28 Jul

defining moment?

It’s probably too early in the season to declare it a defining moment for the Milwaukee Brewers as a team, but it may have been precisely that for second baseman Keston Hiura’s rookie year. The Biloxi Shuckers alumnus stroked a walk-off two-run home run in the 10th inning against Chicago Cubs closer (and former Mississippi Braves star) Craig Kimbrel on Saturday, giving the Brewers a 5-3 victory over their National League Central rival. The Brewers are now tied with the Cubs in second place in the division, both a game back of St. Louis. Hiura, who knocked in a game-tying run in the eighth inning, is batting .333 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs in 42 games for the Brewers. He has a 15-game hitting streak. Biloxi fans have seen a fairly steady stream of Shuckers pitchers rise to the big league club since the team moved to the Coast in 2015. Hiura is just the second position player to have a significant impact; shortstop Orlando Arcia is the other. Hiura, drafted ninth overall by the Brewers out of UC-Irvine in 2017, made it to Double-A Biloxi last June and batted .272 with six homers in 73 games. He played in last summer’s All-Star Futures Game and was MVP of the Arizona Fall League. Hiura, 22, was raking at Triple-A San Antonio when he got his first big league call-up on May 14. He was sent back down on June 3, then recalled on June 28. Surely he’s up to stay now.

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