(AUDACY) Reds first baseman Joey Votto has been a man possessed lately, leading all MLB players with nine homers since the All-Star break. He stayed scorching hot Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field, extending his club-record home run streak to six games, the longest we’ve seen in MLB since Paul Goldschmidt’s six-game tear for St. Louis in 2019.
Votto, who isn't necessarily known for his power -- he has reached the 30-homer plateau just twice since debuting in 2007 -- entered Thursday with a remarkable seven homers in his last 15 at-bats. Cubs right-hander Alec Mills then proved to be no match for Votto, who made him pay by bombing a first-inning fastball into oblivion, clearing the ivy in right field with room to spare.
Coming off a rare playoff appearance in 2020, the Reds have hit the ball with authority this year, leading the National League in hits while trailing only the Dodgers in runs scored. Votto is up to 20 homers for the season, his most since 2017, when he finished runner-up to Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton in the NL MVP voting. A six-time All-Star and former Gold Glove recipient, the 37-year-old Votto ranks second among active players in career walks (1,255), fifth in hits (1,981) and seventh in runs scored (1,079).
Votto has a chance Friday to become only the eighth MLB player to homer in seven consecutive games and the first to do it since Toronto’s Kendrys Morales in 2018. The MLB record belongs to Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly and Dale Long, who each went yard in eight straight games.
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