Christian Yelich’s historic night can be broken down by the number of people who have met his accomplishment. There aren’t a lot of players that can say they have hit for the cycle, its happened 321 times. Even fewer can say they have had six hits in a game, that feat’s been accomplished 166 times. The number gets cut down even more when they say they went six for six, having happened 114 times. Only six players in history had gone six for six with a cycle. After the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 13-12 on August 29th, Christian Yelich increased that number to seven.
Christian Yelich’s Historic Night
A Start to something great
Although the game went 10 innings, Christian Yelich got his sixth hit in during the ninth inning. Stepping into the box, Yelich was already five for five with the cycle. He added to his already incredible night by beating out an infield single. This pushed him up to six for six, becoming only the second player since 1920 to accomplish such a night with a cycle as well. Ian Kinsler accomplished it back in 2009, although his was done in a nine-inning game.
It would be a while before Yelich’s night started getting interesting, starting off with a single in the first inning. He would score later on an RBI ground-out by Mike Moustakas. Then in the third, he would obtain his first infield single of the night, beating out a grounder to second. This time around he would be stranded, after a popup by Jonathan Schoop. Then things started getting intriguing.
In the fifth inning, Yelich hit a two-run home run to right field, scoring Lorenzo Cain. At this point in the night, he was three for three, with two singles and a home run. He was having a great night so far, but plenty of people have done this before. Then in the sixth inning, Yelich hit a double to left field. Now he was four for four, and only in need of a triple to get his first career cycle. A high scoring game already, the Brewers were down six to seven after the top of the sixth inning. Yelich was definitely going to see one more at-bat, and possibly two.
Where it becomes historic
Yelich wouldn’t have to wait long for his fifth at-bat, as the Brewers had a big top of the seventh inning. He would be the seventh man up in the inning and joined the cycle club by hitting a triple into right field. Most people would be done after going five for five with a cycle in a game. Christian Yelich decided he wanted more. Coming up in the ninth inning, Yelich got his second infield single of the night, beating out a grounder to third. The Brewers would go on to win in 13-12 in the 10th inning. Although the game took 10 innings, Yelich should be credited with accomplishing his feat in only nine of them.
The Brewers may not make the playoffs. Christian Yelich may never hit for the cycle again. He may not ever get six hits in a game again. There may be other nights or accomplishments that stand out more than this night. One thing is for certain, everyone should remember Christian Yelich’s historic night.
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