Cuban brothers first in MLB history to hit 2 home runs each on same day

Yuliesky and Lourdes Junior Gurriel became the first brothers in the history of Major League Baseball to have a multi-homer game on the same day. It happened on Friday, 21 September. The brothers last played together as part of Cuba’s National Team at the 2015 WBSC Premier12. They will play against each other on Tuesday, 25 September, when the Houston Astros and Blue Jays meet in Toronto.

Born in 1993, Lourdes plays for the Blue Jays and homered in the first and fourth innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Older brother Yuliesky hit a grand slam in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third inning, leading the defending World Series champions Houston Astros to a win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“My parents were so happy that they didn’t know what to do with themselves, hearing the great news,” Yuliesky Gurriel commented through an interpreter.

Yuliesky was born in 1984. After winning MVP Honors at the IBAF U-18 Baseball World Cup 2002, he became one of the central figures of the Cuban National Team. He contributed to two World Cups, an Olympic gold (Athens 2004) and a silver medal (Beijing 2008). He’s playing in his third MLB season.

Their father Lourdes Gurriel senior as a player won 6 World Cups and the 1992 Olympics. He was known as El Hombre de los Grandes Momentos (the Man of Great Moments) in Cuba. He also managed the National Team in 2005 and 2009.

The Gurriel family, from left: Lourdes Jr, Yuniesky, Yulieski and Lourdes Senior (Franklyn Reyes-Associated Press)

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