J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies) couldn’t laugh at his team’s loss after becoming the first catcher to hit for the cycle in 12 years.
Realmuto went 4-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored in the Phillies’ 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Wednesday (13 July), starting in the No. 5 spot in the lineup.
His four hits included a single, a double, a triple and a home run.
It was the ninth cycling hit by a Philadelphia player in franchise history and the first in 19 years since David Bell in 2004.
At the same time, it is the first time in 12 years that a catcher has achieved a cycling hit since George Kottaras of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011.
Realmuto started off with a cannon from his first at-bat.
Trailing 0-1 in the second inning, he led off with a solo arch over the right-centre field fence. In the third inning, with two outs and runners on first and second, he blasted a two-run triple off the centre field fence to tie the game at 1-1. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth, he added a single to left before drawing a walk in the seventh.
One hit shy of the cycle, Realmuto led off the ninth inning with a double to right-centre with his team trailing 7-9.
Despite Realmuto’s cycling hit, the Phillies lost 8-9.
After starter Matt Stram was pulled for three runs in 2⅔ innings, Yunior Marte (two runs in 1⅓ innings), Dylan Covey (two runs in 1⅓ innings), and Andrew Vasquez (two runs in 1⅔ innings) gave Arizona the win 메이저놀이터.