Tommy Gilliagan/USA TODAY sports
Baltimore Orioles shortstop Jonathan Villar became the fifth player in team history to hit for the cycle.
Despite losing 9-6 to the New York Yankees, Villar had a career night, but may have been the last one in the ballpark to know of his accomplishment.
.@JRvillar6 became the fifth Oriole in franchise history to hit for the cycle, and the third to do so at OPACY! #Birdland pic.twitter.com/tc8GZ5Nci6
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 6, 2019
Playing in front of 20,151 fans at Oriole Park, Villar was just a single shy of the cycle when he came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth against Aroldis Chapman. It wasn’t until he had singled and reached first base, that first base coach Arnie Beyeler had let him know the news.
“I never pay attention to that,” Villar told the Baltimore Sun. “Everybody didn’t say anything because when you say something, maybe you miss it. … When the first base coach told me, I was like, ‘Really?’
However, the Orioles as a team also made history, although unwanted. They became the first team in MLB history to give up multiple home runs for 10 consecutive games.
