Moniak seizing opportunities with BlueClaws

With a clear sense of what he wanted to do at the plate, Mickey Moniak took advantage of his chances Monday.
"A huge part of maturing in this game as a hitter is to find an approach that works for you," he said. "You've got to know your strengths. You've got to know you need to be a good fastball hitter. If you can't hit a fastball, it might not work out for you in this game."
Philadelphia's second-ranked prospect turned on two fastballs Monday night, one for his first home run of the season and another for a triple in the 10th inning, as Class A Lakewood edged Greensboro, 3-2, at First Energy Park. Moniak also scored on Darick Hall's walk-off single.

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"I was just looking to get my pitch and lay off the pitcher's pitch," Moniak said. "Once I got what I was looking for, I tried to do some damage, and tonight it worked out."
The 2016 No. 1 overall pick put the BlueClaws on the board with a solo shot to right field on a full count in his first at-bat.
"[Starter Jordan Holloway, Miami's No. 16 prospect] threw hard, and once you get to a 3-2 count, you're just looking to put the ball in play and hopefully put a barrel on the baseball," said Moniak, who also walked twice. "I got the fastball and put a good swing it and it got out. It felt good to get the monkey off my back to get the first one."
After watching Grasshoppers reliever Ryley MacEachern work the count from 3-0 to 3-2 in the extra frame, he drove a fastball past diving center fielder Aaron Knapp into the left-center field gap and raced for his third triple of the year.
"The pitcher had good stuff, so I was trying to get a pitch that I can handle," the 19-year-old outfielder said. "I got it and put the barrel on it. Good things usually happen after that."
It wasn't the first time the California native came through in the clutch for Lakewood this season. He hit a go-ahead RBI double against Kannapolis on April 8 on a 3-for-5 night in which he drove in three runs.
Two pitches after Monday's triple, Moniak joined his teammates in mobbing Hall after the first baseman lifted a pitch to right for the game-winning hit.
"You hate to go into extra innings because you want to save pitching and stuff like that," he said. "So our main focus was to get it over as fast as we can and try to get the 'W.' To come through like that, it felt really good."

Luke Williams was the only member of the BlueClaws lineup not to get a hit in the contest.
"We've got a great team over here in Lakewood and we have a lot of team chemistry," Moniak said. "All the guys on the team are really close. When one guy gets a hit, I think it's a little bit of a friendly rivalry, a friendly competition to get your hit and build off each other. II think tonight definitely showed that. We are just happy to come out with the win."
Starter Nick Fanti allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out nine over six innings. Ismael Cabrera (4-2) gave up an unearned run in the eighth, but was otherwise flawless in three frames.