Taylor Walls made Tampa Bay Rays history on Tuesday night, becoming the first switch-hitter to homer from both sides of the plate twice in his career with the franchise. The 30-year-old shortstop accomplished the rare feat during the Rays’ 12-4 victory over the Athletics in West Sacramento, California, mirroring a similar performance from April 2023 against Cincinnati.
Walls’ first home run came while batting left-handed against Athletics starter Mason Barnett in the fourth inning. The right-handed blast followed in the sixth inning off reliever Brady Basso, helping propel Tampa Bay to its eighth consecutive win. The performance was particularly significant as it marked Walls’ first home run of the season, ending a personal drought that had lasted 105 regular-season games since late July.
Walls joins an exclusive group this season of players achieving this offensive milestone. Four other major leaguers have homered from both sides of the plate in 2026, including Drew Romo of the White Sox, Colorado’s Willi Castro, Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds, and Minnesota’s Josh Bell. Despite his standout performance Tuesday, Walls maintains modest career totals with just 24 home runs across 581 major league games, including playoff contests.
Originally reported by Sports.yahoo →
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