Alvarez sparks Thunder to series win over Duckies
TRENTON » Part of life in the minor leagues is having to haul yourself out of bed for a 10:30 a.m. game the morning after rain forced the previous night’s contest to be delayed by over two hours.
For players like Mandy Alvarez, a 23-year-old infielder, who began the season in Double-A only due to injuries inside the organization, it’s another opportunity to prove he belongs.
Alvarez extended his hitting streak to nine game with a pair of singles, scored three runs and provided the spark to the Thunder’s 5-4 victory over Akron that allowed them to take two of three on a rainy Wednesday at Arm & Hammer Park.
“You got to be ready for this because it’s what you signed up to do,” Alvarez said. “I enjoy every second I’m on the field, so I had a blast playing.”
Alvarez is batting .428 (12-for28) during his nine-game hitting streak and has raised his season average from .217 to .270. He credited his recent run of form to being more of himself after some initial struggles.
“Some balls are starting to fall and early on they were getting caught,” he said. “I made some adjustments, changed my mindset and I’m having fun, enjoying every single day I’m out there. You hit a ball hard or it finds a hole and you feel like, ‘yeah, I’m right there, I can do this.’”
A 17th-round pick out of Eastern Kentucky University in 2016, Alvarez posted a .243/.277/.299 slash in 76 games between Tampa and Charleston. He was expected to open the season with the Tarpons in the Florida State League, but the Thunder had a need for an infielder.
“There was never a doubt in my mind that I couldn’t handle playing here,” Alvarez said. “It was just surprising that I ended up here, but now that I’m here I just want to make the most of the opportunity by playing my hardest every single day.”
Alvarez helped manufacture the winning run in the sixth inning when he led off with a single, advanced on an errant pick-off throw and later scored on Chace Numata’s RBI single.
“(Alvarez) puts the barrel on the baseball and because of that there’s a lot of things I can do with him,” manager Jay Bell said. He’s going to give you good at bats and be a functional guy. He’s going to spray the ball around the ballpark with an occasional home run, but he has to realize he’s not a home run hitter, he’s a singles hitter with gap power. That’s one of the things I think he’s a done a really good job of the last three weeks. He’s been trying to hit the balls to the gap and he’s had success with that.”
The Thunder (24-14) fell behind 3-1 before vaulting in front thanks to a three-run third that was capped by a two-run single off the bat of Ben Ruta.
Much like Alvarez, Ruta, the West Windsor-Plainsboro South grad, has taken advantage of the opportunity at Double-A and raised his average to .313 with a 2-for-4 day.
Will Carter worked the first 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits. The right-hander struck out four and walked five.
Andrew Schwaab picked up the win in relief with two scoreless frames before handing off to Caleb Frare and Jordan Foley for the final 2.1 innings.
Bobby Bradley hit a solo homer, his seventh, off Carter in the third for Akron (22-17).