A two-run triple in the ninth gave Escobar the 11th cycle in Mets history, and the team’s first since 2012. The Mets have won three in a row.
It took Eduardo Escobar a long time to heat up this season. But in becoming the first Mets player to hit for the cycle since 2012, which he did in his team’s 11-5 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, it seemed as if he might never stop hitting. Any time a player hits for the cycle, Manager Buck Showalter said, “it’s fun to watch. But especially him. You know how much he means to his teammates. It’s almost like they hit it.”
Escobar belted a two-run single in the first inning against Padres starter Blake Snell. He whacked a double to lead off the fourth inning against Snell. He slugged a two-run home run against reliever Craig Stammen in the eighth and then seized the cycle dramatically with a two-run triple off reliever Tim Hill in the ninth. According to Stats Perform, Escobar was the first player in major league history to get a cycle with a homer in the eighth and a triple in the ninth. It was the Mets’ first cycle since Scott Hairston did it in 2012, and Escobar knew when he stepped into the box exactly where he was and what he needed. He said when the ball dropped onto the right field grass, he was sprinting for third base regardless.
