Giron fuels Storm romp with five-hit night

In a season of ups and downs, Saturday was a high point for Ruddy Giron.
The Padres prospect went 5-for-6 with a career-high three doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs to lead Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore to an 11-4 win over Lancaster at The Hangar.

Gameday box score
"He was just ready to hit and aggressive," Lake Elsinore hitting coach Doug Banks said. "On the fastball, he was ready to hit with good intentions. His approach was solid. He was ready to hit tonight, just plain and simple. There wasn't much to it."
Giron's night wasn't unprecedented. He went 6-for-6 in his Midwest League debut for Class A Fort Wayne on May 18, 2015. 
Against the JetHawks, the 21-year-old doubled in each of his first three at-bats. He hit a fly ball to center field to score Nate Easley as the second batter of the game, then sent a shot off the glove of third baseman Colton Welker and into left field leading off the third. He came around to score on a base hit by Luis Torrens.
"Everything was early and often with him tonight," Banks said. "He had early fastballs. He squared it up and when he did that, he attacked. He had good swings, he didn't chase, he stayed in the zone. They wanted to give him a pitch and see what he'd do with it, but he stayed well in the zone early and often. He had only one chase the whole night. It was just a professional process with his approach and the intent he wanted to accomplish with the baseball."
Giron's third double was a liner to left in the fourth.
"The biggest thing has been trusting himself and trusting his swing," the hitting coach said, "not trying to overthink things or get that perfect swing off. Just being ready to hit in the zone and trusting his abilities. Other than that, getting a good pitch. It's really just trusting himself."
The right-handed hitter grounded a single to left to score Chris Baker in the sixth, then came home on a double by 15th-ranked Padres prospect Hudson Potts. He lined another single to left in the seventh but struck out in the ninth.
"We're hoping he can take it in for the rest of this month and finish the year strong," said Banks."

Giron raised his average 35 points to .231. He missed time from April 25-May 20 and was sidelined again from May 29-July 7 as he continued to recover from hand injuries and, more recently, after getting hit in the head while rehabbing in Arizona.
"He's had a very tough go this year," Banks said. "Staying healthy has been tough with his hand, thumb and wrist. Then he got hit in the head back in Arizona when he was getting ready to come back here. It's just been a tough year for him. It's a testament to Ruddy, he has great character, he's a great person, great teammate. His hard work showed up tonight. It was really good to see because he's a good kid and really works hard."
Torrens went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Allen Córdoba homered and drove in three runs for Lake Elsinore, which matched its season high with 19 hits. That was more than enough for Emmanuel Ramirez (5-3), who gave up three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings. 
Alan Trejo and Rockies No. 8 prospectTyler Nevin homered for the JetHawks.