WASHINGTON -- One way to celebrate your birthday is by hitting for the cycle.

That¡¯s how Nationals shortstop Trea Turner commemorated turning 28 years old on Wednesday in a 15-6 win over the Rays at Nationals Park, Washington's fourth straight victory.

¡°Usually my mom makes the requests of what she wants [on my birthday] -- homers and stolen bases and what not,¡± Turner said.

How about, all of the above?

With a single in the first inning, a double in the third, a home run in the fourth and a lightning-quick triple in the sixth, Turner became the fourth player in the Modern Era to hit for three career cycles.

The other three AL/NL players to hit for the cycle three times since 1900 are Adri¨¢n Beltr¨¦, Babe Herman and Bob Meusel. Turner joined the elite group in only his seventh Major League season.

¡°I said, ¡®Hey, if the ball goes in the gap, you do not stop at second. Just keep on trucking,¡¯¡± Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have worked out any better.¡±

Turner began thinking about the cycle after hitting the home run. But it¡¯s not as simple as one good swing. He believes the feat is a culmination of hitting the ball to all areas of the field, seeing a variety of pitches well -- and a little bit of luck.

¡°I think if you just have good at-bats and are locked in for a day, you can get lucky and you can get the four that you need,¡± Turner said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s much more than that. ¡­ But I guess I¡¯m blessed to have done it three times, and hopefully more of those to come.¡±

Turner capped off the achievement with a jaw-dropping sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second on his triple, surpassing the elite mark of 30.0 feet/second. Turner said he was thinking three bases from the moment he left the batter¡¯s box. He read the way the ball bounced in the right-field corner and felt confident as he rounded second.

On the slide into third, Turner jammed his left middle finger. He said he felt ¡°pretty sore¡± after the game and is considered day to day.

¡°We¡¯ll see how he feels tomorrow,¡± Martinez said.

Turner also added on two stolen bases, both in the first inning, bringing his season total to a National League-leading 18.

¡°I love watching him run,¡± Martinez said. ¡°For me, a triple is so exciting in the game. To watch Trea turn on the burners like he does, it¡¯s really amazing.¡±

Turner has a head-turning pace of one cycle every two seasons. His first two cycles occurred on April 25, 2017, and July 23, 2019 (both against the Rockies).

¡°Obviously you¡¯ve got to hit the ball well, which takes skill and whatnot, but just hitting the right hits at the right time is a little bit of luck,¡± Turner said. ¡°So I got lucky today.¡±

After struggling to hit for power this month, Turner has homered in three of his last four games. His dinger on Wednesday traveled 400 feet, per Statcast.

He also had a birthday breakout in a big way. Prior to this year, Turner was 2-for-8 with three strikeouts and no extra-base hits in two birthday games.

¡°I don¡¯t usually have expectations for myself on my birthday,¡± Turner said. ¡°I¡¯m usually the guy that thinks that I¡¯ll probably strike out a bunch and play bad. So anything more than that, I¡¯ll take.¡±