Christian Yelich Becomes 1st Brewer to Hit for Cycle Since 2011

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich is enjoying facing Cincinnati Reds pitching.

A day after drilling two home runs in Tuesday's 9-7 loss, Yelich needed a mere seven innings Wednesday to hit for the cycle. The Brewers announced he is the eighth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat and the first to do so since 2011, when George Kottaras hit for the cycle against the Houston Astros.

Yelich singled in his first two at-bats and then went on a tear in the middle portion of Wednesday's contest by homering in the fifth, doubling in the sixth and tripling to tie the contest at 10 in the top of the seventh.

It was more of the same for the first-time All-Star, who has helped carry the Brewers offense and has the team in position to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 campaign. He entered Wednesday's contest with a slash line of .310/.373/.545, and the long ball was his career-high 26th of the season.

"You try to improve every year, and you learn a lot about the game and yourself," he said of his impressive effort in his first year with the Brewers, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. "I think you're still learning, no matter how long you play this game. It's kind of a trial-by-fire-type deal."

Milwaukee is 5.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and 1.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for second place, but it is also in possession of the final wild-card spot in the league.

If Yelich continues hitting like he has throughout the season, he will have the opportunity to impress in front of a national audience in October.