Tag Archives: San Diego State University

White Sox’s Seby Zavala Becomes First Player in MLB History to Hit First Three Career Homers in Same Game

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Seby Zavala has homered his way into MLB history…

The 27-year-old Latino professional baseball player and Chicago White Sox rookie hit the first three home runs of his career on Saturday night, including a grand slam, but the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat Chicago 12-11.

Seby Zavala

Zavala became the first player in big league history to hit his first three career home runs in the same game, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. The catcher played his 18th game in the majors — he was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on July 6 to replace the injured Yasmani Grandal.

Batting ninth, Zavala hit a solo homer in the third off Triston McKenzie. He connected for a grand slam off McKenize in the fourth for a 6-1 lead and a solo drive against Bryan Shaw in the seventh.

“I always knew I could swing it,” Zavala said. “Going through a rough patch for a couple of months, I knew if I kept working, something would click and I feel pretty good at the plate.”

With a chance to become the 19th player to hit a record-tying four homers in a game, Zavala singled in the eighth and finished with six RBIs.

Zavala — who will turn 28 on August 28 — played at San Diego State, finishing up with the Aztecs in 2015. Later that year, he was a 12th-round selection by Chicago in the June entry draft. He hit 20 home runs at Triple-A Charlotte in 2019.

His magic wasn’t enough to outpace the Indians on this night, however, as Austin Hedges, Owen Miller and Amed Rosario homered to help Cleveland overcome a five-run deficit.

The Indians totaled nine runs in three straight innings to take the lead. Justin Garza (1-0) threw two scoreless innings. Emmanuel Clase got five outs for his 13th save.

Escobar Shines in the Dallas Cowboys Victory Over the New York Giants

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It’s a memorable NFL Sunday for Gavin Escobar with the Sporting News asking if he could be “the Cowboys next big thing.”

The 23-year-old half-Puerto Rican professional football player – a second-year tight end for Dallas – logged the first two-touchdown game of his NFL career on Sunday in his team’s 31-21 over the New York Giants, including a spectacular grab between defenders on his second touchdown of the day.

Gavin Escobar

Escobar’s first scoring catch came in the first quarter, when he caught a 15 year pass from Tony Romo to give the Cowboys the first points of the game.

No. 89 then followed it up with his second score of the game in the third quarter with a spectacular catch in the end zone to break a 14-14 tie.

By the end of Dallas’ win, Escobar had a more impressive stat line (3 catches, 65 yards, 21.7 average, 2 TDs) than fellow tight end Jason Witten (2 catches, 27 yards, 13.5 avg., 0 TDs). Plus, Escobar was targeted three times, one more than Witten.

After the game, tight ends coach Mike Pope, fired by the Giants’ Tom Coughlin last winter, was given the game ball.

“You know he was loving this,” Escobar told reporters.

Escobar’s improved performance comes after ESPN reported that his role in the Cowboys offense was decreasing. But it looks like the second-round draft pick is stepping up his game in the face of adversity.

In the past couple weeks, Escobar has risen to the occasion in crucial moments for Romo, and has a good chance of becoming a key component of the team’s offense moving forward. He has found the end zone three times in two weeks, and clearly has the trust of Romo.

As a result, the San Diego State University product has been rewarded with more playing time by head coach Jason Garrett, and now he’s being heralded as the Cowboys next big thing.