Moya homers twice, plates five in opener

After showing off at Spring Training, Steven Moya didn't waste time showing he's ready for the next step.

The Mud Hens outfielder went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and five RBIs in Toledo's 10-2 win over Louisville in the season opener for both Triple-A teams on Thursday.

"I was trying to be aggressive with pitches in the strike zone," Moya told the Toledo Blade.

The Tigers' No. 10 prospect singled to right field to start the second inning and blasted a three-run homer to center later in the frame after the Mud Hens batted around against Bats starter A.J. Morris. Moya then connected on a two-run shot to left with two outs in the fourth.

"He threw something close and I reacted to it right away," Moya told the Blade of his first hit. He said he took advantage of a mistake pitch on the second homer. "He was trying to throw his curve, but I got a fastball up and away." 

Moya's aggressive approach and power is no secret, but he has been prone to striking out -- last year he led all Detroit Minor Leaguers with 175 strikeouts in 135 games. This year, he was invited to Tigers Spring Training for the sixth time and showed both power and patience, hitting .367 (11-for-30) with four homers, eight RBIs and just five strikeouts in 15 games before being optioned to Triple-A on March 26.

With a crowded outfield that includes Justin Upton, Anthony Gose and J.D. Martinez, the Tigers will look for consistency from Moya at Triple-A before they bring him back up.

"This guy is obviously very gifted," Mud Hens manager Lloyd McClendon told the Blade. "He's still rough around the edges and there's work to be done, but he's committed to doing the work and getting it done." 

The 24-year-old led the Tigers system with 23 homers and 82 RBIs last season before appearing in nine Major League games with Detroit in September. The 6-foot-7 outfielder has hit 20 or more homers in each of his past two seasons, including a breakout 2014 campaign in which he batted .276 with 35 homers and 105 RBIs at Double-A Erie.

Thursday's effort was Moya's first multi-homer game since July 6, 2015 against Columbus. He had a pair of two-homer nights in 2015 and 2014. 

Moya said he feels confident hitting fifth in a lineup that includes some talented hitters such as No. 23 Tigers prospect Wynton Bernard, veteran outfielder Nate Schierholtz and 2014 National League Comeback Player of the Year Casey McGehee.

"We all are 'the' guy, from the first hitter to the last hitter," Moya said. "We've got a lot of good hitters in this lineup and we need to just work together."

Schierholtz went 2-for-3 with an RBI and catcher Bobby Wilson doubled and plated two runs.

Toledo starter Matt Boyd, who came to Detroit in the David Price deal last July, held the Bats to a pair of runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven over six innings for the win. Relievers Preston Guilmet, Dustin Molleken and Jose Valdez combined to allow two hits over the final three scoreless innings.

Morris (0-1) was charged with eight runs -- two earned -- on six hits and two walks over a pair of innings. Brandon Allen and Carlos Triunfel knocked in runs for Louisville.