Huffman goes berserk in batter's box

Chad Huffman last belted three home runs in a game approximately 13 years ago. He was wielding an aluminum "trampoline-like" bat back then.

Huffman, who turns 26 next week, likes his power stroke with the wood handle and barrel, too.

The Indians' Minor Leaguer went 4-for-5 with three long balls and 10 RBIs on Thursday, powering Triple-A Columbus to a 19-3 rout of visiting Louisville.

"It felt great to have it everything click like that," said Huffman, who hit his first homer of the season on Wednesday. "It's not something you can plan on.

"I'm starting to get that feel back that I had in Spring Training."

Gameday box score

He set Columbus' single-game RBI record and became the first Clipper since Matt LaPorta to go yard three times in one game. LaPorta, now a big leaguer, accomplished the feat on June 9, 2010, although he drove in half as many runs that day.

Huffman doubled his career best for RBIs and delivered one more homer than he smacked for Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore against Modesto on May 18, 2007.

He plated at least one Clipper teammate in each of his six plate appearances, beginning with a first-inning single off rehabbing Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto (0-2).

"You always love to face a Major League guy," said Huffman, who had 18 at-bats with the Yankees last season. "Obviously, the ultimate goal is to get to the Major Leagues, so it's nice to face a guy like that to see where you're at."

Huffman also drove in runs in less ordinary fashions. Before drawing a bases-loaded walk in the third, he was credited with an RBI when he reached on a throwing error by second baseman Chris Valaika in the second.

Huffman plated five more runs with roundtrippers in the fourth and sixth. But he wasn't finished. He smacked an opposite-field blast to right to produce two more two runs in the eighth.

"The last at-bat, I don't even remember [what I was thinking]. It was just reaction," he said. "When things are going right, they are going right."

It hasn't all been right for Huffman during his six-year Minor League career. He was the Padres' second-round pick in the 2006 Draft but has been waived twice in the past year. The Indians claimed him from the Yankees in September.

"You definitely want the front office to see it, and I'm sure someone [there] will," Huffman said of his big night. "I'm glad to have it, but baseball is an up-and-down game. I'll go on tomorrow and try to put up some solid at-bats."