PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Just in case Weston Wilson needed a reminder on the hit he needed to complete the cycle — Phillies fans chanted “Double! Double!” for his at-bat as a noisy cue — Bryce Harper offered a helpful tip.
“Harper was at the top (step) letting me know,” Wilson said, laughing. “If you hit it, keep running. Don’t stop until second.”
With the Phillies ahead in a rout against the Washington Nationals, Wilson lined a shot to right field that was nearly caught by right fielder Alex Call. He 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.
Wilson hustled to second base, becoming the first rookie to hit for the cycle in Philadelphia history.
Wilson’s teammates went wild in the dugout and slapped the railing — former player John Kruk gave him a standing ovation from his spot in the stands where he called the game — and fans that 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.”
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 in 2023.
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 NL East leaders.
“He can run the bases, he can steal a base. He’s got a lot of qualities,” Thomson said.
One of them, delivering in the big moment, especially against Washington.
Wilson played 706 games in the minors before he was called up last season and homered in his first big-league at-bat — against the Nationals. He was upstaged by Michael Lorenzen’s no-hitter in the pitcher’s first start at home for the Phillies.
Even in a game where Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos went deep, no one stole Wilson’s spotlight. MLB, though, is taking his cleats, his bats, just about all the gear except Wilson’s batting gloves.
“I don’t know what they’re doing with it.” he said. “I’m going to have to figure it out.”
Wilson, selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round of the 2016 draft, did sneak a few extra bases because of Washington’s defense. Wilson hit his first big-league triple when he crushed one off the right field wall and the ball rolled so far past Call that it was retrieved by the second baseman.
“I kind of had a trip up around second base and almost ate it a little bit,” Wilson said. “I didn’t see the ball coming back toward me because of the videoboard. I thought he was right on the ball. I was taking a direct line to second base. As I was further out, I saw him coming out for the ball and that’s when I took off.”
Wilson started the season in Triple-A and hasn’t played much since he was called up in July for a second time this season. He was batting .273 with two homers and six RBIs in 15 games. He’s batting .414 (12 for 29) across his last eight starts since he was recalled July 12 from Lehigh Valley.
“I’m just trying to put good at-bats together whenever I get the chance,” he said.
After a cycle, Wilson should expect a few more chances to help the Phillies as they chase a World Series.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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