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Cardinals' Nolan Arenado hits for cycle in loss to Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Cardinals' Nolan Arenado hits for cycle in loss to Phillies

St. Louis Cardinals slugging third baseman Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night.

Arenado kicked off his cycle in the top half of the first inning. With two outs and Paul Goldschmidt on first base, Arenado smashed one off the top of the left-centerfield fence for an RBI triple. 

In Arenado's next at-bat, he drove Goldschmidt home again in the third inning. This time, off a home run down the third baseline, landing just to the right of the foul pole. 

Arenado led off the sixth inning, driving a 3-2 pitch down the third-base side for a double, putting him a single away from his second career cycle. 

In the eighth, Arenado completed the cycle with a single off Phillies reliever Andrew Bellatti. Arenado hit a sharp ground ball to third baseman Matt Vierling, who bobbled the ball before overthrowing Rhys Hoskins at first base. The official scorer ruled the play a single, with a throwing error on Vierling, allowing Arenado to reach second base. 

Ultimately, Arenado's performance wasn't enough to help lead the Cardinals to a win Friday night, as they fell to the Phils 5-3. 

Arenado, who posted his second career cycle, became the first Cardinals player to accomplish the feat since Mark Grudzielanek in 2005

The six-time All-Star is batting .288/.349./.523 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 75 games for the Cardinals this season. 

Mike Santa Barbara

Mike Santa Barbara is a Wilmington, Delaware native (Yes, it's a real place) with over a decade of sports writing experience. A diehard Philadelphia sports fan, he has two dogs named after Flyers and cried real tears when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. You can follow him on Twitter at @mike__sb

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