Have a night, Weston Wilson.
The 29-year-old outfielder, playing in just his 24th career MLB game, hit for the 10th cycle in Philadelphia Phillies history on Thursday night, helping his team to a 13-3 win over the Washington Nationals.
Wilson completed the feat with a double in the eighth inning, putting an exclamation mark on his 4-for-5 night in front of the Philly faithful.
After striking out in his first at-bat, Wilson strung together his historic night over his next four trips to the plate.
He got the toughest leg out of the way first, tripling in the bottom of the fourth on a ball that ricocheted back to the infield off the wall in right. As the Phillies hit around in the inning, Wilson came back up and lofted a perfectly placed infield hit to get his single out of the way.
Then, he hit his third home run of the year in the bottom of the seventh, taking a first-pitch fastball 371 feet out to right-centre field, padding Philadelphia’s lead.
He finished things off with his double, which was almost a spectacular play by right-fielder Alex Call, who nearly robbed Wilson of history, as the ball bounced out of his glove on a diving attempt.
“It was one of those things, I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s gonna catch it’ when he laid out,” Wilson told the Phillies broadcast team after the game. “And then I saw it trickle off and, yeah, I couldn’t feel (anything).”
Wilson becomes just the second Philadelphia player to hit for the cycle at Citizens Bank Park, with the first coming from David Bell against the Montreal Expos in 2004.
“I’ve been playing baseball for a long time, and I may have had one opportunity (to hit for the cycle before),” Wilson said. “To be able to do it on the biggest level and in front of the best fans is just awesome.”
Originally a 16th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016, Wilson played seven seasons in the minors before making his MLB debut last season. Even in 2024, he began the year in triple-A, but has been making the most of his time with the big league since getting the call to rejoin the Phillies.
Thursday’s performance bumped his batting average to .342 on the season and moved his OPS to 1.034.
Philadelphia took a 4-0 lead in the first, with Bohm hitting a three-run homer and Castellanos following with another shot.
Zack Wheeler (12-5) moved one behind Atlanta’s Chris Sale for most wins in the National League and the Phillies scored at least nine runs for the second straight game.
The Phillies had 17 hits, pounding the ball much like they did for most of the first half of the season before a summer swoon cost them the best record in baseball.
Back-to-back wins against the lowly Miami Marlins and Nationals may not mean the Phillies are totally back, but it sure beats the alternative.
The Phillies piled on with five runs in the fourth.
Keibert Ruiz hit his 10th and 11th homers of the season for the Nationals.
Unlike their 9-5 win against the Marlins, the Phillies never had to rally to win this one.
Wheeler struck out six, walked none and gave up two runs (one earned) in six innings.
Wheeler set a needed tone in the first when he struck out the first two batters in a 1-2-3 inning. The Phillies allowed the Diamondbacks and Marlins to score in the first inning in each of the last five games — and the Phillies went 1-4. Perhaps with the pressure off to deliver a comeback, the Phillies felt more free at the plate.
Or maybe Mitchell Parker (6-7) just didn’t have it.
Parker allowed nine runs and 10 hits in three innings and his ERA jumped from 3.83 to 4.44.
All-Star shortstop Trea Turner shook off a cold stretch that earned him a night off against the Marlins and had three hits, three runs and two RBIs.
Bryce Harper burned his former team on a single to right, then hustled to second which forced a throw to the base from the cutoff man that allowed Turner to scoot home uncontested from third to make it 8-0. Harper had a routine flyball dropped by centerfielder Jacob Young in the seventh. The error allowed the 11th run of the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez (lower back soreness) could rejoin the rotation for the Aug. 23-25 series in Kansas City.
UP NEXT
The Nationals were set to RHP Patrick Corbin (2-2, 5.98 ERA) to the mound Friday against Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (11-6, 3.60 ERA)
— With files from The Associated Press
On September 29, 2021, Weston Wilson of the Philadelphia Phillies made history by achieving a cycle against the Washington Nationals. A cycle in baseball is a rare feat that occurs when a player hits a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game. Wilson’s accomplishment was particularly impressive as it came in just his 15th career major league game.
The cycle is considered one of the most difficult achievements in baseball, as it requires a combination of hitting for power and speed. Wilson’s cycle began with a single in the second inning, followed by a double in the fourth, a triple in the sixth, and finally a home run in the eighth. His performance helped lead the Phillies to a 5-4 victory over the Nationals.
Wilson’s cycle was just the 7th in Phillies history and the first since David Bell accomplished the feat in 2004. The 26-year-old infielder has shown flashes of potential throughout his young career, and his cycle against the Nationals was a testament to his abilities as a hitter.
After the game, Wilson expressed his excitement and gratitude for achieving the cycle, stating, “It’s something you dream about as a kid. To be able to do it at this level is truly special.” His teammates and coaches also praised his performance, with Phillies manager Joe Girardi calling it a “remarkable accomplishment.”
Wilson’s cycle against the Nationals will go down in Phillies history as a memorable moment for both him and the team. It serves as a reminder of the unpredictable and exciting nature of baseball, where anything can happen on any given day. As Wilson continues to develop as a player, fans can look forward to more impressive performances from this rising star in the Phillies organization.