Taveras collects four hits for Redbirds

The one time top Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras stepped to the plate and went back to the bench without a hit Tuesday night, it wasn't for lack of solid contact.

"The wind knocked that down. It was a home run in most other parks -- either a double or a home run," said Mark Budaska, Triple-A Memphis' hitting coach. "He hit it really hard, and the wind didn't agree with him. That was Mother Nature. She just wasn't on his side."

Interference from Mother Nature or not, Taveras delivered four or more hits for the 16th game of his career. Baseball's No. 2 prospect overall was 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored in the Redbirds' 6-3 win over the Sky Sox at Colorado Springs.

"He's just a pretty good hitter for his age," Budaska said. "He shows really nice plate discipline. He's patient and waits for his pitches to hit."

Taveras came to the St. Louis system out of Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic in 2009, and he set a career high with a 5-for-5 performance for Double-A Springfield on June 4, 2012. Over 41 games in the Pacific Coast League this season, he's hitting .304 with a .354 on-base percentage, but the 22-year-old outfielder entered Tuesday's game in a 2-for-16 skid.

"He got himself out a couple times. That's just part of the learning curve for Triple-A ball," said Budaska, who played in nine Minor League seasons and cracked the Majors in 1978 and 1981.

"Hitting is an elevator ride. You're up and down all the time," he said. "A couple of those games started at 6:35, and with those shadows, nobody can see the spin of the ball. Everyone struggles sometimes."

The left-handed hitter broke the cold spell by going the opposite way with a hard-hit ground-ball single in the first inning. He knocked another grounder up the middle in the third.

"He's had a good approach the whole season," Budaska said. "He stayed short tonight, kept the width of his [stride] short. We've been trying to keep him on top and through the ball instead of around and under it as much as we can. That's what hitters work on constantly -- keeping their swings short."

The batting coach also recently noticed that Taveras kept his legs "a little wide all the time," and he's been working with Taveras on staying comfortable while starting with his feet closer together.

"That's going to help him stay shorter and make even better swings going ahead," Budaska said.

Taveras followed the flyout in the fifth with a two-run gap double in the seventh and another single to center in the ninth.

"He has a really nice swing, and he always has. He's really sound," said Budaska. "We're just working on keeping the game plan in order that they have for him, and the mental side -- going up there with the right approach according to how they're trying to get him out.

"He's going to be a good big league hitter at some point," he added. "I don't know when, but he is."

Sixth-ranked Rockies prospect Kyle Parker had two hits for Colorado Springs, including his third triple of the season. He also knocked in a run and scored once.