Moore goes 5-for-5 in Clippers' win

Adam Moore has been a tough out for many stretches throughout his career, but lately, he's been downright unstoppable.

The Indians farmhand went 5-for-5 on Tuesday in Triple-A Columbus' 9-6 win over visiting Indianapolis and has reached safely in his last 12 plate appearances.

"This doesn't happen often and you have to keep riding it if you can," Moore told the Columbus Dispatch after doubling twice, scoring twice and driving in a run. "But I've always been able to hit. It was a struggle at the beginning, but we all go through slumps. I was able to fight through it and clear my mind and concentrate on defense. Running a pitching staff is my job."

Clippers manager Chris Tremie couldn't remember ever having seen a player match that streak.

"That's pretty pretty impressive," he said.

The 32-year-old catcher, who has a .290 batting average in 771 Minor League games, also collected five hits for Class A Wisconsin on Aug. 18, 2006, the season he was taken by the Mariners in the sixth round of the Draft. But he had just one multi-hit performance in April, a month he finished with a .156 average.

"I have never done that before in the Minor Leagues," the Texas native told the newspaper of his season-opening slump. "But you can't think about it. You have to keep at it."

Moore is hitting .706 in June to get his average up to .268. However, no mechanical adjustments or changes to his approach at the plate can account for his recent tear.

"I just think he's been working all year," Tremie said. "He started the season slow and he's been swinging the bat really well the last two weeks or so and, obviously, he's been really hot the last 12 [plate appearances]."

A couple of those hits came against Tyler Glasnow, MLB.com's No. 8 overall prospect, on Monday as Moore went 3-for-3 with a walk in the Clippers' 7-1 loss. Building off that performance, the right-handed hitter sprayed the ball all over the field against three Indianapolis righties on Tuesday.

Moore ripped an RBI single up the middle in the first inning, singled to the opposite field in the third and singled through the left side in the fifth -- all against Indianapolis starter and Pirates No. 24 prospect Trevor Williams. He doubled to left off Rob Scahill in the sixth and doubled to right against John Kuchno in the eighth.

"He came out and had a good game," Tremie said. "He's swinging the bat very well as of late and he had a very good year for us last year as well. He's a pretty proven hitter at this level and things are coming together for him right now."

Moore said he hasn't felt any pressure to keep the streak going.

"He's just going one at-bat at a time and trying to help the team win," Tremie explained. "He's going up there trying to have good at-bats, and he knows if he does that, good things will happen for us."

Columbus' Jesus Aguilar hit his 11th homer, one off the IL lead.

In his Triple-A debut, Clippers starter Michael Peoples (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three over six innings to earn the win. He was 5-2 with a 3.02 ERA for Double-A Akron.

Pirates No. 3 prospect Josh Bell socked a three-run homer for Indianapolis, while 10th-ranked prospect Alen Hanson was 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored.