Wladimir Balentien turned Japanese baseball's record-setting trio into a quartet.
Balentien hit an opposite-field solo home run in the sixth inning of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows' game against the Hiroshima Carp to tie the NPB single-season record with his 55th homer of the year on Wednesday night at Jingu Stadium.
After grounding out in his first two at-bats, Balentien took a ball and strike from Carp starter Kan Otake before latching onto a 147-kph fastball that he sent over the wall in right field.
Balentien moved into rarefied air, joining Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh (1964), Tuffy Rhodes (2001) and Alex Cabrera (2002) as the only players to hit 55 home runs in a single season.
This report will be updated following the conclusion of Wednesday night's game.
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