Adrian Beltre needs just five innings for the third cycle of his career

By D.J. ShortAug 3, 2015, 11:01 PM EDT
16 Comments

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre hit for the cycle tonight against the Astros. And he needed just five innings to do it.

Beltre had a two-run triple in the first inning before reaching on a double in the second and a single in the third. That put him just a home run away. The veteran slugger remedied that in his very next at-bat, taking Mike Fiers deep for a solo shot. Check it out below:

[mlbvideo id=”328503583″ width=”560″ height=”315″ /]

This was the third cycle of Beltre’s career, which puts him in some crazy company.

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Beltre is the first player to complete a cycle by the fifth inning since B.J. Upton in 2009.

Clayton Kershaw to make Opening Day start for Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw Opening Day
Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
By Bill BaerJul 7, 2020, 7:00 PM EDT
1 Comment

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed it in March and he confirmed it again on Tuesday: Clayton Kershaw will start on Opening Day, Jorge Castillo of The Los Angeles Times reports.

The Dodgers are one of four teams that will open the 60-game regular season schedule on July 23; everyone else begins play on the 24th. With a 10 PM ET start, the Dodgers will host the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Johnny Cueto will likely pitch opposite Kershaw for the Giants. Cueto was named the Giants’ Opening Day starter on March 11, before the league shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Manager Gabe Kapler hasn’t yet officially named an Opening Day starter for the makeshift season.

Kershaw, 32, made the Opening Day start eight consecutive times for the Dodgers from 2011-18. Hyun-Jin Ryu, now a Blue Jay, pitched on Opening Day last season for the Dodgers. Last year, Kershaw logged 178 1/3 innings over 28 starts and one relief appearance, his highest innings total since 2015. He went 16-5 with a 3.03 ERA, 189 strikeouts, and 41 walks.