Missions' Dubon breaks out with four hits

Mauricio Dubón waited a long time to get back on the field after missing most of the 2018 season. It didn't take him long to start hitting again.
Playing in the same stadium -- Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark -- where the injury occurred last May, the Brewers' fifth-ranked prospect collected four hits, including a double, stole two bases and scored four times as Triple-A San Antonio topped Oklahoma City, 6-4, on Saturday.

"It felt really good, especially at this place where it happened last year," Dubon said.
A 2013 26th-round pick by the Red Sox, Dubon was traded to the Brewers organization in 2016. Prior to tearing his left ACL, he was riding a 23-game hitting streak for Triple-A Colorado Springs and was thought to be close to being called up to the big leagues. Appearing in 27 games, the middle infielder batted .343 with four homers, two triples, nine doubles, 19 RBIs and six steals.
Gameday box score
On Saturday, the 24-year-old shortstop from Honduras singled up the middle in his first at-bat, swiped second and scored the Missions' first run. In the third, he struck a double to left field and again scored to extend San Antonio's lead to 3-0. 
That stolen base shouldn't have come as a surprise, at least to one person.
"I told my therapist, the lady that did my rehab the entire time, that the first time I get on base I'm going to steal," Dubon said.
His hitting continued in the seventh with a single off the glove of shortstop Errol Robinson. Another single to left in the ninth was followed by Dubon's second stolen base of the night. He scored on a two-run homer by Tyrone Taylor that provided the winning margin.
Feeling healthy again, Dubon described how the rehab process progressed, and a lot had to do with what went on inside his head. 
"It was more mental than anything else," he said. "It was nine months of getting my leg stronger and trying not to let it happen again."

That mental state carries over to the field, where a lot of doubt can go into simple movements that athletes take for granted before suffering a major injury. Dubon's mind is focused on playing like he did in the past.
"It's crazy because I don't think about [the knee] anymore, I just react," he said. "It is second nature now."
Jon Olczak picked up the win with two perfect innings, striking out three. Missions starter and Brewers No. 6 prospect Zack Brown yielded a run on six hits with five strikeouts over six frames.
Josh Smoker surrendered Taylor's homer and took the loss for Oklahoma City.