Rays' Richie Palacios Equals Brother, Uncle With First Career Walk-Off Hit

Patrick Andres | May 31, 2024

May 29, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Richie Palacios (1) slides to catch a line drive in the fifth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field. / Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Before Thursday, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios was the low man on the totem pole of clutch family members.

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Josh Palacios—Richie's brother—had clubbed a walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30, 2023. Former Kansas City Royals catcher Rey Palacios, Richie's uncle, also owned a walk-off grand slam against the Boston Red Sox on May 14, 1990.

Now, Richie has joined the club.

Palacios's walk-off single gave the Rays a 6-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics Thursday—and gave Palacios, at last, the first walk-off of his three-year career.

"I was doing an interview the other day, and my brother has a walk-off and my uncle has a walk-off. And I said in the interview, ‘Better get a walkoff before this becomes a family thing.’ I didn’t know it was going to come (Thursday), but it is exciting that it did," Palacios told reporters postgame via Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times.

Palacios is slashing .262/.360/.369 for Tampa Bay this season with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games.