Tonight Detroit Tigers outfielder Justin Upton came through with another clutch hit. With the bases loaded in the 5th inning, Upton stepped to the plate and smashed a grand slam to right field.
[the_ad id=”80408″]
.@JUST_JUP hits his 5th career grand slam (last, 5/24/15 @ Los Angeles Dodgers).
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) June 12, 2017
.@JUST_JUP's last 10 games: .410 average, 17 RBIs, eight runs scored and four home runs. #VoteJUP ➡️ https://t.co/meKh2kaheJ https://t.co/RUYAka0AXA
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 12, 2017
The grand slam was significant in several ways. First of all, it was to deep right field and ricocheted off of the yellow foul pole, nicknamed The Pesky Pole, at Fenway Park. Also, it was in a key situation for Detroit given the fact they had stranded three baserunners in the last inning.
[the_ad id=”78455″]
Tigers beat writer Evan Woodbery came through with the interesting nugget of statistical information just minutes after the big hit.
Of Justin Upton's 234 career homers, this is only his 20th to RF.
He has 21 to right-center, 36 to CF, 61 to left-center and 96 to LF.— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) June 12, 2017
Upton has been a clutch hitter for Detroit this season. He leads the team in home runs and runs batted in this season.
Twitter Reactions
#Tigers 7 @ #RedSox 2 [T5-1o]
Justin Upton hits a grand slam (13) to RF J. D. (3-run)Exit velocity: 100mph
Distance: 344ft
Angle: 25°🚀 pic.twitter.com/i2tQn62BS8— Home Run Tracker (@DingerTracker) June 12, 2017
That J-UP HR was only cheap in the sense that Pesky's Pole stopped the ball from going way, way farther than 344 feet.
— Matthew B. Mowery (@matthewbmowery) June 12, 2017
Tip of the cap to Johnny Pesky. Justin Upton taking advantage of Fenway's dimensions, which have haunted Tigers repeatedly over the years.
— Ryan Schuiling (@RyanSchuiling) June 12, 2017
Last year, Justin Upton hit HR No. 13 on trade deadline day. This year, 50 days earlier.
— Matthew B. Mowery (@matthewbmowery) June 12, 2017
J-Up was horrendous for over 200 games from 2015-16. Now he's hit 31 homers in his last 97 games.
— Dave Hogg ✨ (@stareagle) June 12, 2017
Finally, Tigers get a clutch hit with the bases loaded. Upton just banged a grand slam off the foul pole in right and Tigers lead Bosox 7-2.
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) June 12, 2017
I see you @JUST_JUP #grandsalami #allstargamebound #letsgotigers pic.twitter.com/AEZtAw9Jzd
— dennis harmon (@FocusMaker) June 12, 2017
Justin Upton with 13 homers in 59 games. If he avoids the DL, he'll have somewhere between 60 and 70 HRs in his first two Detroit seasons.
— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) June 12, 2017
