Shohei Ohtani strikes for the cycle

ST. PETERSBURG – At age 24, Shohei Ohtani has accomplished more than many baseball players over the course of his career. And just when it seemed that everything about the Angels superstar had already been written, Ohtani refreshed the story of Halos' 5-3 win over the Rays on Thursday night.

ST. PETERSBURG – Shohei Ohtani has accomplished more at age 24 than many baseball players do their entire career. And just when it seemed like everything was already written about the Angels superstar, Ohtani refreshed the story of the Halos 5-3 win over the Rays on Thursday night at Tropicana Field.

With his seventh inning single, Ohtani became the first Japanese player to hit the cycle. It was the eighth cycle in the history of the Angels and the first since Mike Trout completed the feat on May 21, 2013 against the Mariners.

Ohtani dominated at the first run, his eighth round-tripper of the year. The three-point shot drew the Halos on the board and set the tone for a wild game to come. Ohtani followed with a double in the third inning.

Then the current fell to the bottom of the fourth. It's not Ohtani, of course, but the storms in St. Petersburg cut the energy of the entire city center – including the Tropicana Field – for 36 minutes. When all the lights were finally on, Ohtani managed to make the most difficult part of his feat with a perfect triple in the right corner.

It was Ohtani's third career treble, and it was even better when Albert Pujols scored a home run – the 200th of his Angels career – behind him to take the Angels' 5-0 lead fifth. The Rays scored three points at the end of the round.

Ohtani's cycle was the second in MLB this season. Jorge Polanco of the Twins recorded first on April 5th.