Anderson cycles way into Barons' history

All Tim Anderson had to do to cure his cold on Saturday night was make history.

The second-ranked White Sox prospect became the first Southern League player to hit for the cycle this season as Double-A Birmingham held on for an 8-7 victory at Montgomery.

Anderson, who scored three runs, led off the game with a triple before grounding out in the second inning. After singling in the fourth, the 21-year-old shortstop doubled to open the sixth, setting up his big three-run homer in the seventh.

"Actually, I was thinking about the home run in the dugout," Anderson said. "In the dugout, I was thinking, 'Should I try and go for it?' I was trying to hit the home run there and it happened.

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"[Reliever Zach Cooper] threw me a fastball up and then threw me a slider up. I was looking for a pitch I could handle, he threw me a fastball in and I fouled it off. Then he threw me one middle in and that's the one I hit out. I knew it was a no-doubter."

The three-run blast made Anderson the first member of the Barons to cycle since Victor Mercedes accomplished the feat on Aug. 19, 2008. Based on how he was feeling before the game, the Alabama native had no idea what lay ahead.

"I was feeling sick going into the game. I was stuffed up," MLB.com's No. 75 overall prospect said. "I feel great now."
Anderson is the fourth Minor Leaguer to hit for the cycle this season and the first since Adam Duvall did for Triple-A Sacramento on April 19.

"It feels great to be mentioned with those guys," Anderson said.

The 2013 first-round pick had struggled to hit the ball for extra bases, racking up three doubles and two triples without going yard in 27 games before Saturday.

"I think it can get me going," he said "I was struggling, I think this can get me going and give me a jump-start."

Overall, Anderson is batting .295 with 13 runs scored and ranks second in the league with 11 stolen bases.

Christian Marrero reached base three times and scored twice for the Barons, while Adrian Nieto drove in a pair of runs.

J.B. Wendelken (2-1) got the win in relief, despite allowing two runs on four hits over 2 1/3 innings. Raul Fernandez gave up two runs on three hits on the ninth but notched his third save.