Seager keeps grinding in Triple-A debut

Friday brought a new road trip, a new uniform and a new level, but by the end of the night, it looked like the same old Corey Seager.

In his Pacific Coast League debut, the Dodgers' top prospect notched two singles and an RBI as Triple-A Oklahoma City held on late to knock off Iowa, 5-4.

Seager was in the middle of another terrific night for Double-A Tulsa on Thursday -- he homered, walked and scored twice -- when he was pulled and given the news that he was headed to Triple-A.
    
"It's always great news to hear that you're going up, so that was fun and exciting," he said. "I got on a couple planes today, made my way to Iowa and got here and got in the lineup. It's been a good 24 hours."

Seager hopped right into the mix for the Dodgers upon his PCL arrival. In the top of the first inning, the 21-year-old shortstop bounced a single into center field to score Darwin Barney to cap a two-run outburst.

After striking out in the third, Seager laced another single to right field in the fifth, putting runners at the corners. He reached base again in the seventh, getting aboard on an error charged to first baseman Mike Baxter.

"It's fun. It's another game," Seager said. "You've got to go out there and compete, you've got to go out there and perform. It was a good day tonight, and hopefully, tomorrow is more successful."

Now the second-youngest player in the PCL, Seager could notice some immediate but subtle differences between Triple-A and his last stop.

"It's only been a few AB's, but the game was cleaner," he said. "Every level you go up, it's going to be a little quicker, it's going to be a little cleaner. Guys don't miss as many spots, but it wasn't that different tonight. Tomorrow could be a completely different battle."

Seager got the news Thursday night from Tulsa manager Razor Shines. The three-time Dodgers Organization All-Star batted .375 with a 1.082 OPS, five homers and 15 RBIs in 20 Texas League games.

"He just said he was proud of me and was glad to see me going," Seager said. "He was hating to see me going, too. It was a nice talk. I've enjoyed playing for Razor the past two years. It was a good talk."

For now, the approach stays the same for the 2012 first-round pick who's played both shortstop and third base this season.

"You never want to fight yourself," he said. "You've just got to stay with your strengths and try to not [drift] away from them, see how you can perform against these guys who have proven themselves.

"There's more eyes on you now because you're at a higher level. You've got to go out there and put your work in, do everything and grind out these AB's."

Dodgers No. 17 prospect Joe Wieland improved to 3-0 after allowing three runs on five hits over five innings. Josh Ravin recorded the final four outs for his second save of the season.