MLB Star Completes Feat Only Seen 3 Times in the Last Century During 'Incredible' Comeback Win
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich sat on a chair in front of his locker, trying to take in all that had just happened.
“I’m so tired,” he said.
No wonder. For more than four hours, Yelich led an improbable comeback with an historic effort.
Yelich became the eighth Brewers player to hit for the cycle on Wednesday night and tied the club record with six hits. Jesus Aguilar took it from there, hitting a homer in the 10th inning for a 13-12 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Then, it was time for everyone to catch their breath.
“I’ve never seen a game like that,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Yelich’s 6-for-6 performance. “It was incredible. He’s coming up and you’re thinking he can’t do it again, and he does it again. He did everything tonight, he really did. He’s driving the bus home tonight.”
ICYMI: Last night, @ChristianYelich went 6-6, played some stellar defense, oh and he hit for the cycle, too. 👀 pic.twitter.com/3IhSZVqHZh
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 30, 2018
Milwaukee desperately needed all of it.
Aguilar connected off Raisel Iglesias (2-3) for Milwaukee’s fourth homer of the game, halting the Brewers’ month-long slide. Milwaukee has dropped 11 of 20 and slipped into third place in the NL Central, five games behind the Cubs.
“Look, the next month there’s going to be crazy nights and there’s going to be more nights like this,” Counsell said. “It might be a different kind of crazy. We’re ready to take the ride.”
Yelich became the first Brewers player to hit for the cycle since George Kottaras on Sept. 3, 2011, at Houston. He also matched the club record with six of the Brewers’ 22 hits, including a two-run homer.
He is now one of only four players since 1908 to have six hits and hit for the cycle in the same game. He joins Bobby Veach, Rondell White and Ian Kinsler.
“It’s one of those things you never really expect to do,” Yelich said of hitting for the cycle. “Obviously you’ve got to have some luck involved in it, that’s always a factor when you do something like that.”
And as if going 6 for 6 wasn’t enough, Yelich was also involved in one of the key defensive plays of the game, throwing out Eugenio Suarez at home plate for the final out of the seventh inning, keeping the game tied at 10-10.
According to MLB.com, Yelich was the first outfielder to hit for the cycle and throw out a runner at the plate since Johnny Callison did it for the Phillies on June 27, 1963
Mike Moustakas’ solo shot put Milwaukee ahead 11-10 in the eighth, but Joakim Soria’s wild pitch allowed Billy Hamilton to score the tying run in the bottom of the inning. Jeremy Jeffress (7-1) gave up Brandon Dixon’s homer in the 10th.
The Brewers extended their Great American Ball Park record to 21 straight games with at least one homer. Cincinnati connected five times, including a disputed three-run shot by reliever Michael Lorenzen that made it 10-6 in the sixth inning. The teams combined for nine home runs in the game and five lead changes.
“It was a slugfest, for sure — back and forth, long rain delay,” said Cincinnati’s Tucker Barnhart, who had a solo shot. “That one had a little bit of everything.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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