Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto, right, watches his solo home run in the sixth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto hits a solo home run in the sixth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto (19) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto celebrates his solo home run in the sixth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto celebrates his solo home run in the sixth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto, right, watches his solo home run in the sixth inning of the baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, July 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK – Joey Votto homered for the seventh straight game Friday night, putting the Cincinnati Reds star within one of the major league record.
Votto hit a 2-0 pitch from New York Mets reliever Drew Smith over the center-field fence at Citi Field to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
Recommended Videos
Votto, serenaded with chants of “Over-rated!” earlier in the evening, seemed to enjoy a leisurely trot around the bases before he flexed and pointed to the name on the back of his uniform while nearing the Cincinnati dugout.
The six-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP became the eighth player to homer in at least seven straight games and first since Kendrys Morales did it for the Toronto Blue Jays in August 2018. Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993) are the only players to go deep in eight consecutive games.
Griffey and Votto were teammates with the Reds from 2007-08.
Votto has nine homers and 15 RBIs during his streak, which began last Saturday and includes just one hit that wasn’t a home run — an infield single against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
