Eric Stamets returned to the Arkansas Travelers this week with a new spot in the batting order and a better approach at the plate.
The Travs' shortstop hit an RBI double and scored in a three-run first inning, then added a second-inning single in the Travs' 5-4 victory over the San Antonio Missions' on Wednesday at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Today’s game
ARKANSAS VS. SAN ANTONIO
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travs: Kyle McGowin (RHP, 4-2, 5.66 ERA); Missions: Casey Kelly (RHP, 1-3, 4.00)
TICKETS Gates open 1 hour before first pitch. $13 box, $9 reserved ($6 children), $7 general admission ($5 children).
PROMOTIONS Get a free general admission ticket if you wear a cowboy hat to the game.
TRAVS WEEK AHEAD
TODAY San Antonio, 7:10 p.m.
FRIDAY Corpus Christi, 7:10 p.m.
SATURDAY Corpus Christi, 7:10 p.m.
SUNDAY Corpus Christi, 2:10 p.m.
MONDAY off
TUESDAY at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
WEDNESDAY at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.
It was Stamets' second multi-hit game in three games since returning Monday from almost six weeks on the disabled list, a stint required when he dislocated his left shoulder and tore his labrum when he stumbled rounding second base April 17.
Stamets, 23, had three hits in his first game back Sunday while hitting in the No. 2 spot -- he hit eighth or ninth all last year and to start this year -- and is 5 for 13 in his first three games back while raising his average from .227 when he went on the disabled list to .286 after Wednesday's victory.
"I think I just have a little bit more plate discipline," Stamets said. "Knowing what pitches to hit and what to look for in certain situations."
Offensive consistency is the one piece missing from Stamets' resume. Considered one of the best defenders in the Los Angeles Angels' system, Stamets was ranked by MLB.com as the Angels' 22nd best prospect before the season.
That ranking didn't come from his .265 average over three minor-league seasons before this year. It was mostly gained from above-average speed and his defensive abilities, backed up by a .976 fielding percentage last year, the highest for a Texas League shortstop.
Those abilities were on display Wednesday. In the fourth inning, the Travs led 5-4 with runners on second and third. Tyson Gillies hit a ball up the middle and Stamets charged the ball, fielded it in front of second base and threw out Gillies to end the inning.
In the eighth, Hunter Renfroe hit a sharp ground ball to left field, but Stamets cut it off in shallow left field and just missed getting Renfroe with a jump throw to first base.
"That's a big-league defender and now his bat is coming right behind it," Travelers Manager Bill Richardson said.
It's part of why Stamets was so disappointed by his injury. He missed about five weeks last season with a finger injury when he squared to bunt in a game at Tulsa and a pitch caught his index finger. This year in the Travs' home opener, he tried to hold up while rounding second base, stumbled and landed awkwardly on his shoulder.
That led to six weeks at the Angels' spring training facility in Tempe, Ariz. Stamets couldn't swing a bat for the first three weeks, then slowly worked his way back, taking swings off a tee before finally returning Monday.
"Baseball is a game where you're always working on stuff," Stamets said. "It never stops. When you're feeling good, you're still working on things. You can't perfect this game. You just try to get as close as you can."
Stamets' first-inning at-bat helped the Travs erase an early deficit.
Starter Nate Smith gave up a lead-off single to Gillies, a walk to Rey Bruguera, an RBI double to Trea Turner and a two-run single to Diego Goris as the Missions took a 3-0 lead.
After RBI doubles from Stamets and Brian Hernandez, and an RBI single from Kentrail Davis tied the game at 3-3, Cal Towey drew a bases-loaded walk and Hernandez drove in a run with a groundout to give the Travs a 5-3 lead. Smith then held San Antonio to one unearned run over the next four innings and struck out six while earning his first home victory since April 20 and the Travs' fifth in a row.
"I thought he pitched well," Richardson said. "If we need a win, there's nobody else on the mound I'd rather have."
HOOKS 9, NATURALS 3
Conrad Gregor and Brandon Meredith hit home runs and combined to drive in five as Corpus Christi banged out 10 hits in a victory over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in front of 2,392 at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.
Meredith’s lone hit in three at-bats was a three-run home run in the first inning that gave the Hooks a 5-0 lead. Gregor was 1 for 4, with his two-run home run coming in the fourth inning when the Hooks extended their lead to 9-2.
Sports on 05/28/2015