Quakes' Landry triples his pleasure

There was a moment on Saturday evening when Leon Landry believed his three bases would become four. He was rounding first when the ball he had just pulled down the right-field line appeared headed for some chairs in foul territory.

"Thought I might have another chance for an inside-the-parker," said the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes' leadoff man. "Smart decision by my third-base coach to stop me."

Right now, no one else is slowing Landry down.

One night after tripling twice and homering without leaving the yard, the Dodgers' No. 20 prospect collected three more hits -- including his Minor League-leading 15th three-bagger -- and scored three runs in the Quakes' 6-4 loss to the Lake Elsinore Storm.

The left-handed-hitting Landry singled and stole his 19th base in the first inning, singled toward center field in the fifth and came to bat in the seventh against right-handed reliever Greg Gonzalez.

"It was the first pitch thrown in there," said Landry, who also grounded out in the third and the ninth to complete his 3-for-5 night. "I had seen [Gonzalez] before, he has some good stuff. I know he liked to throw his fastball and he threw me one inside. I pulled my hands in, and it trickled down the right-field line.

"[Typically], I try utilize the speed I have and put my trust in my third-base coach. If he waves me in, I'm absolutely going. If it's in front of me and I am seeing the ball pretty well, I'll go, too."

The 22-year-old speedster, a Louisiana State product taken in the third round of the 2010 Draft, has five triples in his last five games. Over the same span, he's 13-for-26 with nine runs scored and seven RBIs.

Of his success this week, Landry credited his see-ball, hit-ball approach.

"Lately, it's been working," he said. "I'm not going to change anything."

After a disappointing 2011 campaign at Class A Great Lakes, however, he made many adjustments. Namely, his pregame stretching routine and his mental preparedness.

"A lot of it was pitch selection [and] seeing the ball better," he said. "I have learned a lot from the struggle [I had] with the Loons last year."

In 79 games in his first Class A Advanced season, Landry is batting .328 with 49 extra-base hits. He's already bested most of the totals he accrued in 125 games in the Midwest League in 2011.

"It's been," Landry said with the caution of a streaking ballplayer, "a pretty good season."

Quakes starter Jon Michael Redding (6-5) gave up four runs -- two on Michael Wing's single -- in the third and didn't make it out of the inning. He was charged with five runs on four hits and four walks.

Storm counterpart Matt Branham (4-1) yielded two runs on six hits over five innings.