Nolan Arenado can thank scorers for second career cycle

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado secured the second career no-hitter of his career after an eighth-inning single that was awfully close to being an error.

Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle once in his career, which happened back on June 18, 2017 when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies. Now, he has added one more cycle to his career resume after Friday night, this time as the third baseman of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the top of the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies, Arenado already hit a home run, a double, and a triple, only needing a single to clinch the cycle. He hit a ground ball to Philadelphia third baseman Matt Vierling, who bobbled it before throwing it over first base, allowing Arenado to reach second.

So was it a single? Or an error? Well, the scorers officially called it a single by Arenado, who advanced to second on a throwing error by Vierling. That helped Arenado secure the cycle, becoming the first Cardinals player to hit for the cycle since Mark Grudzielanek did so back on Apr. 27, 2005.

Nolan Arenado secures second cycle of his career

Arenado started off his night in Philadelphia by hitting a triple to deep left field, which allowed Paul Goldschmidt to score, giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead. In the top of the third inning, Arenado increased St. Louis’ lead to 3-0 on a home run to left field off of Philadelphia pitcher Bailey Falter.

In the top of the sixth inning, Arenado hit a double to left field to be just one single away from hitting for the cycle.

Arenado accounted for all three of St. Louis’ runs, but it did not result in a win, as Philadelphia picked up the 5-3 victory.

It looked like a close call, but the scorers determined that it Arenado did hit a single and that the error resulted in him reaching second base.