took two of three from Chicago, winning both games in its last at-bat before the Cubs avoided a sweep by winning Sunday.

The Brewers have the third-worst ERA in the National League at 4.68, so it will be interesting to see if they can improve their pitching before the trade deadline.

CHAOS

The Tampa Bay Rays moved pitcher Adam Kolarek from the mound to first base in a 3-2 win over Boston on Wednesday. The idea was to keep Kolarek in the game so he could return to the mound later, but the strategy caused all sorts of confusion and led Red Sox manager Alex Cora to protest the game. Cora didn't agree with the way the umpires handled Tampa Bay's batting order after the unusual changes to the lineup, and the game was delayed quite a bit.

HIGHLIGHT

Minnesota turned a 5-4-3 triple play against the Yankees last Monday night on Edwin Encarnación's grounder. Luis Arraez stepped on third and threw to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, who relayed to first. The plays at second and first were both close, making this defensive gem even more impressive.

LINE OF THE WEEK

Any of those three-homer games would be a reasonable choice here, but Canó gets bonus points because his home runs accounted for all of New York's scoring in a 5-2 win over San Diego.

Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister

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CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a three-year contract with Sacha Boisvert, one of the team's top prospects.

The Blackhawks announced the entry-level deal with the Canadian forward on Monday. The contract carries a $974,167 salary-cap hit and runs through the 2027-28 season.

Boisvert, who turns 20 on Tuesday, could make his NHL debut this week. He won't play Tuesday against Minnesota while he waits for immigration clearance, but the Blackhawks visit the Wild on Thursday and host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Coach Jeff Blashill said he plans to go slowly with Boisvert in terms of playing time.

“I think he's going to need to have a physical impact on the game on a night-to-night basis, and if he can do that, he becomes a real commodity,” Blashill said.

“He can add something to our team I don't know that we have enough of, and that's that kind of hard skill. And if he can do that, it'll be a real positive for us.”

Boisvert, a Quebec native, was selected by the Blackhawks with the No. 18 pick in the 2024 draft. He had three goals and 14 assists in 26 games with Boston University this year.

Boisvert was scratched from BU's 4-1 victory over Vermont in the opening round of the Hockey East Tournament for an undisclosed reason. He returned to the lineup for Saturday's season-ending loss to UConn.

He was suspended for two games in January after getting into a fight during a 4-3 loss to UMass Lowell.

The 6-foot-3 Boisvert played for North Dakota for one season before transferring to Boston. He had 18 goals and 14 assists in 37 games for the Fighting Hawks.

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FILE - North Dakota forward Sacha Boisvert skates during the second period of an NCAA hockey game against Cornell on Nov. 2, 2024 in Ithaca, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, file)