Scavuzzo continues power surge for Drillers

As some of the game's biggest bats were swinging for the fences in Washington, Jacob Scavuzzo was clearing them in Tulsa.
The Dodgers outfield prospect blasted off twice for the second straight game and drove in five runs as Double-A Tulsa routed Arkansas, 11-3. The 4-for-4 night extended Scavuzzo's hitting streak to 18 games.

"Everyone calls this the grinder days, but I feel like this is really where baseball players kind of hit their rhythm and you get more comfortable and competitive," Scavuzzo said. "Everything you do at the plate, in the field playing defense, you kind of get a better feel for how your body reacts when you're doing well and when you're not. Right now, the way my body feels, I feel like I'm in rhythm."

The outfielder belted two homers Sunday as well, racking up six RBIs as the Drillers opened the series with a 12-1 rout of the Travelers. On the night of the Major League Home Run Derby in the nation's capital, it was more of the same.
"I don't really try to look for power," he said. "Some guys try to swing up or try to hit home runs. I'm not a guy to try to do that. I'm a bigger guy, so I try to put good swings on the ball and hit the ball with backspin as much as possible. When I'm doing that, then I'll get my extra-base hits and stuff, but I don't try to lift the ball. I don't try to hit home runs. I just feel like that's a part of my game that comes with the strength."
Gameday box score
Scavuzzo got the scoring started with a three-run homer to left-center field in the bottom of the first inning. After singling to left in the third, the 24-year-old beat out an infield single to third base in the fifth. The native of Villa Park, California, left the yard again with a two-run shot to left in the sixth. It was the second homer in a six-run frame following a leadoff blast to left by sixth-ranked Dodgers prospectDJ Peters, his Texas League-best 19th of the year.
"It was pretty similar to yesterday," Scavuzzo said. "Yesterday, I faced a couple different lefties and had a little bit different approach against them. Today I faced a couple of righties, and I was just trying to stay toward the middle of the field. They left a couple pitches up in the zone, made some mistakes, and I was able to capitalize on them."

After plating 11 runs in his last two games, Scavuzzo has amassed a total of 51 on the season. Over his hitting streak, the 2012 21st-round pick is batting 364/.367/.779 with 31 RBIs, over 50 percent more than his total through his first 35 games of the year. Scavuzzo's streak marks Tulsa's longest since Cole Garner's stretch of 19 straight in 2009.
The surge has accompanied one for his team as well. Tulsa has won 12 of its last 14 games, scoring double-digit runs in four of its last five contests, all victories.
"We've been putting up some serious numbers as a whole, which makes everything that I'm doing even better," Scavuzzo said. "I want us to win, and I want us to do well so everyone kind of feeds off each other. It's been a pretty cool streak we've been going on as hitters. We're just all rallying together."
Will Smith, the Dodgers' No. 9 prospect, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run and No. 25 Luke Raley belted his 15th homer of the season in the victory.