Another game, another hit for Luis Robert, the White Sox No. 4 prospect (No. 44 on the Top 100 list). With three hits Friday, Robert led the way as the Glendale Desert Dogs beat the Scottsdale Scorpions, 6-5.
Robert's biggest hit of the day came in the third inning when he showed his hustle as he stretched a two-out blooper into an RBI double.
• Gameday
"It was a pitch I could not [see] very well," Robert said through a translator. "But it [landed] in a zone where no one was, so I was able to get to second."
Not only did Robert's bat continue to stay hot, he was also persistent on the basepaths. He recorded his third stolen base of the season and showed his baserunning acumen when he scored after tagging from second on a line-out to center.
"I have always played aggressive and thought I could score because I saw the fielder sleeping," Robert said.
The heads-up baserunning gave the Desert Dogs an early 1-0 lead.
Before that, Robert singled by beating out a throw from third base that extended his hitting streak to a league-leading 14 games.
"I've been working on my swing and to be more consistent with contact and the results are showing," Robert said.
The following inning, Glendale tacked on another run before Robert's RBI double made it a three-run game. The next batter, Yu Chang, the Indians' No. 6 prospect, drove in two more runs give Glendale a commanding 5-0 lead over Scottsdale.
It wasn't over for Scottsdale just yet as the Desert Dogs' bullpen allowed the Scorpions to stay in it.
A balk in the fifth inning led to the first run of the game for Scottsdale. In the sixth, Darik Hall hit a solo shot over the right-field wall, to bring the game within three. Matt Winn later chipped away at the lead with a solo shot of his own.
After the explosive four-run inning for Glendale the bats went quiet, going just 1-for-13 over the next four innings. When Scottsdale tied the game up at five in the eighth inning, the Desert Dogs' bats woke up for a final time.
A walk and a single by the first two batters put Robert in good position to give Glendale the lead once again, especially with no outs. In perfect fashion, the hottest hitter in the AFL delivered with a single of his own to load up the bases.
Two batters later, Estevan Florial, the Yankees' No. 2 prospect and No. 45 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list, lined one into left field for the game-winning RBI.