Verdugo hits wacky homer, plates four

It had been more than a month since Alex Verdugo had gone deep, so he didn't mind getting some assistance when he homered on Tuesday night. 
"I was just hoping it'd get over [right fielder Zach Borenstein's] head and it'd be a double," said the second-ranked Dodgers prospect, who rounded the bases for the first time since June 14. "I think it wound up hitting him in the forehead or something and cleared the fence." 
That's pretty much what it did as Verdugo picked up two hits and four RBIs in Triple-A Oklahoma City's 9-7 loss to Reno at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Dodgers No. 4 prospect Willie Calhoun homered in his third straight game on a three-hit night.

"He's hit so many this year," Verdugo said, referring to Calhoun. "This year has been a down year for me with homers. But it's just one of those things where I'm happy for him and he's doing his thing and playing well and helping the team out. I'm just fortunate I could help the team and pull us a little closer to give us a chance."
MLB.com's No. 28 overall prospect finished June on a high note, hitting in 20 straight games to raise his average to .352. Things have been a little tougher in July, as Verdugo sports a .258 average in 16 games. With help from hitting coach Shawn Wooten and the rest of the Dodgers staff, the Arizona native believes he's on his way back to another upswing.
"As far as my mind-set and approach and just not trying to do too much, I was getting away from what I do," he said. "I like to see the ball deep and hit it up the middle and use all parts of the field. I thought I was getting a little too pull-happy and coming off of the ball, so I wasn't recognizing pitches as well. I kind of tried to tone it back down and see if it works."
Gameday box score
Verdugo grounded out to start the game, while Calhoun singled up the middle two batters later. An inning later, Verdugo lofted a fly ball to center that was deep enough to score No. 30 Dodgers prospect Kyle Farmer from third. With two outs in the fourth, the 2014 second-round pick registered his first hit of the day with a single to center. 
Leading off the fifth, Calhoun cleared the wall for the third time in as many days with his 23rd homer of the season, good for second in the Pacific Coast League. He added a single to center in the seventh. At this point in the season, Verdugo is never surprised by what his roommate does at the plate. 

"It's definitely fun," he said. "[Calhoun's] an impact player and he can cause damage at any time. He can hit a home run at any time -- any pitch in any count. It's just fun being on this journey with him. ... We're close, he's like my brother. It's always good to see him succeed." 
With two runners on in the eighth, Verdugo smacked the first pitch from Silvino Bracho to deep right, where it bounced off Borenstein's head and into the visiting bullpen. The lefty-swinging outfielder couldn't help but draw comparisons to the infamous 1993 blooper that saw a ball carom off Jose Canseco's noggin. 

"I was smiling around the bases and that's exactly what I was thinking," Verdugo said. "Everybody was just having a good time with it, laughing. Usually, I take the first pitch, I don't swing at the first pitch very often. That at-bat, there was a couple of runners on and I was looking fastball to drive it up the middle. He happened to throw me a slider. It was a pretty good one, middle-in and I just happened to put a good swing on it and it got in on my barrel and obviously good results came from a mishap." 
Verdugo grounded out to end the game, but he's taking a positive outlook after his 33rd multi-hit game of the season.
"At the end of the day, I just want to keep putting my team in the best position to win," he said. "That's me getting on base, singles, doubles, whatever it is I'll try and do it. Just want to finish strong. We're getting to the end of July and August is coming, so these are the dog days. You get a little tired, little sluggish. You just have to find a way to grind through it and keep playing hard and stick with the approach."
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For the Aces, Christian Walker belted his 23rd dinger, while Kevin Medrano and Jeremy Hazelbaker drove in two runs apiece.