Beckham collects four hits in Triple-A return

When 2008 first overall pick Tim Beckham injured his right knee working out and needed surgery the week before Christmas, there were fears his entire 2014 season might be spent on the disabled list.

But not only did Beckham return to live game action seven months after the operation, his progress came so quickly the Rays felt comfortable enough to move him up to Triple-A Durham. He didn't disappoint.

The 24-year-old went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI in his first International League start of the year in the visiting Bulls' 8-7 win over the Rochester Red Wings in the first game of Wednesday's twinbill.

Beckham singled home a run to left field with two outs in the first inning and he singled to left to begin the third. He beat out an infield single to third base to lead off the sixth and legged out a base hit to first with one out in the seventh. He flied out in the ninth and lined out in the 11th.

He did not play in the second game of the doubleheader, a 4-2 loss.

Beckham initially hurt his knee working out with his cousin, Toby Jackson, at his former high school in Griffin, Georgia. He told MLB.com at the time that his foot slipped on the gym floor as he was doing a sprints drill and he didn't think it was serious at the time.

He called it a "freak accident" and told the team about the injury a couple weeks later when the soreness failed to go away. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery to repair his torn ACL on Dec. 17.

The infield prospect played nine games in the lower levels of the Minors before joining the Bulls. He hit .476 in six games with the Rays' Arizona League affiliate and batted .167 in three Florida State League games with the Charlotte Stone Crabs over the weekend.

Beckham, who has fallen to No. 18 within the Tampa Bay organization, has played 204 games over the past three years.

Durham third baseman Mike Fontenot went 4-for-5 with two doubles, four RBIs and a run scored, and left fielder Ray Olmedo was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Rochester first baseman Chris Colabello collected a pair of hits and three RBIs and left fielder Chris Rahl homered and doubled.

In Game 2, Rochester's Tyler Duffey (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over six innings in his Triple-A debut. Durham second baseman Nick Franklin hit a two-run homer in the loss.