Dickerson caps big night with slam

It may not have been the biggest game of Corey Dickerson's career, but it certainly was among the most timely.

The Rockies prospect smacked a grand slam in the 12th inning to cap a six-RBI night and send Double-A Tulsa to a 7-3 victory over Springfield on Saturday.

A 2010 eighth-round pick, Dickerson got the scoring started with a solo homer in the fourth. An inning later, he delivered an RBI single.

The Drillers had runners at second and third with one out in the 12th when the Cardinals decided to intentionally walk Ben Paulston to get to Dickerson.

"I figured they were going to go soft and try to get me to roll me into a double play and I sat on off-speed. And he threw me a changeup," Dickerson said. "I was trying to get it into the outfield and at least get a run. When I hit it, I knew it was gone by the way the outfielder turned to the wall."

Dickerson has a penchant for productive games. He had a pair of three-homer efforts last season for Class A Asheville, tying a South Atlantic League record with 10 RBIs on June 3, 2011.

"It feels good," the 23-year-old outfielder said. "I had surgery on my nose two days ago, so coming off that like I did that was really good. I feel really good at the plate. Those were great nights; I'll take them any day."

Dickerson is batting .317 with 18 homers and 68 RBIs in 105 games. He started the season with Class A Advanced Modesto, where he hit .338 with nine homers and 43 RBIs and was named a California League midseason All-Star. He's gone deep nine times in 45 games since he was promoted.

"It's been a smooth transition for me," he said. "Just being more patient is all I have to work on. I think it's been a pretty smooth transition so far. I want to get to the big leagues as quick as possible."

Nolan Arenado, the Rockies' top prospect, was 3-for-6 and fell a triple shy of the cycle for Tulsa.

"You wouldn't want anyone else behind you [in the lineup]," Dickerson said. "Nolan's a great hitter, he knows the game really well and I enjoy hitting ahead of him because I know they want to avoid him and pitch to me."

Joe Torres (2-0) fanned two over two innings of hitless relief to earn the win.

Rehabbing Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia fanned six and allowed a run on two hits over 4 1/3 innings for Springfield.