Bryant slams 3 HRs in record-setting performance

Kris Bryant etched his name into the Chicago Cubs' history books Monday, establishing a new franchise record with 16 total bases on a magical night at Great American Ball Park in which he went 5-for-5 with three homers and a pair of doubles while driving in six runs.

Bryant, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is now the first player ever to hit three home runs and two doubles in a game, and set a new single-game franchise record with five extra-base hits, too, en route to an 11-8 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

"The best game of my whole life, obviously," Bryant told reporters, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. "To hear that, there's so many good players in this game, it's just, I feel so fortunate, so thankful for this opportunity to play on a stage like this every day, and I give it my all and I make the most of every opportunity I get. To hear that, it keeps you coming back."

In the top of the eighth, after Bryant went yard off Ross Ohlendorf for his third homer of the contest, the Cubs fans in attendance tried to coax him out of the dugout for a curtain call, but, being on the road, the 24-year-old passed.

"Guys were pushing me out, but I've never been the type to show up an opponent or anybody. I don't think that's ever happened in baseball and I definitely didn't want to be the first," Bryant said. "I'm just not that type of player. I'm glad my teammates are having fun with it. I'm glad there are a lot of Cubs fans here, but I'm not that guy."

Asked for explanation for his extraordinary performance, Bryant - hitting .175 over his previous dozen games - said he was just due for a big night.

"I haven't really felt 100 percent in terms of my at-bats," Bryant said. "Just kind of grinding them out. But, I don't know what happened tonight. It was just, I figured the last couple weeks haven't been what I wanted, so I figured, you know what, I'm due. Throughout my whole life, I've always been that way, whereas when I'm struggling, I just tell myself I'm ready for a big game, and I guess tonight was the night."

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)