With a little help, Gilbert hits for cycle
Ninth-inning error was changed to single to complete A's farmhand's feat
By Danny Wild
The Stockton Ports pounded out 23 hits Thursday, but a late scoring change in the box score gave one particular one extra importance.
Archie Gilbert hit for the cycle and drove in four runs to lead the Ports in a 19-7 rout of the host High Desert Mavericks. His ninth-inning grounder to second baseman Cesar Fuentes was bobbled and originally judged an error, but the official scorer changed the ruling to a single a half-inning later.
"I didn't know what they'd do," Gilbert said of the scoring decision. "I thought it could go either way. I got a little excited when I saw it."
Gilbert went 4-for-7 and scored twice to raise his average to .278 in the best performance of his career. He slugged a three-run homer in the second -- his fifth of the season, tripled and scored in the fourth and doubled in the fifth. His four hits and four RBIs were career highs.
The unusual play was ruled an error at first, but no scoring decision initially was posted on the ballpark's scoreboard, leaving Gilbert and the Ports crossing their fingers. After mulling over the call for about half an inning, the play was ruled a hit.
"I was hoping they'd give me a hit, I was like, 'OK, I hit the ball hard.' But I thought, 'If they do, they do, and if they don't, they don't. But it would be real nice if they did.' When I finally saw it, I was pretty happy about it."
Gilbert's teammates were sure it was a legitimate single.
"Everyone wanted me to get it, so that was good -- everyone kept saying, 'That's gotta be a hit,'" Gilbert laughed. "Then they made it a hit, so they started cheering."
He might have been destined to get the single.
"The guys kept telling me, 'If I'm on base, I'm going to stop so you can't go to second,' Gilbert said of his teammates' desire to prevent him from getting an extra-base hit. "They said, 'I'm not gonna run, so you have to stop.' We all had fun, it felt good, it was a good day."
The entire Stockton dugout could agree with that sentiment. Every batter had a hit and seven of the nine starters had two or more. Chris Carter homered twice and drove in four runs, Gustavo Rosendo had three hits and four RBIs, Michael Affronti homered and scored four times and Josh Horton matched Gilbert with four hits.
The Ports scored in every inning but the first and fifth and gave their leadoff man more than a few chances to complete the feat. Gilbert, who led off the game with a groundout, bounced out in the sixth and flied out in the eighth before getting another shot in his seventh plate appearance.
"Honestly I wanted to drive the ball, my whole approach was the same," Gilbert said of his final at-bat. "It was like the first day of Spring Training. I tried to put [the cycle] in the back of my head. I wasn't nervous, I didn't change anything. I knew I needed a hit, but I didn't feel pressure."
The confident Gilbert entered the game in a 1-for-11 slide. The left fielder hadn't driven in a run in his last eight games dating back to June 10. He said he made it a point to relax Thursday.
"I felt pretty good today, I'm glad I could get these hits. I need to get back on track. I wanted to go back and see the ball, hit it deep and go the other way," he said."
It was the most RBIs for Gilbert since he homered and drove in three runs April 20 against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Gilbert originally came up with Boston but switched socks in 2006 when he signed with Chicago as a free agent May 1. He hit .332 and led the Rookie Pioneer League with 35 steals in 54 games for the then-Great Falls White Sox that year before batting .289 with 49 RBIs in 101 games for Class A Kannapolis last summer. The California native joined Oakland in December.
"Oakland was close to home so I picked them, and I'm glad I did," said Gilbert, who grew up in Hayward, Calif. "It's a good organization and there's really no stress. They let you be a man, they don't hover over you.
"I kind of always knew I could do more if somebody gave me the time to play everyday. I learned a lot from the White Sox, but I'm glad I made the move. It's been better for me and my career," he added.
Gilbert was the second A's prospect to hit for the cycle this year. Jon Zeringue accomplished the feat in the Midland RockHounds' 9-7 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks in Double-A play May 1.
