RailRiders' Culver homers twice to bust slump

Coming into Thursday's game, Cito Culver was mired in a 3-for-26 slump. Instead of pressing, he went back to the drawing board and tweaked his approach.
It worked as the Yankees infielder hit his first two homers of the season, a double and drove in four runs in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 10-5 win over Louisville. 

"I made a minor adjustment in my stance to get both of my eyes on the pitcher," Culver explained. "I was kind of cutting myself off, so I turned my head to face the pitcher and it helped me recognize pitches sooner. That's led to better swings."
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In the bottom of the second inning, Culver jumped on the first pitch from starter Lisalverto Bonilla (2-1) and doubled to left field. 
"I know I wanted to set the tempo in my first at-bat by jumping on the first good pitch I saw. I'm always a better hitter when I'm aggressive in the zone against pitches I know I can handle," Culver added.
In the third, the 24-year-old launched a 1-0 fastball for a three-run homer to extend the lead to 6-0. 
"He threw me a slider for the first pitch," Culver said. "I saw the first pitch pretty well and then he came in with a fastball and I was sitting on the fastball even after the first-pitch slider. I was able to get to it."
The Irondequoit, New York native doubled his homer total by depositing a 3-2 changeup from Bonilla over the left-field fence in the fifth.

"He threw me a 3-1 changeup that I swung through. Then he went back to the change on 3-2 and I was able to hold my leg kick a little bit longer this time and got off a good swing," Culver said. "Things started to click on my end. I've been feeling really good about my pregame work and during batting practice, so I just carried that over into the game."
Although he's in his eighth year with the Yankees, this was the first time he started the season at Triple-A. Through his first 10 games, Culver sports a slash line of .200/.294/.433 with two homers and four RBIs. 
"The early-season slump was a little bit bad luck mixed with not having my timing down," he said. "I haven't had consistent at-bats. I haven't been able to get comfortable with my timing. I felt really comfortable today."
Despite his slow start, the 2010 first-round pick believes he has what it takes to reach the Majors. 
"In my head, the sky's limit for me," Culver said. "I know I'm a good enough player to play in the big leagues. I feel like I have the tools and I know I'm a good teammate. So if I keep being myself and stay confident in my game, that will take care of itself."
Yankees No. 8 prospectDustin Fowler hit his third homer of the season, a solo shot in the fourth. 

MLB.com's No. 21 overall prospectClint Frazier doubled and scored a run and Tyler Wade singled twice to raise his average to .314. 
Joe Mantiply (1-1) allowed two hits with four strikeouts in 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Chad Green. The Yankees No. 21 prospect was tagged for five runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 frames.