Angels DH Shohei Ohtani hit for the cycle on Thursday night against the Rays, becoming the first Japanese-born player to accomplish the feat. Ohtani is the second player to hit for the cycle this season, joining the Twins’ Jorge Polanco, who did so on April 5 against the Phillies. Mike Trout was the last Angel to hit for the cycle, occurring on May 21, 2013 against the Mariners.
Ohtani gave the Angels an early 3-0 lead, drilling a three-run home run to left-center field in the first inning off of Ryan Yarbrough. Ohtani then led off the third with a double, tripled in the fifth, and singled in the seventh.
HR ✅
— MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2019
2B ✅
3B ✅
1B ⬇️ #ShoTime pic.twitter.com/mMsIlRU7FQ
Ohtani made his season debut on May 7 after recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery. He was off to a slow start but has heated up as of late. Since June 4, Ohtani has 14 hits in 35 trips to the plate with five homers, a pair of doubles, a triple, and 12 RBI.