Aug. 16 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals reliever Roel Ramirez became the first pitcher in league history to give up four consecutive home runs in his MLB debut when the Chicago White Sox roughed him up in the fifth inning Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez went back-to-back-to-back-to-back during the White Sox's six-run inning to tie the major league record for consecutive home runs. It was the 10th time in MLB history that a team had four straight homers in a game.
The White Sox joined the Washington Nationals as the only MLB teams to hit four straight home runs twice. The last time the White Sox did it was Aug. 14, 2008, against the Kansas City Royals.
Ramirez took the mound in the fifth inning with the Cardinals up 1-0. He struck out Luis Robert to start his outing, but the White Sox quickly got into a groove against him.
After two singles, a caught stealing and a walk, Moncada belted a three-run homer to right field to put Chicago ahead 3-1. Grandal followed with another deep shot over the wall in right field, and then Abreu and Jimenez both homered to left field.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt replaced Ramirez with Seth Elledge, who struck out Edwin Encarnacion on three straight pitches to finally end the inning.
Ramirez is among the players promoted by the Cardinals following a coronavirus outbreak that halted the club's season for more than two weeks. The team returned to the field Saturday with a doubleheader sweep over the White Sox.
The White Sox went on to beat the Cardinals 7-2 on Sunday.
