Tristan Peters was thinking triple once his hard-hit grounder down the line in the seventh inning Friday got past Athletics first baseman Joey Meneses.
“I hit that and I saw it go down the line and I’m going three no matter what,” Peters said.
Peters made it to third safely, becoming the seventh player in Chicago White Sox history to hit for the cycle. He completed the feat with the triple in a 14-1 win against the Athletics in front of a sellout crowd of 37,539 at Rate Field.
“I’m honored,” Peters, 26, said. “The coolest thing I’ve ever done. Blessed to do it in front of these fans. This city. It’s just incredible.”
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Peters hit a double in the third inning and he drove in a run with a single in the fifth. He hit a two-run home run in the seventh and drove in another with the triple later in the Sox’s eight-run inning.
“That’s impressive, haven’t seen too many of those,” Sox manager Will Venable said of the cycle. “Those are pretty rare and Tristan has just continued to do such a good job of playing the game the right way, putting good swings on good pitches to hit and he’s being rewarded for it.”
Peters’ performance helped the Sox (48-45) remain tied for first place in the American League Central with the Cleveland Guardians (49-46), who defeated the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Friday.
Sean Burke pitched well while helping the Sox snap a three-game losing streak, allowing one run on four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. But offense led the way Friday, with Peters collecting four RBIs to go with the four hits.
It’s the first cycle by a Sox player since José Abreu on Sept. 17, 2017, against the San Francisco Giants.
“More of the same from Tristan, where we’ve seen it really consistently with him hitting the ball hard and playing extremely hard as well,” Venable said.
Peters hit for the cycle while batting in the No. 9 slot in the order.
“I’m going to put my best foot forward (anywhere in the lineup) and do what I’ve got to do,” Peters said.
Friday, that meant history.
“He’s been down at the bottom of the order but he hits like a middle of the order guy for us,” Venable said. “He leads our team in doubles (20) and has just been really consistent there as far as just being a presence in our lineup.
“We’re not seeing as much of the bunting anymore from him. They’re obviously respecting that but he’s just slugging and continuing to do damage.”