Spencer Steer started chasing history seven pitches into his first at-bat of the Cincinnati Reds game against the San Diego Padres on Friday night, when he drove an opposite-field home run over the fence in right-center off Dylan Cease.
Two innings later, he hit another one off Cease over the wall in left, 403 feet from home plate.
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And in the fifth, he hit a low line drive that just cleared the wall in left for a third home run, this time on a 1-1 pitch off left-hander Yuki Matsui.
Steer struck out swinging at a 2-2 pitch from David Morgan leading off the eighth inning, and settled for the Reds’ first three-homer game since Jesse Winker in June of 2021.
He got a loud ovation from the 26,746 in attendance.
Steer finished one short of the MLB record held by 19 players, including Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett in 2017 and former Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez earlier this season for the Diamondbacks.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds’ Spencer Steer falls one homer short in MLB record bid