Edwards Joins Unlikely List of Players to Hit for the Cycle Against Brewers

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Photo Via Tobias Myers - Instagram

Tobias Myers

It may not have been the most memorable thing about the game, but fans who attended Sunday’s Brewers game at American Family Field will have a better chance than most at a relatively difficult Brewers’ trivia question. 

Marlins’ shortstop Xavier Edwards led off the series finale with a first pitch home run off Tobias Myers, doubled off Jakob Junis to lead off the fifth inning, tripled off Joel Payamps in the seventh inning and beat out an infield single off Devin Williams (pitching for the first time this season) in the ninth. Edwards, who also walked in the third inning, was the third player in the majors this season to hit for the cycle, joining Rangers rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford and Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez.  

Edwards is only the second Marlin ever to hit for the cycle, joining former teammate Luis Arraez. He’s also the second visiting player and fourth player overall ever to hit for the cycle at American Family Field, and the first to do so since the ballpark took on that name in 2021. He’s also just the second player ever to hit for the cycle against the Brewers in a game his team went on to lose. 

With Edwards’ addition, here is the new list of players who have hit for the cycle in a game against the Brewers: 

Gary Ward, September 18, 1980 

For the Brewers’ first 30+ years as an MLB franchise they only allowed an opposing player to hit for the cycle one time, and he was an extremely unlikely candidate: Twins outfielder Gary Ward was playing in just the 14th MLB game of his career when interim manager Johnny Goryl penciled him into the lineup in left field in the first game of a doubleheader. The Brewers scored seven runs in the bottom of the second inning but Ward, who had already doubled in the first inning, helped bring the Twins back with a single in the third, the first home run of his career in the fifth and an RBI triple in the seventh as the Twins rallied to take an 8-7 lead. Ward lined out in his fifth at bat in the eighth, however, and the Brewers ended up winning 9-8 on Gorman Thomas’ walk-off homer in the ninth. Until Sunday, Ward was the only Brewers opponent ever to hit for the cycle in a loss. 

Damion Easley, June 8, 2001 

The Detroit Tigers are one of the Brewers’ longest-standing rivals, and by the end of the 2001 season the Crew had faced them more times (409 games) than any other MLB team. Most of those games happened when both teams were in the American League, however, while the first Tiger to hit for the cycle in the series came in an interleague game. Damion Easley was a more likely candidate to accomplish this feat than most: He was a veteran middle infielder with power and speed, and the seven triples he hit that season were a career high. He completed the feat with a triple off Brewers’ reliever Will Cunnane in the eighth inning and the Tigers went on to win the game 9-4. 

Mark Grudzielanek, April 27, 2005 

A native of Milwaukee, Mark Grudzielanek had a long and successful career as a middle infielder and had been an Expo, Dodger and Cub before joining the Cardinals for the 2005 season and pulling off an unlikely feat in just his 19th game with the organization. He got started early, homering as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first inning, and completed the cycle earlier than most with a triple in the sixth. The homer and triple were the first of each Grudzielanek hit that season. The Cardinals went on to win the game 6-3. 

Michael Cuddyer, May 22, 2009 

Twenty-nine years after one Twins outfielder became the first player ever to cycle against the Brewers, another Twins outfielder became the fourth. The Twins buried the Brewers early in a Friday night game at the Metrodome, taking a 9-0 lead in the fourth inning and never looking back. Michael Cuddyer got the offense started with a three-run home run in the first inning and, like Grudzielanek, he got the feat done early when he legged out a triple in the sixth. The Twins were up 10-1 when Cuddyer tripled and went on to win 11-3. 

Aaron Hill, June 29, 2012 

Until Sunday the last player to cycle against the Brewers was a player who later went on to play for the Brewers: Aaron Hill was in his eighth MLB season and was on his way to his second Silver Slugger Award when he padded his case with a big night in Milwaukee. This game was also largely over early as the Diamondbacks led 8-1 in the fourth inning, and Hill wrapped up the cycle with a sixth inning triple off of veteran and new Brewer Livan Hernandez, who was just starting his final stop in the majors. Hill would later play for the Brewers in 2016. 

Xavier Edwards, July 28, 2024 

Edwards is a former first round pick, although he passed through the Padres and Rays organizations before finding his way to Miami in a 2022 trade. FanGraphs rated him as the #7 prospect in the Marlins organization entering the 2023 season, but Sunday’s game and his first career cycle was just the 55th game of his MLB career to date. The triple and homer he hit on Sunday were the first of each for him in the majors. At 24 years and 354 days old he’s the youngest player ever to cycle against the Brewers and only the third MLB player this decade to cycle before his 25th birthday.