After a hot start to their season, the Los Angeles Angels haven’t had a lot to celebrate lately, leading to manager Joe Maddon getting fired amidst a 12-game losing streak. The streak finally ended last Thursday, but what Jared Walsh accomplished on Saturday night provided another reason to celebrate.
Jared Walsh hits for first career cycle, provides a golden quote
Taking on Carlos Carrasco and the New York Mets proved to be no challenge for Walsh, the Angels’ first baseman. Hitting fifth in the lineup, Walsh went 4-for-5, with 3 RBI on the day.
In the bottom of the first, Walsh struck out swinging, but it was all uphill from there.
The bottom of the third inning saw Walsh get a single to right field. Still nothing special here folks.
In the bottom of the fifth, Walsh cracked a double to deep left-center field, which caused the Mets to go to the bullpen, pulling Carrasco from the game as the score reached 5-0 thanks to a Shohei Ohtani two-run home run just two batters before Walsh came to the plate.
Then in the bottom of the seventh, with lefty Chasen Streve on the mound for the Mets, Walsh hit a no-doubter to right center field that traveled 411 feet.
Walsh got a bit of help from Mets center fielder Khalil Lee in the bottom of the eighth inning as he attempted to dive forward for a sliding grab, but the ball escaped beneath him, allowing Walsh to reach third base with a triple to complete the cycle.
Any time a player hits for the cycle is a rarity, with just 337 cycles ever being hit in MLB history, but Walsh says he’s never hit for the cycle, not in little league or in college.
In fact, Walsh says he’s never even done so in a video game, which doesn’t seem possible.
This guy has never run up the score on rookie difficulty? I guess he prefers more of a challenge when playing The Show.
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