Charleston Dirty Birds catcher Rusber Estrada had a day on Wednesday, July 17. And what a spectacular day it was.
Estrada, 29, is in his second year in the Atlantic League having spent the 2022 season with Lexington. After playing in the Frontier League in ’23, he returned to the ALPB and Charleston this season.
The first thing to know about Estrada is that he is a workhorse. He has caught more games (58) than any other catcher in the Atlantic League this season. He rarely takes a day off, laboring under the hot and humid conditions of the Southeast with an extra 10 pounds of catcher’s equipment.
Drafted by the Braves in 2018 out of Faulker University in Alabama, Estrada played four years in the Braves system before joining Lexington in 2022.
But what Rusber did at the plate on Wednesday, July 17, will leave an indelible mark on the Atlantic League record book.
In a 26-2 win over the Lexington Legends in Lexington, Estrada set multiple league records in one of the greatest offensive displays in league history. He finished the game with five hits in six at-bats, five runs scored, and a league-record four home runs while driving in seven runs.
There are a legion of Atlantic League players who have hit three homers in a game including twice in 2024. But no player in the 26-year history of the Atlantic League had ever hit four homers in a game.
Wednesday’s contest started out rather routinely. Charleston built a 7-1 lead after five innings and appeared en route to a win. Keon Barnum hit a three-run homer in the first to stake the Dirty Birds to a 3-0 lead. The Dirty Birds added three more runs in the third. After Estrada had grounded out to third in the second inning, he hit his first homer of the day leading off the fourth to put Charleston up 7-1.
Estrada, the No. 9 hitter in the Charleston line-up, led off the sixth inning with a solo homer to spark a four-run outburst, giving the Birds an 11-1 lead. In the seventh he hit a two-run homer and followed suit with another two-run shot in the eighth. For good measure, Estrada added a run-scoring ground rule double in the ninth.
When the nearly three-hour game finished, Estrada became the sole owner of multiple league records. His four home runs stands alone as a league record as does his four consecutive at-bats with a home run. Estrada’s double in the ninth gave him an incredible 18 total bases in the contest, three more than the previous league mark. No Atlantic League player had ever mashed five extra base hits in a game, thus establishing Estrada’s third solo league record.
As a team, the Dirty Birds set multiple new league standards. Charleston tied the league record with nine home runs, 26 RBI and 16 extra base hits. The Birds established a new record with 61 total bases in a game. And, the 24 run margin of victory will stand as the largest in league history.
In addition, Charleston had the second-highest team total in league history with 27 hits, 26 runs, and 52 at-bats.
Estrada overshadowed the individual performance of Barnum which would have stood as a spectacular day on its own. The DH had four hits in six at-bats, scored five runs, and drove in nine runs with three home runs of his own.
And while the Charleston offensive showcase was taking place, Charleston’s pitchers held Lexington to just two hits while striking out 10 and not allowing a single walk.