NewsBrewers' Draft pick hits three homers
19th-rounder Krieger grabs Pioneer League RBI leadBy Daren Smith / MLB.com
06/28/09 11:34 PM ET
Scott Krieger capped his first week as a professional with a flourish.Milwaukee's 19th-round pick in the 2009 Draft hit three of Helena's six homers and drove in six runs Sunday to power the Brewers to a 15-10 victory over the Missoula Osprey.
"It's definitely a transition period, coming from college, getting settled in," the George Mason University product said. "The biggest adjustment is the wood bats, basically getting your timing down. You're not able to be as quick with the wood bat, so you just have to try to be a little quicker."
Krieger was quick enough on a night when a slight breeze was blowing out at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field.
"It was nothing crazy, but it was blowing out a little bit. That definitely helped," he said. "It was just one of those days, really. Our guys were just seeing the ball pretty well and put good swings on the ball."
Krieger's first good swing came with a man aboard in the third inning and got Helena within 6-4.
"It was a fastball. I hit it pretty well and was fortunate to put it down the line," he recalled. "It's a little shallow down the line here."
The 22-year-old right fielder came up again in the fifth and followed a leadoff walk by Peter Fatse with his third homer of the season.
"The second at-bat, I got ahead 3-0, swung through a 3-1 pitch and got a 3-2 slider and hit that to center field. It caught a good piece of the plate," Krieger said.
Chris Ellington went back-to-back with his second blast of the season to extend the Brewers' lead to 9-7 and Krieger capped a three-run sixth with another two-run shot.
"The third one, it was a 2-0 count, I think, and I was looking for something middle-in, something I could drive," he said. "I was able to drive it to left field."
Krieger has had other three-homer outbursts, including one at the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
"I've been fortunate to do it a few other times, but this is definitely up there, if not at the top," he said.
And while Krieger may be getting acclimated to life as a professional, he's hit safely in all five games he's played, is batting .333 and leads the Pioneer League with four homers and 11 RBIs.
"Being four years out of college, I've been through some ups and downs," he said. "You just try to keep a level head. Today, I was able to get some hitters' counts.
"It's about not really changing too much, not allowing one bad game to get in your head."
Daren Smith is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
