Tom busts out with 5-for-5, two-homer night

Ka'ai Tom may have had a lot of rough games through the first month and a half of the season, but he made the most of every opportunity in a groove on Friday.
"That kind of night doesn't come too often, so I just want to enjoy it when it does," he said. "It lifted a lot of weight off my shoulders, because it's been pretty rocky for me."
The Indians' No. 23 prospect whacked two homers during his second career 5-for-5 performance, driving in four runs and scoring four times in Double-A Akron's 15-3 blowout of Hartford at Dunkin' Donuts Park.

Gameday box score
"It's things that I'm feeling at plate. There were some adjustments needing to be made and I've been working with our hitting coach [Kevin Howard]," the 23-year-old outfielder said. "We recognized some things that could be worked on or emphasized a little more, and right now it's one day. I'm going to keep doing it, keep working with my coach, sticking with my approach."
Tom had a .190 batting average in his first 31 games in the Eastern League, but the left-handed hitter began to flip his fortunes in the second inning, cracking a two-run homer to right-center field on a 1-1 pitch from Parker French. That gave the RubberDucks a 3-0 lead, and Tom had an inkling it was just the start.
"We have a pretty good team," he said. "Connor Marabell got us started yesterday with a home run and [Andrew Calica led off Friday's game with one]. It's like they pass the torch to the next guy, setting the tone, all of us taking it one pitch at a time, and our pitching staff has been doing well all year. It's been fun to watch and fun to be a part of."
Tom won a six-pitch battle with French in the fourth, poking a single through the right side for his third RBI. Facing Chris Jensen in the sixth and seventh, he came away with a pair of singles to left.
Working the count full against Jason García in the ninth, he swatted a solo dinger to left-center.
"I had a feeling it had a chance [to get out]. I hit it pretty well and I knew it was back-spun. I knew it was at least going to get down in the gap," Tom said, admitting he couldn't help but realize he'd sealed a milestone performance.
"It's hard to hide from. You're aware of how you're doing, whether you're doing really well or you're not, but you kind of try to be locked in and not make it all about you -- I'm big on that," the University of Kentucky product said. "Of course, when I hit that one, I [thought], 'Whoa, this has been a crazy night.' It doesn't happen too often, so I wanted to really enjoy it."
A 2015 fifth-round pick, Tom put up together his first five-hit, four-RBI game for Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley within two months of being drafted. He batted .254/.340/.418 with 23 steals and 10 homers for Class A Advanced Lynchburg last year, capping the season with a .420 on-base percentage in 11 games in the Arizona Fall League. Friday's showing boosted his 2018 average to .227, but he's gone yard five times.

"There are all kinds of little, tiny things in baseball that make a big difference," he said. "I've been able to recognize pitches, but my body position has been kind of inconsistent. One thing we're focusing on is getting me consistently there, because sometimes my hips get a little ahead and it looks like I'm trying to elevate the ball, but I'm not."
The Honolulu native also has had his home state on his mind in the wake of the May 3 Kilauea volcano eruption, which has continued to devastate the Big Island with lava seepage and toxic gas.
"It's crazy what's going on there, not just the eruption -- I mean, of course the eruption -- but the fissures, the cracks in the ground where the lava is coming out," he said. "There are a lot of people [who've evacuated from the area] who may not ever be able to go back. My family is all on Oahu and Maui, so they're not [in too much danger], but even there, the ash and the smoke, it makes it harder to breathe. I've got friends with families [on the Big Island]. They seem to be all right."
Indians No. 3 prospect Bobby Bradley was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a walk and three RBIs, while Calica's leadoff homer led to a 4-for-6 showing with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Brendan Rodgers, MLB.com's No. 12 overall prospect, tripled for the Yard Goats, and 12th-ranked Rockies prospectSam Hilliard was 2-for-4 with his 13th steal and a run scored.