Sunday evening I took a little time out from panhandling and attended my first ballgame in a few weeks, as I witnessed Memphis defeat Round Rock, 6-1. Though rehab appearances by St. Louis’ Troy Glaus and Houston’s Aaron Boone piqued my curiosity, the real draw for your humble editor was the Pacific Coast League debut of former Mets closer Armando Benitez, who’d previously been toiling for the indie Atlantic League’s Newark Bears. Signed by Houston on Friday and assigned to Round Rock, Benitez never made it into Sunday’s contest, but as the following item from the Express’ website details, his appearance on Monday night was nothing short of…well, just what Mets fans might’ve expected had the former Amazins reliever been pitching in Flushing.
Armando Benitez made Express history with two down in the top of the eighth inning of Round Rock’s 12-7 loss to Memphis (69-60) on Monday, becoming just the third player in Pacific Coast League history to allow four consecutive home runs in a single inning.
Benitez, who joined Round Rock (55-75) earlier in the day after making 34 appearances for Independent Newark, joined Joe Nathan and Kevin Meier as one of three PCL pitchers to allow four homers in a single frame.
The only difference? All of the shots Benitez allowed were consecutive, good for a PCL record for pitchers.