Hitting home run No. 1 in Triple-A

Troy Stokes Jr. arrived in San Antonio three weeks ago primed and ready to show that he could excel in the Pacific Coast League.
After winning a Gold Glove and hitting 19 home runs in Double-A last summer, the 23-year-old Baltimore native wanted to prove his mettle against higher-caliber players.
In his first few at bats in the Triple-A PCL, Stokes started fast, drawing a walk and then lashing a single off major-league star Clayton Kershaw at Oklahoma City.
But after a 2-for-3 performance on opening night, he knew something was wrong. In reality, he knew it a few days earlier.
"I actually hurt myself before the first game," Stokes said. "I think it was that Tuesday (in) that (batting practice). I took a swing and I felt something. Kind of like, umm, it really didn't hurt.
"But I just felt something in my back. So, I finished that round. I actually took another round. Went to the outfield, started shagging and felt it getting tighter."
As the start of his first season in Triple-A loomed, Stokes tried to shake it off.
"I played the first game," he said. "Probably shouldn't have. But, I saw (Clayton) Kershaw was on. So, I got myself ready to play that game. But right after, it got worse.
"So, just as a precautionary thing, they put me on the (injured list) until I healed."
Even though spending two weeks loosening up his back muscles was not much fun, it probably was well worth it just to make sure everything was healed before he suited up again.
Stokes returned to the field, playing three of four games at Nashville recently. He hit a two-run homer in a 5-0 victory on Monday, his first in the PCL.
"Physically, I'm not 100 percent there yet, but I'm feeling pretty good," he said in an interview Tuesday morning. "(I feel) good enough to play, good enough to put some good swings on the ball."
Stokes figures to be in the lineup and ready to go again Wednesday night when the Missions (10-8) host Oklahoma City (7-11) in the first of five games at Wolff Stadium.
He admitted that connecting on his first Triple-A homer was a good feeling.
"You know, I played the first game of the year and then I got hurt … right after that," he said. "So, it kind of sucked. But you come back and help out the team (and) it felt really good."
Stokes will be presented with his 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove in a pre-game ceremony at Wolff on Thursday night.
The award is given to nine players across 10 domestic-based, full-season minor leagues. It goes to players at each position with superior defensive skills.
Pitching prowess
Missions pitching emerged as a major story during the past week.
At one point, the staff yielded 25 runs in three games during an 0-3 stretch that included the last game of the team's first homestand and the first two at Memphis on the recent road trip.
But in an almost 180-degree turnaround, the pitching has started to excel, giving up only five runs in a 3-1 series victory at Nashville.
"We all know (our pitchers) are pretty good," Stokes said. "It's the first of the season, so everyone's still working out their kinks. Trying to figure out who's going to do what. What role.
"But (if) the pitchers throw like that, (then) we stay in the game, even when our offense isn't doing that much.
"We know that our pitchers are going to keep us in the game. If we just put up some runs, we'll have a chance to win."
Scoreless streaks
The Missions shut out the Sounds in back-to-back games to close the series, winning 6-0 in a seven-inning game Sunday and then 5-0 on Monday.
All told, the staff stretched its scoreless innings streak to 17 while lowering the team's earned run average to a PCL-best 3.94.
Even the bullpen, which struggled in the first week of the season, has started to string the zeros.
The pen has constructed a 12-inning scoreless streak, during which it has yielded only eight hits and one walk, while striking out 17.
Jackson still unscored on
Jay Jackson, 31, who has spent the past three seasons playing in Japan, kept his ERA at a perfect 0.00 with a shutout inning to close the Nashville series. Jackson has given up only three hits and a walk in 6.2 innings, while striking out 11.
Homestand rotation
Bubba Derby is scheduled to start Wednesday night against Oklahoma City, followed by Burch Smith on Thursday, Zack Brown on Friday and Corbin Burnes on Saturday.
Burnes is trying to find a rhythm after being sent down from Milwaukee following four ineffective starts in the National League.