AP News
(2010-07-03 23:45:08)
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Jim Thome moved into 10th place in the all-time home run list after blasting two during the Minnesota Twins' 8-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
The five-time All-Star tied Harmon Killebrew with his first, a solo homer that just cleared the left field wall, then surpassed the Twins great with his 574th home run, another solo shot that sailed over the fence at left-center field.
The Twins celebrated the milestone by playing a pre-taped message from Killebrew on the stadium video board.
"Any time a baseball game stops and somebody like that speaks, it's humbling," Thome told reporters.
"It's an honor to have a man like that do that, it was really cool. That's something that will go down in my book as one of the better moments in my career, for sure."
Thome is now nine home runs shy of ninth-placed Mark McGwire.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario; Editing by Ian Ransom)
