By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Lane Thomas has made an impression this far, at least temporarily diverting fans’ attention from the mascots and Taco Bell K-Man in his first two games since the Jon Lester trade.
Thomas, dealt from the St. Louis Cardinals to Washington Nationals on trade deadline day, led off the bottom of the first inning of Wednesday’s game against Syracuse with a home run to left field. After falling behind 0-2 in the count to Mets righty Jared Eickoff, Thomas watched two called balls to level the count before slugging his first home run in Rochester.
“I hadn’t played in quite a bit until I got here, obviously,” Thomas noted. “I think just trying to put some good swings together and see some pitches, try to be aggressive in the strike zone. I know the last two guys throw a lot of strikes and a lot of off-speed stuff, so I was just trying to put some pitches in play hard.”
The 25-year-old has hit safely in three of his first eight at-bats after a 2-for-4 performance Tuesday night, when he doubled to drive home a run. He was batting .265 with four home runs and 20 RBI for Triple-A Memphis before the trade.
Rochester lost 6-3, leaving six men on base, but Thomas impressed Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy. The outfielder narrowly missed a second home run in two innings when he lifted a fly ball to the center field warning track with men on first and third, ending the second frame.
“He’s done really well,” LeCroy remarked. “He’s driven the ball really to all parts of the field and today he hit three balls on the nose. He’s got a nice, short, compact swing. He’s an athletic center fielder that can run and throw the baseball well, so I’m liking where he’s at the first two games; I know our organization is. Really glad that we’re able to get him in the trade.”
Thomas appeared in 84 major league games over three seasons with the Cardinals, reaching base in 18 of his 44 plate appearances, including four homers, in 2019. He batted just .107 (9-for-84) in 50 major league games in 2020 and 2021.
A 2018 Texas League All-Star who homered 27 times between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2018, Thomas is looking to regain his swing in his new surroundings.
“I think I was just excited. New start,” Thomas said of the trade, which was announced after the 4 p.m. Eastern deadline on July 30. “It’s a fresh start with a different organization, just trying to impress some new eyes.”
Thomas’s contract could keep him in the Nationals organization until 2026. One positive early sign for Washington in this small two-game sample size is that both run-scoring, extra-base hits were tallied against righthanded pitchers (Eickhoff and Vance Worley) with major league experience. Thomas is just 1-for-33 in his major league career against righthanders, 4-for-19 against lefties.
“I think that’s always good,” Thomas assessed. “Doing something that you’re not always having success at kind of gives you a little more confidence against those righties.”
Seeing two new Red Wings homer in consecutive nights had LeCroy optimistic even after a 2-1 lead after two innings turned into a 6-3 final.
Daniel Palka doubled twice, while Jecksson Flores went 3-for-4 for the second time in as many starts, but Rochester struggled in late situations with runners in scoring position. The team’s first two batters reached in the seventh before pinch-hitter Blake Swihart struck out and Thomas grounded into a double play. Palka and Dietrich then reached second and third with one out in the eighth inning, but the Red Wings managed just a sacrifice fly.
“We had a big spot there in the seventh and didn’t get nothing out of it,” LeCroy acknowledged. “That was a big, big spot because we ended up scoring in the eighth. We’ve just gotta be better in those situations… We’ve just gotta do better with runners in scoring position. We had a chance in this game, we just didn’t get it done offensively late.”
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