Cal notes: Lewis gets great birthday gift

Kyle Lewis celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday.
The top Mariners prospect couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend after participating in the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday in Washington, D.C.

Lewis found out he made it the U.S. roster through the Modesto Nuts trainer.
"Our team trainer told us because he had to book the flights," he said with a smile. "I started hearing from people, they saw it online. So it was pretty cool."
Getting the news that he would be participating in the All-Star festivities and playing for U.S. coach Torii Hunter, was exciting.
"It was cool," Lewis said. "It's an exciting opportunity to go out there and take in some All-Star activities, which is fun. It's stuff you dream."
Before the game, though, the thing Lewis was most excited about was seeing his brother, who lives in Baltimore, and his parents, who made the trip up from Atlanta.
"It's cool being able to see my family," he said. "I haven't seen them in a while, since they live on the East Coast. That's probably one of the biggest things that I'm excited about."
Being named to the Futures Game was an accomplishment for an outfielder who hasn't had the smoothest professional career. After winning the 2016 Golden Spikes Award and being drafted 11th overall by the Mariners the same year, Lewis spent about a month in the Minors before an ACL injury derailed his plans.
Trying to score, he attempted to avoid the opposing catcher.
"The catcher was coming up the line on a bad throw and I tried to get out of the way and when I planted, it just buckled," Lewis recalled. "I felt it pop, but it didn't hurt. It was more shock, kind of a weird feeling. Then it hurt that night and it was one of the worst pains."
The Mercer University product return in 2017, but banged his knee on the wall while running down a fly ball in his first game back. He spent a couple of stints on the disabled list and played in the Arizona League before finishing the season in Modesto and helping the Nuts win the California League championship.
Lewis missed the first month this season after undergoing minor surgery to clean up bone spurs and scar tissue in his knee. Since returning to the field on May 12, he's had steady playing time.
"Just working my way through that, I didn't get to have Spring Training this year," Lewis said. "So that kind of set me back a little bit. But I've been able to work through it and make the most out of it."
Early this season, he'd play a game in the field and another at designated hitter. Now he's the Nuts' DH one of every six games. The 23-year-old is batting .266/.310/.441 with five homers, 18 doubles, 32 RBIs and six outfield assists. And the knee is fine.

"It feels good, man," Lewis said. "Just working day to day to maintain it."
After everything he's been through, getting invited to the Futures Game was proof he's back on track.
"For me, it's been a long road," Lewis admitted. "Anytime that I can kind of come back and have some success, it's satisfying for me. It's been a tough stretch.
"I even missed the first month of this year, so coming back from that and being able to do well enough to be picked is just some reassurance to keep going and keep working. It does get better at some point, so that's exciting."

In brief

Second-half streak: The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, winners of the South Division first-half title, won 18 of their first 20 games in the second half. During that stretch, they produced a franchise-record 15-game winning streak. The run began with three straight shutouts -- another franchise first -- and ended against Lancaster on July 11, with the Quakes outscoring opponents, 92-33. The previous record was an 11-game streak.
High fives: The California League had a 10-game stretch of two five-game series from June 29-July 8. The series fell in the middle of the Quakes' 15-game winning streak, so they went 10-0 against Inland Empire and San Jose. Lancaster and Lake Elsinore were both 6-4, while Modesto, Inland Empire, Stockton and Visalia went 4-6. San Jose was 2-8.
All-Stars: The Quakes have the most alumni in the All-Star Game with six; Lancaster and Visalia each have five, Inland Empire/San Bernardino and Modesto have four apieces and Bakersfield, Lake Elsinore, Stockton and San Jose boast two.