NewsSizemore stays hot in Javelinas' win
Tigers prospect has nine RBIs in 15 AFL at-bats
By Danny Wild / MLB.com
10/19/09 6:53 PM EST
Scott Sizemore may not have homered for the third straight day Monday afternoon, yet he still managed his most productive effort of the fledgling AFL season.Sizemore, who had three long balls in the previous two games, went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs as the Peoria Javelinas beat the Mesa Solar Sox, 8-1, on Monday.
The Tigers prospect, a Futures Game All-Star this summer, hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning, lined an RBI double in the third, a two-run double in the fourth and added an infield hit in the ninth in his fourth Arizona Fall League game.
"Both doubles were pulled, kind of sinkers down and in, I just dropped the head of the bat on both," said Sizemore, Detroit's fifth-round pick in the 2006 Draft. "There just happened to be a couple guys on base, so I got a couple RBIs out of the deal too."
Sizemore, batting .375 so far in the fall season, homered twice and plated three runs Oct. 15 before adding another round-tripper and two RBIs the next day. He's driven in nine runs in 15 at-bats for Peoria.
"It's been awesome," Sizemore said of playing in Arizona. "Luckily I've kinda been getting the taste of it all. I take it the same way I went this season, take every at-bat like it's my last."
The 23-year-old second baseman batted a combined .308 in 130 games between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo in 2009.
"It's been real nice, we started off slow the first couple games, but we've been hitting the ball well lately," Sizemore said of the Peoria lineup, which features Mariners first-round pick Dustin Ackley batting ahead of him. "We've been putting runs up on the board, so it's a lot of fun."
The Virginia Commonwealth product said he hasn't set any goals for himself after putting up solid numbers at two levels during the regular season.
"Just to more or less control what I can control. You just want to hit the ball hard every time," he said. "The numbers will take care of themselves."
A Florida State League All-Star in 2008 with Lakeland, Sizemore said he's keeping his AFL production in perspective.
"It's always good, every RBI you get is great," he said. "It was a good day at the plate, you need to take advantage of every opportunity you can get."
Jordan Danks hit a pinch-hit homer in the eighth and fellow White Sox prospect Dayan Viciedo knocked in two runs for Peoria. Ackley, batting .333, went 0-for-5.
Scot Drucker (Tigers) held the Solar Sox to three hits over three innings, striking out one in the start for his first AFL win.
Red Sox right-hander Randor Bierd started for Mesa and allowed two runs -- one earned -- on two hits and a pair of walks over three frames for the loss. He struck out four and fell to 1-1 this fall.
Ryan Kalish (Red Sox) went 2-for-4 and drove in Mesa's lone run.
Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
