Weston Wilson hits for the cycle as the Phillies smash Nationals in series opener

When Weston Wilson stepped up to the plate in the eighth inning on Thursday night, all he needed to etch his name in the Phillies history books was a double.

“If you hit it, keep going,” Bryce Harper told him from the top step of the dugout. “Don’t stop till second.”

Wilson, starting in place of Brandon Marsh with left-hander Mitchell Parker on the mound for the Washington Nationals, stood a double shy of the cycle. He had his first major-league triple in the fourth, singled in the same inning, and then clubbed a solo homer in the seventh.

“Once that happened, I kind of knew there was a chance if I came back up,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know, because we had the lead, if I would get [another] at-bat. Some things had to work out for me to get back up. [I] just tried to continue putting solid contact on the ball, hitting balls hard.”

Wilson worked a 2-2 count — and was nearly hit by Nationals reliever Orlando Ribalta — before lining a fastball into right field. A diving Alex Call almost robbed him of history, but the ball bounced away from Call’s glove, and Wilson sailed into second base: Cycle completed. It capped off a 13-3 Phillies win over the Nationals, in which every starter got at least one hit.

“I was worried he was going to pull homer,” said Trea Turner, who has hit three cycles in his career. “First couple pitches, he’s seeing the ball really well. To do that’s really hard to do, it’s really, really cool. ... Just means your swing’s in a great spot.”

Just over a year ago, Wilson made his major league debut — also against the Nationals — and hit his first home run in his first at-bat. But back then, the feat was overshadowed, since it happened to be in the same game Michael Lorenzen pitched a no-hitter.

But no one overshadowed Wilson on Thursday, as he became the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since catcher J.T. Realmuto did so on June 12, 2023, and the first at Citizens Bank Park since David Bell on June 28, 2004.

“A lot of great company,” said Wilson, who began the 2024 season in triple A before being recalled in July. “People, players that that have played here. So just to to have done that, it’s honestly kind of a blur to me right now, I’m just trying to process everything. So I’m just very grateful.”

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The Phillies set the tone with five hits in the first inning, including back-to-back homers from Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos, to jump out to a 4-0 lead. And it wasn’t just the long ball that was working for them — Realmuto drew a walk and Bryson Stott bunted for a base hit, as the Phillies continued to execute the fundamentals.

For the first time in six games, the Phillies did not allow a run in the first inning. Though CJ Abrams worked a 10-pitch at-bat to start the game, Zack Wheeler won the battle by inducing a flyout, and then retired the next two batters swinging.

Wheeler recorded his 18th quality start to extend his National League lead in the category, allowing three hits and one earned run over six innings. He did not issue a walk and struck out six.

“Our offense is doing their thing, and it makes it easier on us as a staff,” Wheeler said. “We try to go out there and do same thing every time, and that’s just put up zeros. But it’s definitely a little weight off our back.”

The Phillies poured it on in the fourth, chasing Parker from the game before he got an out in the inning and adding five more runs on seven hits. Turner, who was out of the lineup on Wednesday, finished 3-for-5 and made solid contact with a double and a pair of singles.

“I thought our at-bats were really good, especially early in the game,” manager Rob Thomson said.

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Wheeler had been sitting for an extended period of time while the Phillies’ lineup batted around, and he allowed a Keibert Ruiz solo home run to end his shutout bid in the fifth. The Nationals tacked on another run in the sixth.

Orion Kerkering took over in the seventh inning and gave up another solo home run to Ruiz. It was the second homer Kerkering has allowed in his major league career, with the first coming on Aug. 8 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tanner Banks and rookie Max Lazar pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively.