Lucas Giolito will have nightmares of Nelson Cruz after 1,336 feet worth of home runs

Thursday night’s Twins-White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field went quite poorly for Chicago’s Lucas Giolito, and quite well for Minnesota’s Nelson Cruz.

Giolito entered the game with a 3.12 ERA, and exited the game with a 3.54 ERA after allowing seven earned runs in five innings. The right-hander gave up four home runs, with three of those dingers coming in Nelson Cruz’s first three plate appearances. Cruz cranked three taters for a combined distance of 1,336 feet against

1st inning: Nelson Cruz HR
3rd inning: Nelson Cruz HR
5th inning: Nelson Cruz HR pic.twitter.com/VohY241LSE

— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2019

3 AB. 3 HR. 1,336 ft. pic.twitter.com/lrfjrDRpXr

— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2019

Cruz is putting together a fantastic season at the age of 39, with 25 homers and a .969 OPS.

March 31, 2008: Rangers designate Nelson Cruz for assignment.

April 4, 2008: Cruz clears waivers.

He's hit 370 home runs since nobody wanted him.

— David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) July 26, 2019

Nelson Cruz didn't become an MLB regular until his age 28 season. He is going to hit more than 400 career home runs.

From age 28 to 39 he ranks 12th all-time in HRs.https://t.co/mBJP8HjGTQ

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) July 26, 2019

Nelson Cruz is the 10th hitter in MLB history to have a three-homer game after turning 39 years old.

Others:
Alex Rodriguez
Jason Giambi
Frank Thomas
Steve Finley
Dave Winfield
Reggie Jackson
Stan Musial
Bob Thurman
Babe Ruth

(Rodriguez and Winfield both did it vs. the Twins.)

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) July 26, 2019

He’s certainly not the only Twins hitter hitting for a ton of power this season; Minnesota’s .503 slugging percentage is far and away the best mark in the majors. And in the 10-3 win Thursday night, they hit five homers for the ninth time this season. That’s an MLB record, and we’re still in July.

This is #MNTwins' 9th 5-homer game of the season. No team in MLB history has had as many 5-homer games as the Twins. The 1977 #RedSox had 8.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 26, 2019