Before Thursday, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios was the low man on the totem pole of clutch family members.
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Josh Palacios—Richie’s brother—had clubbed a walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30, 2023. Former Kansas City Royals catcher Rey Palacios, Richie’s uncle, also owned a walk-off grand slam against the Boston Red Sox on May 14, 1990.
Now, Richie has joined the club.
Palacios’s walk-off single gave the Rays a 6-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics Thursday—and gave Palacios, at last, the first walk-off of his three-year career.
“I was doing an interview the other day, and my brother has a walk-off and my uncle has a walk-off. And I said in the interview, ‘Better get a walkoff before this becomes a family thing.’ I didn’t know it was going to come (Thursday), but it is exciting that it did,” Palacios told reporters postgame via Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times.
Palacios is slashing .262/.360/.369 for Tampa Bay this season with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games.
PATRICK ANDRES
