ANAHEIM, Calif. – Yermín Mercedes got his first five major league hits and drove in four runs, and José Abreu hit a grand slam for the Chicago White Sox in their 12-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Mercedes, a 28-year-old catcher playing in his second career game, went 5 for 5 in an extraordinary performance as Chicago's designated hitter.
He delivered a two-run single in the fourth and a two-run double in the ninth inning of Chicago's first victory this season.
The only players since 1900 to get five hits in their first career start are Mercedes and Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators, who went 5 for 7 in 1933.