Skip to main content

Stewart hits walk-off grand slam for Clearwater

By

Stepping up to the plate with the bases loaded, trailing by a pair of runs in the 11th inning, Clearwater first baseman D.J. Stewart did so 0-for-5.  His focus at the plate was no different that time than it had been the previous handfull of turns.  Make loud contact was the approach.  The contact was loud, the reaction from his team and the approximately 1,100 fans in attendance was louder.  

A convincing round-tripper in that moment plated Edgar Made, Johan Rojas, Luis Garcia and Stewart.  It gave the Class A Threshers their first win on the young season by a score of 13-11 over the Tigers affiliate Lakeland. 

The grand slam was the 22-year-old's first ever four-run homer as well as his first ever walk-off hit as a professional.

Describing the feeling of walking a game off in such a remarkable fashion as unreal and realizing that his teammates were as hyped for him as he felt personally, Stewart also described the "loud contact" mindset as a new focus.

"This year I really wanted to focus on hitting the ball harder and getting some more doubles and home runs.  I'm a third baseman and a first baseman, so I need to show a little bit more pop in the bat that I haven't in previous years," Stewart expressed via text message.

Lakeland reliever Jack Dellinger, a 2019 32nd rounder, was the pitcher that surrendered Stewart's crushing blow.

"I never faced him before, to my knowledge," Stewart said.  "We didn't have any info on him, so I was going into the at bat blind."

Stewart was the Phillies' 39th round draft selection in 2017 out of Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, MO.  

Through two games the six-foot-two 205-pounded righty batter is 2-for-9.  

The grand slam matches the amount of big flies Stewart recorded in his first 92 regular season minor league games played prior to Wednesday.  

Last year's top Phillies draft choice, starting pitcher Mick Abel did not factor in the decision.  The 19-year-old tossed 2 1/3 innings allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out two.

Also in the contest catcher Abrahan Gutierrez was 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and the center fielder Rojas went 2-for-6 with a double and three RBI.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

By
On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com
Post a Comment
Read more

Michael Taylor Q&A

By
Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...
2 comments
Read more

Rappers in Phillies Caps

By
Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...
3 comments
Read more