Turner hits third cycle in Nats win
Record-tying feat comes as Washington demolishes Tampa Bay
Trea Turner completed his record-tying third career cycle by hitting a sixth-inning triple for the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, accomplishing the feat on his 28th birthday in a 15-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The speedy shortstop became the fifth player in major league history with three cycles, joining Adrian Beltre, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel and John Reilly, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
He also scored four times in the victory, which sealed a twogame sweep as well as Washington’s fourth straight win and 14th in its last 17 games.
Turner singled in the first off Tampa Bay opener Drew Rasmussen, doubled in the third against Ryan Sherriff (0-1), then hit his 14th homer in the fourth off Michael Wacha.
Two innings later, Turner hit a ball into the right-field corner and beat second baseman Mike Brosseau’s throw to third with a headfirst slide.
Jon Lester (2-3) allowed five runs on seven hits over five innings, striking out three and walking two.
Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 4:
Kwang Hyun Kim won for the first time in 11 starts, pitching five solid innings and helping himself with a two-run double as St. Louis beat Arizona for a three-game sweep. Kim (2-5) had lost five straight decisions since his last win on April 23. He stranded six runners through his first four innings, giving up just an RBI single to Asdrubal Cabrera. Alex Reyes earned his 20th save in as many opportunities. Arizona lost its fourth in a row. Riley Smith (1-4) gave up four runs over three innings in his first start since May 14.
Rockies 6, Pirates 2: Jon Gray tossed six strong innings and Colorado beat Pittsburgh. Garrett Hampson had four hits for the Rockies, who swept the three-game series and improved to 28-16 at home. Colorado is 6-31 on the road. After a rough first inning, Gray (5-6) didn’t give up another hit before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. C.J. Cron led off the Colorado fourth with his 11th home run.
Brewers 15, Cubs 7: Highly touted Milwaukee prospect Aaron Ashby got hammered for seven runs in the first inning of his big league debut, but Luis Urias homered twice as the Brewers rallied to rout Chicago for their eighth straight win. The Brewers swept the three-game series and increased their NL Central lead to six games over Chicago. The Cubs lost their sixth in a row. Willy Adames hit a grand slam during an eight-run burst in the fourth inning that put Milwaukee ahead 14-7. His error at shortstop helped the Cubs break loose at the start against Ashby.
Tigers 9, Indians 4: Harold Castro and Jonathan Schoop each drove in three runs, powering Detroit past Cleveland in the first game of a doubleheader. Castro’s two-out single off Bryan Shaw (2-3) in the fifth inning scored Nomar Mazara and broke a 4-4 tie. Schoop had a two-run single in the seventh as the Tigers banged out 15 hits in the seven-inning game.