Boston Red Sox left fielder Tyler O’Neill of Burnaby, British Columbia, hit his second walk-off home run of his Major League Baseball career on Wednesday in the Red Sox’ 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, with the Red Sox trailing the Orioles 3-2, O’Neill hit a three-run blast that also scored outfielder Jarren Duran and second baseman Romy Gonzalez. The home run traveled 393 feet to left-center field and was hit by Orioles relief pitcher Keegan Akin.
O’Neill’s first walk-off home run came on September 22, 2018, in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. O’Neill hit a home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to break the 4-4 tie.
In 2024, O’Neill has a batting average of .258 with 30 home runs and 59 runs batted in. In 101 games and 427 plate appearances, he scored 71 runs and had 96 hits, 17 doubles, four stolen bases, 48 walks, a .349 on-base percentage, a .546 slugging percentage, 203 total bases, and two sacrifice flies. He scored the sacrifice flies in the Red Sox’s 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on June 12 and in the Red Sox’s 9-7 victory over the New York Yankees on July 26.
Accordingly Rogers SportsnetO’Neill is the sixth Canadian-born player to have multiple seasons with over 30 home runs. He previously had 34 home runs with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. The other five players on the list are the Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto from Toronto, Ontario (37 home runs in 2010, 36 home runs in 2017 and 36 home runs in 2021), first baseman of the Minnesota Twins Justin Morneau from New Westminster, British Columbia (34 home runs in 2006, 31 home runs in 2007 and 30 home runs in 2009), right fielder for the Colorado Rockies Larry Walker from Maple Ridge, British Columbia (36 home runs in 1995, 49 home runs in 1997, 37 home runs in 1999 and 38 home runs in 2001), outfielder Jason Bay from Trail, British Columbia (32 home runs with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005, 35 home runs with the Pirates in 2006, 31 home runs with the Pirates and Red Sox in 2008 and 36 home runs with the Red Sox in 2009) and first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Montreal, Quebec (leading the Major League, 48 home runs in 2021 and 32 home runs in 2022).
With this victory, the Red Sox improved their record to 74 wins and 72 losses. They are four games behind the Minnesota Twins for a playoff spot.
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