Philadelphia Phillies rookie Weston Wilson hits for cycle in win over Washington Nationals

By George Ramsay, CNN

(CNN) — Philadelphia Phillies rookie Weston Wilson hit for just the 10th cycle in franchise history during the team’s comfortable 13-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

The outfielder hit a triple and a single in the fourth inning, homered in the seventh and then completed the cycle with a double in the eighth at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday night.

Wilson is the first Phillies rookie to complete the feat and the second in MLB this season after Wyatt Langford for the Texas Rangers back in June.

“I’ve been playing baseball for a long time … To be able to do it on the biggest level and in front of the best fans is just awesome,” he said. “I’m kind of at a loss for words. It’s one of those things that, you know, it kind of just happened.”

Knowing that he needed a double to complete the cycle in the eighth, Wilson hit to right-center field and watched anxiously as the ball bounced off a diving Alex Call’s glove, allowing him to make his way to second base.

Moments earlier, teammate Bryce Harper had offered some sage words of advice. “[He] came up to me and said, ‘It doesn’t matter where you hit it, just keep running,’” Wilson recalled.

The 29-year-old celebrated by clapping his hands and gesturing towards the Phillies players in the dugout, who responded by cheering and slapping the railings.

Wilson, who had a bucket of liquid dumped over him during his post-game interview, is the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since JT Realmuto in June last year and the first to do so at Citizens Bank Park since David Bell 20 years ago.

After signing a minor league contract with the Phillies in January 2023, Wilson hit a home run in his first big-league at-bat in August. He joined the Phillies in June this year and then again in July, playing 16 games so far this season.

“I knew I could help this team, I just had to get it rolling and kind of get an opportunity,” said Wilson. “They’ve got a really good team up here at the time, and it’s one of those things, I just had to wait on an opportunity and just had to play hard every day.”

Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos hit home runs in the first inning of Thursday’s game against the Nationals, handing the Phillies a 4-0 lead from which they never looked back.

The victory gave the Phillies back-to-back wins, ending a previous run of four straight defeats.

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