It only took four at-bats on Monday for Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre to make MLB history.
The slugger hit for the cycle last night against the Houston Astros and capped off the feat with a home run in the fifth inning. It was the third cycle of his MLB career, which ties him with Babe Herman, Bob Meusel and John Reilly for the major league record, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He's the first player since Herman in 1933 to hit his third cycle.
"All three of Beltre's cycles have come at the Rangers' ballpark, two for the home team and one as a visitor when he was playing for Seattle on Sept. 1, 2008," The Associated Press reported. "His other cycle for Texas was Aug. 24, 2012, against Minnesota -- and he's the first player to have more than one in the Rangers' 55-season franchise history."
Beltre got the toughest hit out of the way in his first at-bat and smacked a two-run triple off Astros' starter Lance McCullers in the bottom of the first inning. McCullers was taken out in the first after surrendering six earned runs on seven hits and one walk, so Beltre got to work on the rest of Houston's pitching staff.
He slugged a double off of Josh Fields in the second inning and then a single off the right-hander in the third. He then stepped into the batter's box again in the bottom of the fifth inning against the newly acquired Mike Fiers, who the Astros' traded for last week in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Beltre cranked the first pitch he saw off Fiers and sent the right-hander's fastball into the left field seats at Globe Life Park to complete the cycle. Check it out below:
The Rangers defeated the Astros 12-9 behind Beltre's historic night. The 36-year-old finished 4-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs to pull the Rangers within seven games of the first-place Astros in the AL West.
However, if Texas wants a shot at the postseason, they're going to need a lot more of that from Beltre. The Rangers are two games out of the AL wild-card race, but they have fierce competition with the Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays.
Beltre is batting .270/.312/.417 with 48 runs scored, 9 home runs and 30 RBIs in 86 games this season and has improved his hitting since missing almost a month with a thumb injury in June.
