Clippers' Naquin homers in Triple-A debut

Tyler Naquin's nerves crept in at various points of his Triple-A debut Tuesday night, but fans couldn't tell by the way he swung the bat.

The Indians' fifth-ranked prospect shook off those nerves and went 3-for-6 with a solo homer as Columbus dropped a 7-4 decision to Louisville at Huntington Park.

"I just told myself I'm going to carry over from Double-A exactly what I've been doing in the box and keep the same approach and swing at strikes and try to make an impact right off the bat. And I was able to," Naquin said. "Even though it's Triple-A, it's still a level up and you always want to play well and sometimes you get a little too anxious and get out of your comfort zone a little bit. Now that I got that one game in there, I feel like I can definitely calm down."

Naquin left Double-A Akron in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak, during which he batted .460 with a homer and five RBIs. The 24-year-old outfielder still ranks second in the Eastern League with a .338 average and .408 on-base percentage.  

That production carried over from the outset Tuesday as Naquin singled in his first at-bat and came around to score. Although he was retired in his next two at-bats, the Texas A&M product led off the seventh with a blast over the right field fence.

"Anytime you can hit a home run at any level, it's a great feeling. I got a curveball and pulled it to right field and I hit it well," he said. "I hit that one pretty good and it felt amazing, just like any other home run. Definitely exciting."

Naquin was greeted at the dugout by his new teammates, a group that included Indians top prospects Francisco Lindor (No. 1) and Cody Anderson (No. 17). Anderson was promoted from Akron on Saturday and Naquin said he was doing his best to make the separation short-lived.

"It's a great feeling [to be in Triple-A]. Deep down, I knew that I could play at this level even last year, it's just the timely hand fracture didn't help. To finally be here and be playing at this level, it's a great feeling to actually be here and be able to be in the lineup every day," he said. "It's an honor. You dream about [the Majors] your whole life and to be this close is pretty awesome. It's a fun feeling."

Louisville rallied in the ninth to force extra innings as Irving Falu delivered a two-run single and Josh Satin lifted a sacrifice fly. With the bases loaded in the 11th, Ramon Cabrera singled home Falu, with two more runs coming home on Naquin's second error of the season.

"Just anxious, just wanted to throw somebody out at the plate and save a run when I should've just fielded it calmly and thrown in to second. Just being too anxious and a little too out of control," Naquin said. "That stuff hasn't happened in years and we're all human and it's going to happen at some point. But can't let it happen again."

Louisville reliever Jose De La Torre (3-3) worked around a hit and two walks over 1 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win.