Beer slams one down for Buies Creek

Seth Beer proved to be a quick learner in his first two stops as a pro. He's working now to finish his initial campaign strong in the Carolina League.
Houston's seventh-ranked prospect hit his first career grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs Thursday to lead Class A Advanced Buies Creek to a 9-1 win over Carolina at Five County Stadium.

"It was off a lefty [Daniel Brown] and that was something I hadn't done in pro ball yet," Beer said of the big blow. "So that was a big deal, a left-hand slider. [I'm] just trying to adjust a little bit to high-A and I was really excited. I made a little bit of an adjustment to just how good the pitchers are here, and it just came together during that at-bat."
Beer has homered in the past two games after parking just one at Buies Creek since being promoted on July 30. Entering Thursday's game, the 2018 first-round pick had been 8-for-39 (.205) in his first real struggle since being drafted.
"It's just pro ball in general," he said of the slump. "Baseball, you know, this is a game of failure. It's some of those times, you're going good and hitting balls bad and getting hits and sometimes you're going bad and hitting balls good, you know, that's just baseball.
"The talent gets better and better each level and you got guys that have phenomenal speed in the outfield and phenomenal gloves in the infield. Some of the hits that might have squeaked by in other levels, all of a sudden, those are outs, and those are regular outs."
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The Clemson University alum had quick success at Class A Short Season Tri-City, where he compiled a 1.090 OPS, and then in the Midwest League with Quad Cities (.934 OPS). But after a two-hit game on Aug. 2 following his promotion to Class A Advanced, Beer might have lost some momentum following a long college season.
"I think just that [long season] and the adjustment to how good all these pitchers are that we face day in and day out, it's a little bit to that," he said. "It's a humbling experience. I think it's just being a part of Minor League Baseball and that's an adjustment you have to make.
"Everybody's here for a reason and everybody gets moved up for a reason. All the guys want to play against the best guys around," he added of his recent downturn. "And in high-A, they've got some very special talent. Every pitcher they run out there has something special about him. So I think just day in and day out just having to face that, it's a big adjustment."
On Thursday, he tried to make that adjustment, although he started slow.
Beer walked his first time up, but was stranded when the Astros left the bases loaded. Leading off the third, he lined out to Nick Roscetti at second base.
In the fifth, the left-handed hitter grounded a ball into right field against left-hander Nathan Kirby, who relieved right-hander reliever Wuilder Rodriguez after three scoreless innings.
In the seventh, Beer flied out to center against another lefty, Cody Beckman (1-3). But with the game tied in the eighth, 1-1, Buies Creek came to life.
Cody Bohanek reached on Beckman's throwing error to start the inning. No. 23 prospect Jonathan Arauz and Corey Julks walked to load the bases. No. 20 prospect J.J. Matijevic struck out, but Bryan De La Cruz garnered a free pass to force in a run.
Beckman came out for southpaw Brown and the left fielder unloaded, cracking one over the wall in right-center to make it 6-1.

The Astros scored three more times in the ninth on RBI hits by Matijevic and De La Cruz and an RBI forceout by Beer.
Carson LaRue (7-7) got the win with three scoreless innings in relief of Abdiel Saldana.
Beer was the 28th overall pick by the Astros, but scouts were divided on his stock, with some seeing him as a potential impact bat who should have been a top-10 pick. Beer's strong pro debut might have vindicated him, but he prefers not to see it that way.
"For me, I can't control any of that stuff, and I can't control where I go in the Draft," he said. "What I can do is give everything I have and work as hard as I can for the opportunity that the Astros have blessed me with. For me, that's the way you have to look at it. I'm extremely blessed and honored to be a part of this organization."