Miguel Cabrera has moved to within one home run of yet another milestone in his decorated career.
The former Triple Crown winner clubbed his 499th career homer on Wednesday night -- a high-arching shot to left field -- off Orioles starter Matt Harvey at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
With his next home run, Cabrera will become just the 28th player in Major League history with at least 500 round-trippers, and the first Tigers player to do so. He registered 138 of his home runs with the Marlins, where he played for the first five years of his career, through 2007.
Wednesday's blast came with one out in the top of the fifth inning, on a 1-2 pitch. Orioles left fielder Austin Hays made a valiant attempt to deny Miggy of the long ball, but it landed well out of his reach in the home bullpen.
Cabrera, 38, let out an emphatic fist pump after rounding first base, apparently sensing that his date with destiny had drawn all the nearer.
Miggy was 2-for-2 in his first two plate appearances on the night, notching singles both times. After the fifth-inning homer, he came up again in the sixth inning, stinging a hard line drive to medium-right field for an RBI sac fly. He grounded out to second base on the first pitch of his final at-bat, finishing the night 3-for-4.
The 11-time All-Star is also bidding to join the exclusive 3,000-hit club, and the three knocks he collected on Wednesday gave him an even 2,950 for his career. The Tigers had 46 games remaining on the schedule after Wednesday, meaning Cabrera would have to stay hot to reach that magical number.
Cabrera already owns the Tigers club record for home runs, having surpassed Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg's 306.
Check out the clips below for the TV and radio calls by announcers Matt Shepherd and Dan Dickerson, respectively:
