Pablo joins three-homer elite
Ruth, Jackson and Pujols welcome Sandoval as new member of exclusive club of players who have hit three in one World Series game
San Francisco slugger Pablo Sandoval hit a spectacular three home runs to lead the Giants to an 8-3 victory over Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers in game one of the World Series.
Venezuela's Sandoval smacked a solo shot in the first inning, a two-run blast in the third and another solo homer in the fifth to become just the fourth player to hit three home runs in one game of Major League Baseball's best-of-seven championship showcase.
The feat put him in elite company alongside Babe Ruth - who did it twice - Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols.
Of the group, Sandoval is the only one to homer in his first three at-bats. "Man, I still can't believe it," Sandoval said.
Sandoval's first two homers came off Verlander, Detroit's vaunted ace, who made it through just four innings and 98 pitches and gave up five runs on six hits.
Verlander came into the contest with a 3-0 record and an 0.74 ERA, having struck out 25 batters while allowing only 10 hits over 24-1/3 play-off innings.