Héctor Rodríguez rode a cycle into the history books.
With the completion of the feat hot on the heels of his recent three-homer game, the Reds' No. 5 prospect accomplished something extremely rare while leading Triple-A Louisville's 20-5 rout of Iowa on Wednesday at Louisville Slugger Park.
There have been only five instances of a player having a cycle and a three-homer game, in either order, within a two-week span at the Major League level, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That list includes three Hall of Famers and the 2017 American League MVP:
Ted Williams -- July 14-21, 1946
Joe DiMaggio -- May 20-23, 1948
Jim King -- May 26-June 8, 1964
Adrian Beltré -- Aug. 22-24, 2012
Jose Altuve -- Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 2023
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Rodríguez did likewise by first connecting on his career-high three homers May 27 against St. Paul and then following with Wednesday's cycle. The left-handed-hitting outfielder went 4-for-6 with a career-high seven RBIs and three runs scored as the three-hole hitter.
In the opening frame, Rodríguez singled in a run off the first pitch by southpaw Jordan Wicks (Cubs). Three innings later, he connected on his 12th homer of the season, belting righty Ryan Jensen's hanging slider 420 feet for three runs. The 22-year-old then smoked an RBI double off lefty Ty Blach in the fifth before rounding out his cycle with a two-run triple against lefty Luke Little the next inning.
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Rodríguez signed with the Mets in 2021 out of the Dominican Republic before being traded to the Reds for outfielder Tyler Naquin during his first season stateside the following year. Cincinnati added the blossoming prospect to its 40-man roster that offseason.
Across 63 games this year, his most at Triple-A, Rodríguez has slashed .282/.359/.498 with 27 extra-base hits and 38 RBIs. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound slugger has also notched 30 walks to 53 strikeouts. In his last 10 contests, Rodríguez boasts a 1.027 OPS with two long balls and 10 runs driven in.