Candelario drives in six in FSL shootout

It was a good night for a lot of men at the plate Monday in Lakeland. Particularly for Jeimer Candelario. 

The Cubs' No. 9 prospect belted his first professional grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs, but Class A Advanced Daytona came up just short in an 11-10 slugfest loss at Lakeland.

Candelario posted multiple hits for the second straight night, on the heels of a four-game hitless drought that had dropped his average to .174 on the season. The 20-year-old third baseman sparked his club's rally from a four-run deficit in the third inning when he deposited a bases-loaded offering from Yorfrank Lopez over the right-field wall.

"I was looking for a good pitch," Candelario said. "He threw me some good pitches the first two, and then after he threw me a curveball on 2-1, I put a good swing on it. When you put a good swing on the ball, something happens."

Four innings later, with his team again trailing, Candelario found another pitch he could handle and hammered it to right field for a two-run double, pulling the Cubs to within a run.

"I was being aggressive with men in scoring position because I want to help my team win," Candelario said.

Daytona batted 13 times with runners in scoring position on the night and notched five hits. Lakeland was just a bit better with four hits in 10 such chances. Despite the loss, Candelario testified to his team's cohesiveness at the plate.

"We are a team. We communicate," he said. "We're good teammates. When somebody makes a good pitch, we all say, 'Hey, this guy throws this pitch.' We help each other out. We try to communicate and do the best we can."

Cubs starter Rob Zastryzny (1-2) took the loss, allowing eight runs on eight hits with four walks with four strikeouts in four innings. Flying Tigers righty Tanner Bailey (1-0) picked up the win, steadying the day for his team with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Lakeland leadoff man Chad Wright saw his 14-game hitting streak -- tied for the longest in the Florida State League this season -- come to an end on an 0-for-3 night, although he did walk twice. Dixon Machado and Jeff McVaney combined to go 6-for-10 with a double, two triples, four runs scored and three RBIs behind him in the Flying Tigers order.

Candelario, who has lifted his average to .213 with four hits over his last two games, is hopeful his team can build on an impressive offensive showing.

"We competed well today," he said. "You're not going to win every time, but we're always working hard. If tonight's not our game, all right. We've got another game. We've got tomorrow."