Trea Turner had a pretty memorable 28th birthday Wednesday. The Washington Nationals shortstop tied an MLB record hitting for the cycle for the third time in his career in a 15-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Turner becomes just the fifth player ever to collect three.
He needed just four at-bats to pull off the rare feat. Turner ripped a single in his first at-bat. He later scored off a Josh Bell two-run single.
His second at-bat resulted in a double. He then would score again off a Bell single. Then in his fourth at-bat Turner took matters into his own hands. He jumped on a first-pitch fastball sending it 400 feet to right center for a solo home run.
In his final at-bat of the day, Turner led off the sixth inning with a triple to complete the cycle. Turner hustled around the bases, sliding in safe at third base.
Turner would leave the game finishing 4-for-4 at the plate with one RBI, two stolen bases and four runs scored. He joins Adrian Beltre, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel and John Reilly as MLB players with three cycles.
Turner’s first two cycles both came against the Colorado Rockies. The first was April 25, 2017. The second occurred on July 23, 2019.
He’s emerged into the Nationals’ best hitter. Following his stellar day, he is hitting .318/.367/513 with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs. He also leads MLB with 18 stolen bases.
