Frye Stops For Cycle
 

Did Frye make the right call?

Frye picks cycle over double
.c The Associated Press

First base and history was much more appealing to Jeff Frye than just another double.

Frye had already doubled, tripled and homered Friday night in Toronto's 11-3 victory over Texas when he ripped another shot into the outfield gap in the seventh inning

He could've coasted into second base with his eighth double of the season, but elected to stop at first with the just second cycle in Blue Jays' history.

``I was hoping somebody would cut it off,'' Frye said of his drive to the right-center field gap. ``It's something I'll never forget.''

Frye tripled in the second inning and doubled in the fifth off Darren Oliver, and homered in the sixth against Pat Mahomes. That set up the key fourth at-bat against Kevin Foster, in which Frye joined Kelly Gruber as the only Blue Jays players with cycles.

Gruber, in Toronto for alumni week, was on his way to SkyDome when he received a call that Frye was a single short of the cycle. Gruber made it for Frye's fourth at-bat, and came onto to the field to hug Frye when he did it.

``For it to happen when I'm here, that's what blows my mind,'' Gruber said.

Advice from coaches Cito Gaston and Garth Iorg made the achievement possible.

``I was looking at Garth and saying `What do I do? What do I do?' And he goes 'stop, stop!,''' Frye said. ``Before I went up, I asked Cito Gaston what do I do if I hit a ball like that, and he said stay at first. Tell them I told you to.

``So, if he says it's all right, it's all right.''

Even the opposing Rangers couldn't find fault with Frye.

``The game was pretty much at hand for them, and everybody wanted it, so I don't see a problem with it,'' Texas first baseman Rafael Palmeiro said. ``He hit the ball into the gap, but I'm happy for him. I've known him for a long time, we've played together.

``It's a little bit controversial, but he did it, and nobody can take it away from him.''

Mahomes probably won't want to take much away from this game either. In the sixth, the Texas reliever allowed two sets of back-to-back homers. First Frye and Jose Cruz Jr. did it, then Shannon Stewart and Carlos Delgado.

The four homers in an inning were a club record and marked the 10th time in AL history that four have been hit off one pitcher in an inning.

``It was embarrassing,'' Mahomes said. ``It definitely was embarrassing''

Alex Rodriguez homered twice for the Rangers, who have lost five straight.

If the game was not hanging in the balance, I guess I have no issue with it.

If it had been a HR, he would have had no choice. I also think it would have looked worse if the ball had been one of those "could be a triple or inside the parker" and then he stopped at 1B.