Brewers slugger Yelich matches homer mark to open season

CHICAGO: Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich became only the sixth player in Major League Baseball history to smash a home run in his team's first four games of the season on Sunday.

The 27-year-old US outfielder, last year's National League Most Valuable player, blasted a fastball from St. Louis right-hander Michael Wacha over the right-field wall in the first inning to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

Yelich matched a major league record with the 408-foot (124m) blast into the second deck at Miller Park.

The other major leaguers to open the season with four homers in as many games were Willie Mays for San Francisco in 1971, Mark McGwire for St. Louis in 1998, Nelson Cruz for Texas in 2011, Chris Davis for Baltimore in 2013 and Trevor Story for Colorado in 2016.

Yelich could claim the mark for himself alone with another homer on Monday when the Brewers visit Cincinnati. Yelich hit .482 with seven homers against the Reds last year.

Yelich spent his first five seasons with Miami before joining the Brewers last year, winning the National League batting title and helping Milwaukee reach the National League playoffs for the first time since 2011.