Detroit's Moya homers on three-hit night

Top Tigers prospect Steven Moya went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and Tommy Collier pitched six strong innings to help Class A Advanced Lakeland past Clearwater, 5-2, on Thursday night.

Moya, working his way back from plantar fascitis, blasted third homer of the season -- a three-run shot -- in the third inning off Threshers starter Miguel Nunez.

The 23-year-old outfielder, who singled in the fifth and seventh, was also at the plate for Lakeland's fifth run when Curt Powell ran home on a passed ball by catcher Andrew Knapp in the fifth.

Collier (2-0) struck out four and held the Phillies affiliate to a pair of unearned runs on six hits without a walk for his second win.

The power-hitting Moya began the season on the seven-day disabled list with a foot injury he suffered toward the end of Spring Training. The reigning Eastern League MVP had been slated to join Triple-A Toledo on Opening Day after he was reassigned from Major League camp in late March and eventually debuted on April 16 with Lakeland, Detroit's Florida State League affiliate.

The 23-year-old dealt with back and foot injuries in an underwhelming 4-for-32 Spring Training stint in which he hit .125 with a homer, a dozen strikeouts and no walks for Detroit.

"He scuffled a little bit and he knows he's been scuffling with his swing," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said in March. "But this was only roughly a month's worth of Steven Moya's resume."

Moya began slow in Lakeland too, going 4-for-16 with eight strikeouts in his first three games. He homered on April 19, went deep again on April 21 and now has three long balls and six RBIs in his last five starts.

The native of Puerto Rico opened eyes last summer when he hit .276 with 35 homers, 105 RBIs and 16 steals while striking out 161 times with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. He's currently MLB.com's No. 97 prospect.