Durant enters BlueClaws' record book
The 21-year-old first baseman homered, doubled twice and matched a team record with seven RBIs Saturday night as the BlueClaws completed a four-game sweep of the Hagerstown Suns with an 11-5 victory at Municipal Stadium.
Durant, who hadn't driven in a run in the first three games of the series, flied out in the first inning before embarking on the best performance of his four-year Minor League career.
The Phillies' fourth-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft belted a three-run homer, his 15th, in the third inning and ripped two-run doubles in the fifth and sixth before grounding out in his final two at-bats.
"It was a great day," said Durant, who didn't mind coming up short of establishing a new team mark. "I don't have any regrets. I was just trying to stay on the ball and I had a great game."
Durant increased his season RBI total to 56, moving two ahead of Derrick Mitchell, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Saturday. He became the second BlueClaw to drive in seven runs in a game, matching Kevin Howard's performance on June 10, 2007 at Delmarva.
"Our team is like a family, so I don't take pride in taking the RBI lead," Durant said. "I guess today was just my day to knock in all the runs I could."
The effort bested Durant's previous career high of four RBIs, established for short-season Williamsport on July 9, 2007.
Matt Rizzotti went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored and T.J. Warren and Dominic Brown also went deep for the BlueClaws (32-17), who remained two games behind Northern Division-leading West Virginia after completing their third four-game road sweep of the year.
"It's exciting helping the team win down the stretch," Durant added. "We're trying to make a run to the playoffs."
Lakewood's Julian Sampson (9-4) won his third straight start after yielding four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in six innings. Moises Melendez gave up one run on three hits over the final three frames for his second save.
Bradley Meyers (8-6) took the loss after surrendering seven runs -- six earned -- on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts in four innings.
Jose Lozada went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for the Suns (20-29), who have lost five in a row.
John Torenli is a contributor to MLB.com.