DENVER _ Forty-six seasons and 112 games elapsed before a Padres player hit for the cycle.
San Diego had to wait only 208 more games for a repeat.
In the top of the eighth at Coors Field on Monday, Wil Myers sent a line drive into the gap at left-center, rounded first base, dashed past second and wound up at third to complete the second cycle in franchise history. The final score _ Padres 5, Rockies 3 _ went down as a footnote.
The parallels were stunning.
On Aug. 14, 2015, also here in Denver, then-Padres outfielder Matt Kemp tripled in the ninth for the first cycle of his career, making Padres history in the process.
Monday's cycle was the first of Myers' career, achieved in the Padres' first game against former manager Bud Black, who, like so many before him, never saw the feat during his San Diego tenure. He was fired two months before Kemp slid into third at Coors Field.
The Padres have since gone all-in on a youth movement, much of it below the major league level. Myers, who signed a club-record, $83 million extension in January, is the franchise's face for now and the foreseeable future.
Monday did nothing to dispel the notion.
The Padres first baseman singled in the first, ripped an RBI double in the third, launched an opposite-field home run in the sixth and came up in the eighth, needing the most difficult hit to complete the cycle.
Rockies reliever Carlos Estevez threw a strike. Myers fouled off another. Down 0-2, he saw an 87 mph slider. He swung. He connected.
Of the eight all-time cycles at Coors Field, the Padres have two, less than two seasons apart.
In grand fashion, Myers added to his success here. Entering the day, he was a career .323 hitter with five home runs in 16 games at Coors Field.
His 17th will be remembered for years to come.
His teammates helped ensure history was made in a victory. Manuel Margot walked in the third, scoring the game's first run on Myers' double.
Three at-bats after Myers' home run, Hunter Renfroe also cleared the right-field wall, with a two-run blast.
Right-hander Jarred Cosart, making a spot start in place of Trevor Cahill, threw four scoreless innings. From there, the Padres relied on a cadre of bullpen arms.
Colorado's D.J. LeMahieu hit a solo home run in the sixth, ending the shutout bid. Mark Reynolds launched a two-run shot in the ninth, pulling the Rockies to within two runs.
It would not be enough. The Padres had Myers to thank. He finished 4-for-4, his last hit the most memorable.
