Hillcats' Mejia hustles to 40-game streak

Class A Advanced Lynchburg hitting coach Larry Day couldn't describe Francisco Mejia's milestone single as anything other than "pure heart."

"To watch a catcher and to watch those legs motor down that line after catching six or seven innings in a 9-2 game," Day said. "It was great to watch him go for it."

Cleveland's No. 6 prospect legged out an RBI infield single to the mound in the sixth inning Thursday to extend his Minor League-best hitting streak to 40 games as the Hillcats fell to the Winston-Salem Dash, 9-3, at BB&T Ballpark.

The 20-year-old catcher grounded out to first base in the second and struck out in the fourth before beating out the chopper to Dash starter Zach Thompson with two outs in the sixth. He grounded out to second in the ninth to cap his day at the plate.

Mejia's streak -- which began on May 25 -- is the longest in the Minor Leagues since James McOwen had his 45-game run snapped on July 10, 2009 with Class A Advanced High Desert. Day said the streak has become a topic of daily interest among the Hillcats players and coaching staff.

"It's not just about Frankie getting his hit, it creates an awesome dynamic that I see the rest of the team buying into because they're pulling for him," the hitting coach said. "They really want him to extend the streak as long as he can. It's the pitchers, it's the position players. They're pulling for him and he knows it."

Though Mejia's teammates update each other on the streak's status and buzz in the dugout whenever it gets extended, none of them has spoken a word about it to its actual author.

"We never talk about it," Day said. "That's why it's neat. His teammates don't talk about it with him. They talk about it amongst each other, they talk about it with me. It's not long discussions, it's just a matter of when he gets the hit.

"It's not necessarily a superstition thing. It's more about just trying to keep him focused on the things that matter. When you think about it, the streak and the pressure of keeping that streak alive, that's not going to technically help him in that night's game."

The native of the Dominican Republic has other responsibilities commanding his attention, from game planning to cage work to mentally preparing for his duties behind the plate. Additionally, as a catcher he doesn't play every day, which Day said can make it more difficult to establish a rhythm at the plate.

Nevertheless, Mejia has kept hitting. His average this season between Class A Lake County and Lynchburg stands at .345 in 76 games. In the first 24 games of the streak with the Captains, he collected 40 hits. He's added 23 more in the ensuing 16 with the Hillcats.

"He's done a lot of nice things and I've seen him grow over the past few years," Day said. "Because he doesn't talk about the streak with me, it's mature. He's not playing the game every night to continue the streak.

"You're talking about a 20-year-old kid from a different country. He's playing at a higher level, so right now, it's like he's the freshman on a varsity team. For him to be able to execute consistent quality at-bats -- also known as a hit streak -- is great."

Anthony Santander amassed four hits, including a solo homer in the eighth, for the Hillcats

Lynchburg starter Jared Robinson (1-1) allowed eight runs on nine hits while striking out one over 3 2/3 innings.

Thompson (2-1) surrendered two runs on seven hits and a walk while fanning five over seven frames.

Mason Robbins and Telvin Nash both went yard for Winston-Salem.