Lindor reaches six times in Clippers twinbill

Entering this weekend, Columbus shortstop Francisco Lindor was in the throes of a slow start to his 2015 season. The phenom appears to be leaving it on the fast track.

The top Indians prospect reached base six times, going 2-for-3 with a walk in both games of Sunday's doubleheader to help Triple-A Columbus finish off a four-game sweep of Louisville with wins of 7-1 and 4-2 at Huntington Park.

Batting just .191 with a .283 on-base percentage through his first 13 games this season, Lindor had posted one multi-hit performance entering the weekend. Through the first two games of the Clippers' series with the Bats, he tallied six hits, including two doubles.

On Sunday, Lindor continued his surge. After walking in the first inning of the opener, the Caguas, Puerto Rico native singled in the fifth and added an RBI single in the sixth. In the finale, he sandwiched singles in the second and sixth around a fourth-inning walk.

"My mind is free of thoughts," Lindor told the Columbus Dispatch after the game. "I'm not going crazy at the plate and thinking way too much. That's what it comes down to, being free of thoughts and doing what you have to do."

Despite starting slowly, Lindor has reached base safely in nine straight games. The 21-year-old also swiped one base in two steal attempts Sunday.

"Offensively, we're having much better and more consistent at-bats," Clippers manager Chris Tremie told the Dispatch after his team racked up 22 hits in the doubleheader. "Pitching and defense has been about the same. Now it's a combination of all three."

It wasn't just Lindor's bat that impressed. Columbus starting pitcher Bruce Chen singled out the shortstop's work in the field while praising the team overall.

"We have a really good defense," he told the Dispatch. "(Francisco) Lindor made an outstanding play on a ground ball up the middle that I slowed down. (Third baseman Giovanny) Urshela made a really good backhand play. The outfielders hustle and stop guys from going from first to second."

Chen (2-1) earned the win, giving up a run on three hits while striking out five and going the distance in the opener.

Columbus' Michael Roth (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits while fanning and walking two in five innings in the finale.