After historic achievement, Barnes reflects on cycle

HOUSTON -- Somewhere between the horde of media waiting for him in the locker room and seeing "about 60" text messages on his phone last night, it hit Brandon Barnes.

He really had just become the newest member of the Cycle Club, one of baseball's most difficult achievements.

"I got home and saw all the messages and spoke to my family and my wife and got a chance to take it all in," Barnes said. "It's only the 303rd time it's been done, I think. That's like a no-hitter. And I'm a part of that history now. It's pretty special."

Barnes said his whole night at the plate felt like an "out-of-body" experience and he's almost never felt more relaxed while up to bat than he did during his 5-for-5 performance in Houston's 10-7 loss to Seattle.

Barnes acknowledged that he began thinking about possibly getting a cycle after his sixth-inning single.

"After I reached base, [Seattle's] Justin Smoak, the first baseman, he told me all I needed was a double," Barnes said. "I threw it out of my mind and just focused on scoring a run and playing defense.

"When I stepped in there in the eighth, I heard the crowd cheering and that really reminded me. So I just got in the box, took a deep breath and everything after felt kind of surreal."

But Barnes was quick to say that the moment is behind him and there's nothing better than building on the momentum from an auspicious night at the dish.

"Even with that game of his, I talked to him after and he kept saying, 'I wish we would have won.' That's the kind of player you want to keep around." said Houston manager Bo Porter.

"He's definitely opened up a lot of eyes offensively and figuring out some things and that he's making the necessary adjustments to counter what the league is throwing at him. There was no doubting it last night."