PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Ben Revere has always been able to hit. It’s just that he has never been able to hit one out.
That changed in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s 6-2 loss to Colorado, when Revere launched a 1-1 pitch from reliever Boone Logan into the right field seats at Citizens Bank Park for his first career home run. It came in his 1,466th at-bat, the longest homerless streak to start a career since Frank Taveras went 1,594 at-bats without one (1972-77).
“My game mainly is to hit line drives,” said Revere, a .288 hitter this season and a .285 hitter for his career. “It’s a good feeling. When I got to second base, I didn’t know what to do.”
He said his teammates gave him “the rookie treatment” when he returned to the dugout, ignoring him before finally offering their congratulations.
“I was trying not to smile but some guys got on me,” he said. “It was fun. I’ll try to hit 400 more.”
Revere now has 55 hits this season, just four for extra bases.