The Philadelphia Phillies have fallen off their torrid pace to start the 2024; since the calendar flipped over to July, they have lost more than they’ve won (16-21) even after their convincing 13-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday. But it seems as though the Phillies are getting their groove back, and at just the right time as well. On Thursday, it was left fielder Weston Wilson’s turn to steal the show.
Wilson went 4-5 on Thursday, which is already a good enough game in and of itself, but the 29-year-old, for the cherry on top, hit for the cycle — tripling and singling in the fourth inning as the Phillies batted around, homering in the seventh, and then capping it all off with a double in the eighth. And in so doing, the 29-year-old left fielder became just the first Phillies player in 20 years to hit for a cycle at home, per Phillies Nation on X.
Weston Wilson has broken the curse of David Bell by becoming the first Phillie to hit for the cycle at Citizens Bank Park since June of 2004. pic.twitter.com/7bXPC3mPnJ
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) August 16, 2024
The last Phillies player to hit for the cycle at Citizens Bank Park was David Bell, who did so in a 14-6 win over the Montreal Expos on June 28, 2004. It has been a long wait for Phillies fans to witness one of their beloved players hit for a historic cycle, but now, the drought is over.
Weston Wilson’s feat also made it so that it became the first season in MLB history where two rookies hit for the cycle, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Wyatt Langford was the first rookie this year to do so, accomplishing the feat back on June 30.
Moreover, as pointed out by Ryan Spaeder of The Ace of Spaeder, the Phillies left fielder became just the third player in MLB history to hit for the cycle while lining up defensively in the outfield and the infield in the same game. Wilson joined Michael Cuddyer, who accomplished the feat on August 17, 2014, and Mike Hegan (September 3, 1976) in this exclusive club.
Already 29 years old, Weston Wilson’s path to the big leagues hasn’t exactly been the most conventional. Nonetheless, he has made history for the Phillies, and his name will be etched in the record books forever regardless of what happens in his big-league future.
Weston Wilson steps up out of nowhere for the Phillies
The Phillies addressed their need for a left fielder prior to the trade deadline when they acquired Austin Hays in a rare big-leaguer for big-leaguer swap with the Baltimore Orioles. Hays, however, hasn’t exactly hit well for the Phillies, and now, he’s currently on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain.
In Hays’ place, the Phillies have decided to rely once more on Brandon Marsh; Marsh is in the middle of a down season at the plate, but he has still gotten the job done for Philadelphia more often than not. To begin their series against the Nationals, it was him who got the nod at left field. But on Thursday, Marsh was removed from the everyday lineup, and in came Weston Wilson — a bench piece who was called up on July 12 who hasn’t had many plate appearances for the team in the big leagues.
Wilson is slashing a solid .240/.340/.487 during his time in Triple-A this season, but entering Thursday night, he hasn’t done much in the MLB, hitting .273/.286/.485 in a small sample size. But he somehow emerged as the drought-breaking cycle-hitter for the Phillies, and perhaps the team has unearthed another diamond in the rough in the 29-year-old.
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