Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS ó Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle and matched his career high with five RBIs as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3 on Friday night, giving them 31 runs in their last two games.
Cuddyer hit a three-run homer in the first inning, doubled in the third and singled in the fourth before completing the cycle by tripling on a broken-bat liner into the left-field corner in the sixth.
He slid into third base safely to become the 10th player in team history to hit for the cycle and needed only four plate appearances to do it. Cuddyer also joins teammate Jason Kubel in hitting for the cycle this season.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Minnesota duo is only the second to hit to accomplish it in the last decade.
The last teammates to hit for the cycle in the same season were Vladimir Guerrero and Brad Wilkerson, who did it for the Montreal Expos in 2003. Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock were the only other Twins teammates to hit for the cycle in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1976.
Kevin Slowey (6-1) allowed only three runs ó two earned ó on eight hits in 71/3 innings for the Twins. Manny Parra (3-4) had pitched well lately for the Brewers, but lasted just 3 1-3 innings and gave up nine runs on eight hits.
Cuddyer’s 4-for-5 performance ensured that the Twins ó who scored in five of the first six innings ó would be able to build on Thursday’s 20-run performance in a victory over the Chicago White Sox. It also continued Minnesota’s recent domination of the National League.
With the victory over the Brewers, the Twins are 42-13 in interleague play since the beginning of the 2006 season. Entering this weekend 51/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central, the Twins hope interleague play will again propel them toward the top of the division standings.