Tristan Peters' strong rookie season just got a little bit sweeter.
The Chicago White Sox centre-fielder hit for the cycle on Friday, becoming the first Canadian since 2011 to achieve the feat.
Peters, 26, checked off each leg of the cycle in four trips to the plate, starting with a double in the bottom of the third inning.
From there, the Winkler, Man., native collected a single in the fourth and a 410-foot homer in the seventh before racing around the bases for a two-out triple later in the inning as Chicago batted around against the A's.
“When I hit the ball, I was thinking three,” he said of the three-bagger.
Peters became the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle since Jose Abreu on Sept. 9, 2017, and the fifth in major league history to do it from the No. 9 spot in the batting order. The way he did it was even more rare.
According to MLB, Peters became just the third player since 1961 to get two hits in the same inning to complete the cycle. The others were Felix Pie in 2009 and Jim Ray Hart in 1950.
“It’s No. 1, for sure,” Peters said when asked where it ranked among his career achievements. “That was incredible. It’s awesome, amazing.”
The left-handed hitting outfielder has been a revelation this season for the White Sox. Friday's explosion only continued that, boosting his slash line on the year to .303/.357/.484 and giving him 20 doubles, three triples and six homers.
Earlier in the game, the White Sox broadcast had Peters mic'd up while he was patrolling centre field and caught the breakout rookie saying, "I'll tell you what, if I get out once, I'm done being mic'd up, I'll take it off.
"If I keep getting hits, I'll keep it on."
Well, after a 4-for-4 showing and a 14-1 win, Peters might be more likely to sign up for the mic'd up experience the next time it comes around.
“It’s impressive, there haven’t been too many of those,” Chicago manager Will Venable said. “Those are pretty rare, and Tristan has done such a good job of playing the right way — putting swings on good pitches to hit.”
Surprising Chicago remained atop the AL Central, percentage points ahead of Cleveland.
Peters was stranded at second after his two-out double to centre in the third. In the fifth, his run-scoring single to right made it 2-0.
In the seventh, Peters followed Kyle Teel's leadoff walk with a two-run homer. His triple drove in the last run of an eight-run inning in which the White Sox sent 12 men to the plate.
He's the third major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season, joining the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Phillies' Bryce Harper.
Milwaukee Brewers catcher George Kottaras was the last Canadian to hit for the cycle, putting together a monster game on Sept. 3, 2011.
— with files from the Associated Press
