Jaso’s cycle rare happy moment down the stretch
John Jaso provided a rare happy moment for the Pirates in the season蘑菇视频 waning days on Wednesday night.
The first baseman hit for the cycle, going 4-for-4 with five RBI in the Pirates鈥� 8-4 victory over the National League Central-champion Chicago Cubs at PNC Park.
The Pirates and Cubs have played 2,477 regular-season games against each other since 1887. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jaso became the first player to ever hit for the cycle in a game between the teams.
With the Cubs having already secured the best record in the major leagues, Jaso became the fifth player over the last 35 years to hit for the cycle against the team that finished the season with the highest winning percentage.
The others were Oakland蘑菇视频 Miguel Tejada in 2001 at Seattle, the Pirates鈥� Daryle Ward in 2004 at St. Louis, Oakland蘑菇视频 Mark Ellis in 2007 against the Red Sox, and Tampa Bay蘑菇视频 Melvin Upton Jr. in 2009 against the New York Yankees.
Jaso also became the first player to accomplish the feat at PNC Park, which opened in the 2001.
That leaves seven cycle-less venues in the major leagues: Progressive Field in Cleveland, Marlins Park in Miami, Target Field in Minneapolis, Yankee Stadium II and Citi Field in New York, Petco Park in San Diego and Busch Stadium III in St. Louis.
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Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang made history last Sunday when he connected off the Washington Nationals鈥� Koda Glover to become the first Asian-born infielder to hit 20 home runs in a major league season.
Kang is just one of three Asian-born players to hit 20 or more home runs in a season. He joins fellow Shin-Soo Choo, a fellow South Korean, and Japanese native Hideki Matsui.
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Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli made some ignominious history Monday night when he struck out against Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks in the fourth inning. That marked the 37,447th strikeout in the major leagues this season, establishing a record.