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B-Mets' Satin hits for the cycle

Former sixth-round pick completes feat with triple in seventh
June 25, 2011
Josh Satin happened to be within earshot of Binghamton Mets manager Wally Backman when he was warning his outfielders before the game about the strange caroms the ball takes off the outfield wall at Prince George's Stadium.

Having homered, doubled and singled in his first three at-bats Friday night, that seemingly insignificant scouting report was the first thing to come into Satin's mind as he raced around first base in the seventh inning.

The ball got away from left fielder L.J. Hoes and Satin legged out his fifth career triple to complete his bid for the cycle in the Mets' 5-3 victory over the Bowie Baysox.

"It is the first cycle of my entire life. It's something that I will remember forever," Satin said. "I don't hit that many triples, maybe one a season, so this is a cool day."

Selected in the sixth round of the 2008 Draft, Satin began his memorable night with a two-out solo homer in the first inning.

"I was down 1-2 in the count and Jordany [Valdespin] had just been thrown out at second," he said. "Their pitcher threw me a breaking ball that I fouled off and then a couple fastballs that I fouled off, so I felt like I had seen his stuff. I got a 1-2 or 2-2 breaking ball and I was able to hit it out."

The 26-year-old third baseman beat out an infield single in the third and doubled to center field in the fifth, setting up his shot at history.

"The single was actually a one-hopper in the hole and their shortstop made a diving play," Satin recalled. "He was pretty deep and he tried to get [Matt] Den Dekker at second, but he beat the throw. In the fifth, I got a 3-1 fastball away and I was able to stay on it."

Satin, hitting third in the lineup, knew immediately he was a triple shy of the cycle. And just in case, his teammates made a point of letting him know.

"I would say that I've been a triple shy a decent amount of times, but I never thought I would get it tonight," Satin said. "It's a running joke with the guys in the dugout that I'm not the fleetest of foot. They say that every time I hit a double I have a chance for three, but that I can only get to second because speed is not a part of my game.

"They said tonight after my first three hits that if I hit a double in the gap I should go for it, and I told them I would."

The California native had his chance to do just that when he came to bat against Pedro Viola with a runner on first and none out in the seventh. He pulled Viola's offering down the line and knew he had a chance at a triple when he saw the ball take that odd hop off the wall.

"I remembered the manager telling the outfielders that if the ball hits the corner of the outfield fence it might shoot back out or kick off because it is angled weird," Satin said. "He was telling them to be ready for it.

"Once the ball came off the wall, I knew it was my chance. I just thought, 'Oh, my God,' and I kicked it into another gear that I didn't know I had. There wasn't really a play at third, but I was a little bit tired, so I slid in. I didn't want to get thrown out."

From his teammates' reaction, Satin wasn't the only one excited by the feat.

"I looked over into the dugout and everyone was jumping up and down," he said. "Hopefully, this isn't a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but it gave me a feeling that is hard to describe. It felt great."

Jose Vidro was the last Baysox opponent to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat for Harrisburg on July 20, 1996.

The MVP of the 2010 Florida State League All-Star Game, Satin has had an odd season. He was batting .354 after 13 games, although he did not have an extra-base hit in his first 30 at-bats. He logged a .540 slugging percentage in 29 games in May, going through a stretch in which 15 of his 16 hits went for extra bases.

"For me, extra-base hits come in bunches," Satin said. "I was hitting around .300 at the start of the season with all singles and then I had maybe 10 or 15 extra-base hits in two weeks. The funny thing is right before that I don't think I had had a single in two weeks because everything I hit had gone for a double or home run.

"Before tonight, I wasn't hitting [for extra bases] again because I wasn't getting into hitter's counts. It was nice to hit for the cycle, but I know it won't happen every day, so I just have to try and stay within myself again tomorrow."

Satin provided more than enough support for Mets starter Tobi Stoner (3-2), who allowed five hits and a walk while striking out four over seven shutout innings before turning over a 5-0 lead to the bullpen. Rhiner Cruz recorded his second save, despite allowing a run on three walks in the ninth.

Zach Clark (5-6) took the loss for Bowie, yielding three runs on nine hits and a walk while fanning seven over six frames.

Ashley Marshall is a contributor to MLB.com.