NewsMoustakas goes deep twice in loss
Royals prospect drives in four for Rafters
By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com
10/31/09 1:27 AM EST
Mike Moustakas snapped a mini-slump with a pair of long home runs, but it was an infield grounder that wound up being the biggest hit of the night in Peoria.Moustakas homered twice and drove in four runs before Surprise surrendered a run in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 6-5 loss to Peoria on Friday.
The former second overall pick by Kansas City in the 2007 Draft gave the Rafters a 3-0 edge in the first with a three-run drive off Brad Boxberger (Reds). He added a solo shot in the seventh off Connor Graham (Indians), his third homer of the fall seson.
Ruben Tejada (Mets) booted Cincinnati farmhand Zack Cozart's grounder with two outs in the ninth, allowing pinch runner Cedric Hunter (Padres) to score the winning run for the Saguaros. Hunter replaced Yonder Alonso, who hit a triple with one out in the ninth. Alonso, the Reds' 2008 first-round pick, finished with three hits, and has seven hits in his last 16 at-bats.
Moustakas, who hit 16 home runs for the Class A Advanced Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2009, has struggled thus far in Arizona. The Chatsworth, Calif. native went into the night batting .250 with nine RBIs, and none in his last six games, but said that settling down was the key for his rebound.
"Just being a little more relaxed at the plate," Moustakas said. "I was jumping and trying to get too many pitches lately."
One area the left-hander wanted to work on in the Arizona Fall League was his defense. Moustakas committed 24 errors in 129 games for the Blue Rocks, but has yet to commit one in the AFL thus far.
Ian Kennedy (Yankees) saw his bid for a second win wiped away by the Rafters bullpen. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits in four innings of work, striking out four. Michael Dunn was charged with the loss, allowing an unearned run in 1 2/3 innings. Dunn took over in the eighth for fellow Yankees prospect Grant Duff, who he failed to record an out and was charged with three runs on three hits.
Jon Gaston (Astros), who tied for the Minor League lead in homers with 35 in the regular season, drove in two runs on two hits, while Cozart singled to extend his hitting streak to seven. Matt McBride (Indians) scored twice, marking the eighth straight game he has crossed the plate.
Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
