J.T. Realmuto hits first Phillies cycle in nearly 19 years

The Phillies may have dropped the series opener against the Diamondbacks 9-8 in devastating fashion on Monday, but the Phillies’ long cycle drought is finally over.

J.T. Realmuto became the first Phillie since David Bell (June 28, 2004) to hit for the cycle. He went 4-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs in Monday’s game. He opened the scoring for Philadelphia with a home run in the second and finished it off with a double in the top of the ninth inning.

It was Realmuto’s first career cycle. He’s the third player in MLB this season to hit for the cycle, joining Luis Arraez and Cedric Mullins.

He’s the first catcher in MLB to hit for the cycle since George Kottaras hit one for Milwaukee on September 3, 2011.

It’s been a tough first 10 weeks of the season at the plate for Realmuto.

He entered Monday’s game with a .242/.289/.420 slash line. The on-base percentage is especially concerning considering Realmuto has finished each of the last three seasons with an OBP of at least .342.

He came into Monday’s game with one hit in his last 20 plate appearances.

Realmuto is no stranger to slow starts. Through 58 games last year, Realmuto’s slash line was .242/.317/.356. He ended up finishing seventh in MVP voting in 2022.

The Phillies are hoping for a similar turnaround in 2023. Monday could mark the beginning.

For a few seconds, it looked like the Phillies had the lead in the ninth. With Bryson Stott on second, Kody Clemens hit a ball deep to the right field corner. The ball was just foul, but the umpires initially called it a home run and quickly reversed the call. Replay review confirmed the foul call and Clemens ended up striking out to end the game.

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