Just in case Philadelphia‘s Weston Wilson needed a reminder on the hit he needed to complete the cycle — fans chanted “Double! Double!” as a noisy cue for his at-bat — teammate Bryce Harper offered a helpful tip on Thursday night.
“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 against the Washington Nationals, Wilson lined a shot to right field that was nearly caught by 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.
Wilson hustled to second in the 13-3 win, 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 that stuck around 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.
