Stamets’ bat stays hot during lopsided loss

In July 2015, the Cleveland Indians traded for Eric Stamets thinking that his glove and arm were majorleague caliber despite the fact that he had not played a single game above the double-A level.

The burning question was whether Stamets, a shortstop from Dublin Scioto and the University of Evansville, could hit enough.

The Clippers were pounded 11-0 by Durham on Wednesday night, but Stamets kept his hot streak going with a single in the third inning to give him at least one hit in 10 of his last 11 games.

Things got so out of hand that infielder Todd Hankins got the final four outs for a Clippers team that is 12-19 at Huntington Park for the worst home record in the International League.

Stamets has raised his batting average to .272 after starting out 2-for-28.

“It has been nothing special other than looking for good pitches to hit and keeping it simple,’’ he said. “The mind can be your enemy sometimes and you can get in your own way. When a player gets this far, he has had some success, so you just reiterate what you’ve been doing.’’

His recent ninegame hitting streak was modest, but Stamets made a lot of noise in hitting five home runs and driving in 15 runs. He raised his batting average and on-base percentage each by 135 points and his slugging percentage by 319 points.

“Oh, yes, absolutely, that was my best streak,’’ he said. “I had never experienced that. I hit two home runs two days in a row. You see something different in baseball every day. When you are playing every day in the same spot, you get into a routine.’’

Stamets got the break he needed when Cleveland released utility man Michael Martinez and called up shortstop Erik Gonzalez from Columbus. Since being promoted from Akron on May 5, he has 27 hits in 75 at-bats.

Hitting coach Rouglas Odor has enjoyed watching Stamets turn it around.

“With Eric it’s all about having his confidence level high, and that has come with having good at-bats,’’ he said. “He has got his confidence back. He has put together a lot of quality at-bats. As a baseball player, you will have ups and downs. You don’t see results and you are searching for results.’’

Stamets, 25, was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder David Murphy in what the Cleveland media thought was nothing more than a salary dump.

At the time, Stamets was batting .248 in 62 games for double-A Arkansas, but Indians general manager Mike Chernoff said he was a player the organization had been targeting.