The St. Louis Cardinals fell to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night, but Nolan Arenado's rare feat salvaged the loss just a bit.

The third baseman became the first Cardinal since 2005 to hit for the cycle. It's the second time the veteran star has hit for the cycle in his career.

Arenado got the two most difficult legs of the cycle out of the way early. In his first at-bat, he crushed a ball to left field, nearly missing a home run. He had to settle for an RBI triple.

In the third inning, he crushed another ball down the left-field line, and this time he didn't miss. It cleared the outfield wall for a two-run home run.

In the sixth inning, the 31-year-old ripped another ball down the left-field line, which allowed him to easily jog into second base with a double.

Arenado completed the cycle by beating out an infield single in the eighth inning. He wound up taking second base on an errant throw from Phillies third baseman Matt Vierling.

The Cardinal to hit for the cycle was second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. He homered in the first, singled in the second, doubled in the fourth, and poked a triple down the line in the sixth against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The last time Arenado accomplished the feat was as a member of the Colorado Rockies on Father's Day 2017.

“It hasn't hit me yet because the game didn't turn out the way we wanted,” Arenado told reporters after the game. “Obviously it's a rare thing, a special thing. I just thank God I was able to do it today.”