Aristides "The Punisher" Aquino Hits 3 HRs, Has 7 in 10 Career Games

MLB.com reports:

In Aristides Aquino's first three at-bats against the Cubs on Saturday, “The Punisher” indeed punished. Aquino slugged three home runs in the first four innings, and the Reds hit six during a 10-1 rout at Great American Ball Park.

Aquino homered in three consecutive innings, and he tied Rockies shortstop Trevor Story's Major League record with seven homers over his first 10 games with the Reds.

The pitching performance of Reds starter Sonny Gray shouldn’t be overlooked. Gray allowed two hits and four walks while striking out seven over six scoreless innings. He didn’t have a Cubs hit on his line over the first four innings. That improved his record to 7-6 with a 3.10 ERA over 23 starts.

Leading off the second inning against starter Kyle Hendricks, Aquino pulled a sinker into the left-field corner for his first homer. It set a Reds franchise record with five in his first 10 career games. According to Statcast, it wasn’t the usual moonshot that Aquino has often hit. The exit velocity was 87.6 mph, and the ball traveled a projected 344 feet. The drive had an expected batting average of .080.

The following inning with two outs, Aquino extended his still-fresh record with a sixth homer, also to left field. It sparked a rally of six straight hits during the four-run inning off Hendricks, who was knocked out of the game following a Jesse Winker double.

The new pitcher, Dillon Maples, fared no better in the fourth inning. Two batters after Eugenio Suarez hit a leadoff homer, Aquino went deep again. This time, it was a monster shot that carried well over the visitors bullpen in left-center field to make it a 9-0 game.

Statcast projected the distance of the homer at 452 feet, and it left his bat at 107.4 mph.