PHOENIX – JJ Bleday didn’t know if his sixth-inning line drive was going to clear the right-field wall.
When it did, his name was forever etched into the Major League Baseball history books.
Bleday hit for the cycle in the Reds’ 11-5 win over the Diamondbacks, becoming the eighth Reds player to do it, and the first since Elly De La Cruz on June 23, 2023, against the Braves. He doubled in the first inning, tripled in the third and singled in the fifth before capping the feat with a 370-foot blast in the sixth inning.
When his sixth-inning home run cleared the fence, Bleday pumped his fist while making a trip around the bases that cemented his place in MLB history.
It was a welcome development for the 28-year-old, who had recorded just two RBIs in August heading into Saturday’s game. He finished 4-for-6 with three RBIs, two runs scored and one moment he’ll never, ever forget.
“It's crazy how things like that happen,” Bleday said. “Things haven't been going that well for me as of late, so it's just trying to persevere, show up and compete.”
De La Cruz, meanwhile, finished a triple shy of his own cycle, which would have marked the first time in Major League history (since 1900) that two players from either team hit for the cycle in the same game. He finished 4-for-6 with one RBI, helping Cincinnati snap a two-game losing streak.
Bleday recorded four hits in a game for the first time this season, and Saturday was his first multi-hit output since going 3-for-4 against the Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader on Aug. 17.
“We stayed consistent one through nine, and it was a good night,” manager Terry Francona said. “Elly had a bunch of hits, and it was a special day for Bleday.”
De La Cruz’s 427-foot moonshot to right field in the fifth inning brought him to within a triple of the cycle, but he singled again in the seventh before striking out in his last at-bat in the eighth.
The 24-year-old fondly recalled his 2023 cycle, which came against the Braves in his first MLB season, and said he enjoyed watching his teammate become part of the club.
“It's always cool seeing somebody hit for the cycle,” De La Cruz said, adding he didn’t know he was a triple shy until Bleday’s was already in the books. “That was really, really cool.”
Bleday was even able to get the home run ball back from the fan who caught it at Chase Field, though it didn’t come without some bartering.
In the end, the outfielder said he gave the lucky fan a bat, the game’s scorecard and a few photos.
It was a small price to pay for a little piece of history, especially considering he threw up a quick prayer after jumping on pitcher Zack Littell’s first pitch offering – a 90.2 mph four-seam fastball.
“I'm just like, please, please, God, please go, because I top-spun it,” Bleday said. Bleday said. “You never know in this ballpark.”
Pitcher Rhett Lowder allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits over six innings. He earned his first win since Aug. 5 against the Athletics, and has allowed four or more earned runs in a game just twice since July.
On Saturday, though, his teammate’s accomplishment meant more to him than the win he earned.
“That was insane,” Lowder said. “I’m super happy for him. He’s worked super hard, and it's cool to see it in person.
“I mean, that was awesome.”
Bleday joined the Reds through free agency on Dec. 27, 2025, after playing for the Marlins in 2022 and the Athletics from 2023-2025. The five-year veteran played in his 100th game with Cincinnati on Aug. 20 against St. Louis, and though it’s been tough sledding at times in 2026, he said he’s grateful for what the club has given to him.
On Saturday, he gave that love right back.
“This organization, and the team, it has really welcomed me as a player, and my family, as well,” Bleday said. “They've been giving me opportunities, and so far it's been a good fit.”
That fit was evident against the D-backs, and it created a memory that will almost certainly never fade.
The reality has yet to sink in.
“I was visualizing what would happen, how I would celebrate, and it kind of came into fruition,” Bleday said. “It was just really cool. It was an out-of-body experience.”