Sounds familiar: Fowler one hit shy of cycle
Last year on April 30, Dustin Fowler hit for the cycle. He almost celebrated the anniversary of that milestone with another.Fresh off almost reaching the feat Sunday, Oakland's No. 5 prospect threatened the historic mark once again. In Triple-A Nashville's 17-3 road loss to Colorado Springs on Monday, he finished
Last year on April 30, Dustin Fowler hit for the cycle. He almost celebrated the anniversary of that milestone with another.
Fresh off almost reaching the feat Sunday, Oakland's No. 5 prospect threatened the historic mark once again. In Triple-A Nashville's 17-3 road loss to Colorado Springs on Monday, he finished 4-for-5 at the plate, missing only the homer. Fowler knocked two of the team's three extra-base hits and plated two runs.
The night came at the height of Fowler's success at the plate this season. The Nashville outfielder has knocked at least three hits four times over the past eight days, and he's yet to go more than two consecutive games without a knock. Coming off a debilitating knee injury during his Major League debut last June that cost him the rest of this 2017 season, Fowler said he's finally reaching his form from a year ago.
"I'm getting my timing back and rhythm back, feeling comfortable at the plate, more aggressive at the plate," he said Sunday. "Rather than tracking pitches, I'm staying through the ball like last year and my power is starting to come back."
Gameday box score
With that increased power at the plate, Fowler has knocked his first two homers of the season during the hot stretch. After grounding into a forceout in the first inning, the 23-year-old connected on a two-RBI double to center field in the third inning.
With Nashville trailing in the fifth, 14-3, Fowler kept plugging with a single on another hard-hit ball to center. He followed that up with a triple to right in the seventh, and he stepped up to the plate in the top of the ninth needing that third long ball of the season for history. After acknowledging Sunday that he doesn't focus on hitting homers, Fowler beat out a single to third.
"I'm not changing anything [to hit home runs], I just have my contact point farther out front," he said. "I'm getting my rhythm back and catching the ball out front. But it's about keeping that approach and not starting to pull off the ball."
During the past eight days, Fowler's average has spiked nearly 60 points, and he sports a slash line of .309/.333/.464. Though he missed celebrating the anniversary of his first career cycle -- which came last April 30 with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre -- the left-handed hitter said he's focusing on a return to the Majors for a stint longer than one game.
"I'm just grinding and making sure that when the call comes I am good and ready to stay up [in the Majors] for good," he said.
Andrés Blanco led Colorado Springs' offensive charge Monday, registering a 4-for-5 night with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and two runs. Teammates Nate Orf and Ji-Man Choi added three hits, three RBIs and three runs apiece while Tyrone Taylor knocked in a pair with a triple and a double and scored three times.
Nathan Brown is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @NathanBrownNYC.
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