Bolivar produces Cards' first cycle
Bolivar became the first player in team history to hit for the cycle as the Springfield Cardinals walked off with a 10-9, 10-inning victory over the Tulsa Drillers.
The 22-year-old infielder started his night with a second-inning double, then led off the fifth with his first home run since Aug. 18. After hitting into a double play in the sixth, he singled in a run in the eighth to set up his dramatic final at-bat, unaware of what separated him from history.
"I had no idea until I went on the field for defense," Bolivar said through teammate and translator Alex Castellanos. "Jermaine Curtis told me after the inning was over. I was happy and surprised at the same time because I had no idea."
With the Cardinals trailing, 9-7, Bolivar stepped to the plate with runners at the corners. He lined an 0-1 pitch from reliever Adam Jorgenson to center field for a game-tying triple. While it was the second cycle of the season in the Double-A Texas League, it was the first in Springfield's seven-year history.
"[I wanted] to hit it as hard as I can in the gap," Bolivar said. "I thought it was going to go over the fence, but I wasn't thinking triple until I saw it land."
Signed by the Cardinals as a non-drafted free agent in July 2005, Bolivar was promoted on June 4 after playing 38 games for Palm Beach. The native of Venezuela was batting .248 in the Florida State League and had not homered in his last 186 at-bats.
"I was looking for a ball away, a fastball, and I just drove it over the right-field wall," Bolivar said.
Steven Hill completed the Cardinals' comeback with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. He also hit a solo homer, while Chris Swauger was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
The game began as a duel of Top 50 prospects. Springfield's Shelby Miller struck out nine and allowed three runs over six innings in his second Texas League start; Christian Friedrich fanned seven and yielded two runs over 5 1/3 frames for Tulsa.
Tim Wheeler had a triple, double and two RBIs, while Wilin Rosario, MLB.com's preseason No. 41 prospect, was 3-for-6 and scored twice for the Drillers.
Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com.