Cincinnati Reds left fielder JJ Bleday made a bit of history on Saturday, hitting for the cycle for the first time in his career. Bleday accomplished the milestone in an 11-5 road win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bleday started the feat early in the game, hitting a double down the right field line in the first inning that stayed just fair and got Cincinnati on the board. Next was the most elusive part of the cycle, the triple, which Bleday notched in the third inning by powering the ball toward the wall in right center field, and sliding into third with relative ease.
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A single in the top of the fourth kept things going, before Bleday led off the sixth inning with a solo homer into the bullpen to complete the cycle. Though Bleday’s teammates were thrilled, the accomplishment was met with quite a bit of silence in the Diamondbacks’ stadium.
Bleday had two more at-bats, resulting in a fly out and a strike out, but his performance was enough to help lift his team to a pretty dominant win. Saturday also marked the first time this year Bleday has gotten four hits in a game.
Bleday becomes the eighth player in Reds history to achieve the feat, with the most recent being teammate Elly De La Cruz back in 2023. At the time, De La Cruz broke a cycle drought dating back to 1989.
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De La Cruz also had a good night on Saturday, getting four hits and falling a triple short of the cycle himself.
Bleday is now the fourth MLB player to hit for the cycle this season. Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong became the first to do so on June 15, and Philadelphia Phillies‘ Bryce Harper achieved the feat on June 20, though it was slightly overshadowed by a three-homer night from teammate Kyle Schwarber. Chicago White Sox rookie Tristan Peters joined in on July 10, an accomplishment that later led to him getting an All-Star spot.
