Just in case Weston Wilson needed a reminder on the hit he needed to complete the cycle in the bottom of the eighth on Thursday — Phillies fans chanted “double, double” for his at-bat as a noisy cue — Bryce Harper offered a helpful tip.
“Harper was at the top stop letting me know,” Wilson said, laughing. “If you hit it, keep running. Don’t stop until second.”
With the Phillies ahead in a rout, Wilson lined a shot to right field that was nearly caught by Washington right fielder Alex Call. Call fell short on a diving attempt, the ball smacked off his glove and rolled toward center, giving Wilson the opening he needed to take up Harper on his advice.
Photo: AFP
Wilson hustled to second base, becoming the first rookie to hit for the cycle in Philadelphia Phillies history.
Wilson’s teammates went wild in the dugout and slapped the railing — former Phillie John Kruk gave him a standing ovation from his spot in the stands where he called the game — and fans who stuck around in a 13-3 win were rewarded as witnesses to a slice of history.
“I thought it was more in the gap,” Wilson said. “I saw him closing in and I was like: ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ I saw it trickle out and, fortunately, he didn’t catch it.”
Photo: AFP
With his pregnant wife cheering him on from the stands — they are expecting a boy on Sept. 1 — Wilson tripled and singled in the fourth; homered in the seventh and became the ninth Phillies player to hit for the cycle.
Wilson had the 10th cycle in Phillies history — Chuck Klein did it twice — and became the first home player to accomplish the feat at Citizens Bank Park since David Bell in 2004. He was the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since catcher J.T. Realmuto last year.
Batting eighth in the lineup, Wilson joined a full-cycle club in the big leagues already this season: Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford, Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and Miami Marlins infielder Xavier Edwards all accomplished the feat.
The 29-year-old Wilson started in left field against Nationals lefty Mitchell Parker, a sign that manager Rob Thomson is comfortable giving the outfielder more at-bats against lefties than outfielder Brandon Marsh.
With more games like this one, Wilson should earn plenty of playing time for the National League East leaders.
“He can run the bases, he can steal a base. He’s got a lot of qualities,” Thomson said.
Elsewhere on Thursday, it was:
‧ Brewers 6, Dodgers 4
‧ Giants 6, Braves 0
‧ Mets 6, Athletics 7
‧ Orioles 5, Red Sox 1
‧ Rangers 2, Twins 3
‧ Tigers 2, Mariners 1
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS