Sullivan rises to natural cycle for Biscuits

Brett Sullivan not only hit for the first Biscuits cycle in 13 years, he did so naturally.
The Tampa Bay outfield prospect singled, doubled, tripled and homered in that order -- scoring three runs and driving in two -- in Double-A Montgomery's 5-1 win over Tennessee on Wednesday at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium. The eighth cycle of the Minor League season was the first one to be completed naturally.

Sullivan's phone pinged with text messages from about 30 friends, family members and former teammates in the hour after the game.
"They were just like, 'Dude, congrats, that's unreal. Happy for you,'" he said. "You know, just very nice, encouraging words. It was just awesome to hear from them."
Sullivan lined a single to right field in the second inning on a 2-2 pitch from Cubs No. 17 prospectThomas Hatch.
"I just kinda got lucky," the 2015 17th-round pick said. "I used all of my 33½-inch bat and hit a little single off the end of it that fell in there. And you know when you get those going early, you have a little confidence."
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In the third, Sullivan roped an RBI double to right on the right-hander's first pitch. Righty Scott Effross replaced Hatch to start the sixth and promptly gave up a line-drive triple to left on a 1-0 pitch to the 25-year-old. 
After that half-inning, Sullivan told teammates he was going to try to homer in his next at-bat to complete the cycle.
"If it's meant to be, it's gonna still happen," he said. "I'm giving it my best shot."
Rays No. 10 prospect Lucius Fox then told the former catcher if he hit one out, he'd buy him a steak dinner.

Sullivan came to the plate with one out in the eighth. Righty Craig Brooks worked the Pacific product into an 0-2 hole before the count was leveled.
"I was just looking for something middle-in the whole time," Sullivan said. "Brooks is an unbelievable pitcher. His numbers speak for it this year, last year. He's a very tough pitcher. I was looking for something up and out over the plate the whole at-bat. I fouled off a couple of tough pitches that he threw."
On the seventh pitch, the Stockton, California, native belted a fly ball over the fence in right to complete the first Biscuits cycle since Elliott Johnson accomplished the milestone on Sept. 15, 2006 to clinch Montgomery's first Southern League championship. It also marked the Biscuits' first regular-season cycle.
"When I hit it, I thought it had a chance, but you never know," Sullivan said. "It was late in the night, it was a little rainy. I was just praying that it just kept going. Luckily enough, it kept going and snuck over the fence by a foot or two."
Sullivan rounded the bases with a huge smile on his face, clapping his hands a few times and pumping his fist.

"It was just like a little-kid-playing-the-game emotions," he said. "It doesn't happen that often and this year was full of ups and downs for me. To do this is just a big confidence boost. It was a very cool, happy moment."
Fox was the first person Sullivan looked for when he reached the Montgomery dugout.
"I just made eye contact with him and we were just laughing," Sullivan said, who said he might collect on that steak dinner during the Biscuits' next road trip in Jacksonville.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect came into the game batting .238/.293/.369 with 10 extra-base hits, including three dingers, 16 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 34 Southern League games. Sullivan has hit safely in his last seven games with 12 hits in his last 22 at-bats.