Red Sox's Mookie Betts hits for first cycle of MLB season and first of career
Boston's Mookie Betts hit for the first cycle of the 2018 season Thursday night and the 22nd in Red Sox franchise history in an 8-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Betts went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. He led off the game with a single to left off Toronto starter Ryan Borucki and later scored on Eduardo Nuñez's two-run single. Betts then tripled in the second inning and doubled in the fourth off Borucki. He walked in the sixth before finishing the first cycle of his career with a solo home run in the ninth off reliever Ken Giles.
"I've had some opportunities before and to finally succeed is a good feeling," Betts said.
Betts is the 21st different player in Red Sox history to hit for the cycle and first since Brock Holt on June 26, 2015. Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr is the only player in team history to hit for the cycle twice, doing so in 1944 and 1947.
Betts now leads all of baseball with a .347 batting average and 1.103 OPS. He is a leading American League MVP candidate with 27 homers, 59 RBI, 131 hits and 22 stolen bases for the first-place Red Sox.
"You expect greatness with him every night," said Boston manager Alex Cora. "That was cool to see."
Despite Betts' exploits at the plate, Boston fell and snapped a six-game win streak. Still, the Red Sox maintain the best record in baseball at 81-35 and an eight-game lead over the rival New York Yankees in the AL East.
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Contributing: Associated Press.