Plum grad Alex Kirilloff becomes 1st position player in MLB history to record 1st big-league hit in postseason

Michael Love
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020 5:01 p.m. | Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020 5:01 p.m.

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AP

Minnesota Twins right fielder Alex Kirilloff, making his major league debut, catches a fly ball off the bat of Houston Astros’ Michael Brantley in the fifth inning of an American League wild-card series baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Minneapolis.

AP

Minnesota Twins right fielder Alex Kirilloff, a Plum native, signs autographs before the start of a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles on March 4, 2019, in Fort Myers, Fla.

First he got the call. Then he got the hit.

Former Plum standout Alex Kirilloff recorded his first Major League hit Wednesday afternoon in the Minnesota Twins’ wild card matchup with the Houston Astros at Minnesota’s Target Field.

Kirilloff delivered in the bottom of the fourth, scorching a pitch from Astros starter Jose Urquidy clocked at 94 miles an hour to right field for a two-out single.

However, he was stranded on the base paths in the inning. The Twins scored in the fifth, but Houston captured a 3-1 victory to finish off the sweep of the best-of-three, first-round series.

Kirilloff finished the game 1 for 4 but made contact each time at the plate. In addition to his single, he lined out to center in the first, flied out to right in the sixth and lined out to third in the ninth.

According to MLB Pipeline, Kirilloff, who got the start in right field, is the first position player in Major League history to record his first big league hit in the postseason.

As an encore, Kirilloff made a sliding catch in the top of the fifth to rob Astros right fielder Josh Reddick of a hit.

First player in MLB history to record his first big league hit in the postseason: @Twins' Alex Kirilloff.

And no cheapy: 105.9 mph exit velo pic.twitter.com/VCvqSBdEY7

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 30, 2020

Kirilloff didn’t play in Tuesday’s Game 1, a 4-1 Astros victory.

The Twins selected Kirilloff’s contract ahead of the wild card series and placed him on the postseason roster.

Despite the cancelation of the 2020 minor league season, Kirilloff stayed prepared for a possible call up with work at the Twins’ alternate training site and took at-bats during simulated games.