Franmil triple shy of cycle in 5-for-5 night

Franmil Reyes already had the homer, single and double under his belt. And although the 6-foot-5, 265-pound designated hitter isn’t the fleetest of foot, he set his mind on hitting a triple before his fourth at-bat of the Indians 10-1 victory over the Royals on Tuesday. “When [Carlos] Santana got

Franmil Reyes already had the homer, single and double under his belt. And although the 6-foot-5, 265-pound designated hitter isn’t the fleetest of foot, he set his mind on hitting a triple before his fourth at-bat of the Indians 10-1 victory over the Royals on Tuesday.

“When [Carlos] Santana got up to hit,” Reyes said, “I said, ‘Please, God, Santana hit a homer so I can hit with the bases empty.’”

Reyes had just gone down to the weight room at Kauffman Stadium to stretch his legs. But when Santana singled ahead of him, he knew that a triple would be much harder to accomplish. Reyes cleared his head and focused on the approach he had taken in his first three plate appearances and ended up roping a double into right-center field.

As Reyes raced from home to second at 26.1 feet-per-second sprint speed, according to Statcast, he had his eyes set on third base. But Santana, who was just ahead of him at a speed of 24.3 feet per second, had to be stopped at third, causing Reyes to hit the brakes. (For context, league average sprint speed is 27.0 feet per second).

“It’s OK,” Reyes said with a laugh. “What’s important is that we get a win today. Everybody got a hit.”

Reyes was bidding to become the 10th Cleveland hitter in history to accomplish the cycle, and the first since Jake Bauers did so on June 14 of last year.

Though he didn’t accomplish the feat, Reyes did go 5-for-5 with two singles, two doubles and a homer. It’s another sign for the Indians of just how locked in their DH is at the plate. Reyes, who had never had a four-hit game, entered the night slashing .344/.412/.633 with seven homers and 22 RBIs over his past 24 games before unleashing against the Royals.

“He’s not chasing very much,” Indians temporary manager Sandy Alomar Jr. said. “His body is under control. He’s been working in the cage very hard. If you notice him, he runs the bases great. He goes out there full-out. He’s not out there laboring or nothing. He puts a lot of effort into everything. When he gets embarrassed hitting-wise, he goes and works really hard on it.”

The Tribe acquired Reyes ahead of the 2019 Trade Deadline, and though he struggled to settle in as he adjusted to a new club, league and role as DH, the Tribe knew the type of potential he had. And now that the Indians traded for some more of Reyes’ friends from the Padres on Monday, they said this is the Reyes that they’ve seen since they were playing with him in the Minor Leagues.

“Yeah, that dude, it doesn’t matter where he plays, he’s going to be the same monster he is,” Indians left fielder Josh Naylor said. “I love watching that guy play, watching him hustle, watching him take every at-bat, every pitch serious. He never wants to be out of a game, out of an at-bat. He always tries to do damage, and I just love watching his game and I always remind him, ‘You’re great, just be you.'”