Weston Wilson became the ninth Phillies player to hit for the cycle, and with Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos hitting back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Philadelphia defeated the Washington Nationals 13-3 on Thursday night.
Wilson hit a triple and a single in the fourth inning, then homered in the seventh. In the eighth inning, with fans chanting “Double! Double!” Wilson doubled to right field after Alex Call’s diving attempt missed the ball.
“When I was on the on-deck circle, I heard plenty of people saying it,” Wilson said. “Definitely knew. What I was doing was working, so I just kind of stayed with it.”
Wilson achieved the 10th cycle in Phillies history. Chuck Klein had done it twice, and Wilson is the first player to hit for the cycle at Citizens Bank Park since David Bell in 2004.
Before being called up last season, Wilson played 706 games in the minors and hit a home run in his first major league at-bat against the Nationals.
“He’s basically hit us pretty hard. He’s done a great job for them,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.
With just 16 at-bats and 22 plate appearances last season, Wilson is officially the first rookie in Phillies history to hit for the cycle.
Philadelphia jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning with Bohm hitting a three-run homer and Castellanos following with another home run.
Zack Wheeler (12-5) is now just one win behind Atlanta’s Chris Sale for the most wins in the National League, and the Phillies scored at least nine runs for the second game in a row.
The Phillies had 17 hits, hitting well like they did in the first half of the season before a summer slump. Back-to-back wins against the struggling Miami Marlins and Nationals might not mean the Phillies are fully back, but it’s a positive sign.
The Phillies added five more runs in the fourth inning.
