News
Sulentic's slam caps career day
Prospect homers twice, plates six in Midland rout
By Danny Wild / MLB.com
06/24/09 5:00 PM ET
Sometimes you just have to settle for a career day at the plate.Matt Sulentic came to bat in the ninth inning with one goal in mind: a double. Up the line, in the gap, off the wall... anywhere.
"Honestly, I was like, I don't care where it goes, I'm running to second," he said.
The former third-round pick made it to second, although it was more of a trot than a run -- Sulentic slugged his second homer of the afternoon, a grand slam to right field off Tom Diamond, to cap a career day at the plate. The Oakland prospect missed the cycle by a double, finishing 4-for-5 with a pair of homers, six RBIs and four runs scored in Double-A Midland's 14-3 rout of Frisco on Wednesday.
"I couldn't be happier," said Sulentic, who admitted he was dreaming about a shot at the cycle late in the game. "I'm so happy right now."
Sulentic, a leadoff hitter batting .291 for the Athletics' affiliate, led off the game with a triple, walked in the second, homered in the sixth and singled in the eighth. He said he was aiming for a line drive in every at-bat.
"I was just trying to hit the ball hard, square it up," said Sulentic, who blasted a two-run homer in the sixth off Frisco reliever Jared Hyatt. "I wasn't trying to hit a home run, just a line drive -- that's my game. You want to hit it hard on a line, and I hit it hard a line, a rising line."
Sulentic's six-RBI effort marked his biggest day since he fell a triple shy of the cycle and drove in four runs for Class A Short-Season Vancouver on Aug. 5, 2007.
"I'm not a really a big home run hitter, so it's not really a drought for me, it's just the game I play," said Sulentic, who hadn't gone deep in 28 games since May 22. "I think this is probably the best offensive day in my career, it was unbelievable."
The 21-year-old outfielder was Oakland's third-round pick out of Dallas' Hillcrest High School in the 2006 Draft. He hit .309 with nine homers and 55 RBIs for Class A Advanced Stockton last season after spending several years between Vancouver and Class A Kane County.
A promotion to Double-A was something Sulentic dreamed of this winter.
"I'm actually really excited, just working on hitting and grinding every day to be a competitive and successful player at the Double-A level," he said. "When the hard work pays off, it feels unbelievable."
It's debatable whether six RBIs or hitting for the cycle is the more satisfying payoff, though. Sulentic had his eyes fixed on second base when he dug in for his final at-bat.
"I was aware," he said. "I hit the [first] home run, and I thought, 'Oh man, I've got a home run and a triple, I got the two hardest parts of the cycle out of the way.' Sure enough, [the last at-bat] came, and I had it my mind the whole time. For me to have a home run and a triple in the same game, it never happens."
That's actually true -- Sulentic's last triple came on July 20, 2008 against Inland Empire, a day after he went 4-for-5 and fell a homer shy of the cycle.
After a slow first month, Sulentic blossomed in May, batting .292 with 28 hits in 26 games. The New Jersey native is hitting .301 against right-handers and is 13-for-17 in stolen base attempts.
"It's been going good, our team has played well. I've had my ups and downs, but overall I'm very satisfied where I'm at," he said. "I'm making progress and getting better."
Sulentic raised his average from .273 to .291 on Wednesday, another stat to make him smile.
"I don't put too many goals on myself. But my goal was just to come to Double-A this year and play well, contribute to the team and just be able to lay down at night and be satisfied I'm contributing to a winning team," he said.
"That's all you can ask for."
Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
