Burger notches cycle on second five-hit night
Jake Burger had the works Thursday. The No. 12 White Sox prospect hit for the cycle and reached base six times in his second career five-hit game to lead Class A Kannapolis to a 6-5 win over Greensboro in 11 innings at Intimidators Stadium.
The No. 12 White Sox prospect hit for the cycle and reached base six times in his second career five-hit game to lead Class A Kannapolis to a 6-5 win over Greensboro in 11 innings at Intimidators Stadium.
Gameday box score
In his first trip to the dish, Burger worked the count full against Greensboro starter
"[Beggs] left a fastball up, middle away, and with two strikes, that's my approach," noted Burger, who has three homers in 39 games with the Intimidators. "He threw right into where I was swinging, so I was fortunate that he made a mistake. He made some good pitches that at-bat, but I was fortunate to get the fastball because that set me up for the rest of the game. Being able to drive the ball over the right-field fence kind of righted the ship for me."
In the fifth, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound third baseman showed some wheels by legging out his second triple of the year. Once again, Burger fell behind in the count but got a pitch to hit and sent it to left, where the ball kicked off the wall.
"I was going hard out of the box and I had a triple earlier in the year on a similarly hit ball, so I knew I had a chance," explained Burger, who has produced a .293/.355/.440 slash line this year. "As I rounded first, I saw they hadn't picked it up yet, so I decided to get after it. I couldn't really tell what was going on in the outfield because I was running to third, but fortunately enough, I slid in and I was safe."
Needing a double for the cycle, Burger drew a four-pitch walk in the seventh.
"Right after I hit the triple, I was like, 'I'm a double away and I probably have two more at-bats tonight, don't try to hit the double but just let it happen. When I walked I was like, 'Oh, gosh. I don't know what's going to happen.' I got one at-bat left and we're going to see," he said.
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Two innings later, the Missouri State product got another crack at history, and he delivered.
Burger got ahead of Greensboro reliever
"He left a fastball belt-high and I took it to right. It was one of those that was kind of in between, could I have got a triple? I don't know. I don't think so, but it was placed perfectly and I was happy I was standing on second because it was the first time I hit for the cycle. Everyone was pumped up. There were a lot of hugs going around and a lot of congratulations, from both our guys and the Greensboro players."
Already having notched the feat, Burger came up again in the 11th with a runner on first and nobody out. He squared up to lay down a sacrifice bunt. The ball landed in no-man's land and Burger was safe at first, setting up
"I can't even recall the last time I bunted for a base hit," he said with a laugh. "It was just my night. It was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt, but I placed it in the right spot. It's funny how the baseball gods work sometimes."
Sheets hit a walk-off single to center to put a bow on Burger's otherworldly game.
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MLB.com's No. 45 overall prospect
"It's awesome hitting behind him and having Sheets behind me. It's a fun middle of the lineup to be a part of," Burger said. "Blake is kind of an energizer. Even if he gets a single, I know if I hit a ball in the gap I'll probably get an RBI because he's got such great speed."
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Michael Leboff is a contributor to MiLB.com.