Back from the bigs and extending the streak

When Indianapolis shortstop Jordy Mercer slapped a one-out single to center field in the bottom of Monday's sixth inning, it extended his Triple-A hitting streak to nine games -- a streak that started over five weeks earlier.

Monday was Mercer's first game with the Indians since May 28, when the infielder went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run against the Durham Bulls, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Following that game, Mercer was called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first major league appearance of his career.

"It was a dream come true," Mercer said of getting the call. "It's something that you dream of, you know, when you're little, and to actually go up and do it ... it was something that I'll always remember. It was a pretty cool feeling.

"My wife was with me [when I got the call] so I got to tell her, and then immediately call my parents and they got a flight the next day and were there for my first start and my first hit," Mercer added.

That first start and first hit coincided. After going 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in his major league debut, Mercer started the next game and picked up his first career major league hit, a single.

There were no good photos of Mercer hitting on Google Images, so here he is fielding a groundball for the Pirates.

"I had a little bit of jitters," Mercer said of trying to record that first big league hit. "I wanted to get it out of the way early. I wanted to not have to worry about it. It doesn't always work that way, but [this time] it did. I just got something out over the plate and put the barrel on it and it found a hole."

That hit ended up being the only one of Mercer's big league stint as he appeared in just five games for the Pirates and batted .111 (1-for-9) with a run scored. When he returned to Indianapolis, however, Mercer got right back into the swing of things, going 1-for-3 in his first game back -- his ninth-straight Triple-A game with a hit.

Mercer said on Tuesday that he didn't realize his single had extended his enduring streak.

"I had no idea. When you're up for a month, I guess you just kind of forget about those things," Mercer said with a laugh. "I'm just trying to get back into the flow of things and help the team."

That team he's trying to help has made strides in recent weeks when Mercer was in the majors, but the Indians will no doubt be happy to have Mercer back in the lineup. During his hitting streak, which started back on May 20 with a 2-for-4 performance at Buffalo, Mercer is batting .417 (15-for-36) with two doubles, a home run, four RBI and 10 runs scored.

"We were good when I was here, too, but I guess when I left they turned it on and played really well," Mercer said. "I'm hoping to keep things going here and we'll see where it takes us."

Mercer is looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of playing every day, but warns it may take some time to shake off the rust.

"It's going to be a little different, I guess, for just a few weeks. My timing's going to be a little off both at the plate and in the field," Mercer said.

Rusty or not, Mercer is looking forward to contributing on a team that holds a 9.5-game lead in the International League West and appears playoff-bound for the first time since 2005.

"It's good to be back out there," Mercer said. "It's good to have fun. It's one thing that's an enjoyment in my life, playing every day and being on the field and just having fun like a little kid. That's what I enjoy the most and what I'm looking forward to getting back into."

Michael Raines writes for indyindians.com and has recently brought his fauxhawk back from the dead. You can contact him a therainesdelay@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Michael__Raines.

Boggs on the bump

Brandon Boggs has done a lot of things during is professional baseball career.

The product of Georgia Tech made his major league debut on April 29, 2008, and has played 703 major league games between the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. In nine professional seasons, the switch-hitter has amassed 690 hits between the major and minor leagues -- including 29 triples and 88 home runs -- and has stolen 70 career bases.

An above-average defender with a good arm, Boggs has recorded 43 outfield assists in his career and turned six double plays from the outfield.

In 55 games this season, Boggs has committed just one error in 95 total chances.

Last Tuesday night, Boggs showed off that arm in a way he never had in the pros: On the mound.

With Pawtucket beating the Indians 13-2 in the eighth inning at McCoy Stadium, Boggs took the mound to save some arms in the Indianapolis bullpen and ended up tossing a perfect inning, inducing a pair of groundouts and a flyout.

In fact, Boggs was the only Indianapolis pitcher to not allow a run in that game.

"The last time I pitched was probably my senior year of high school," Boggs said on Saturday when the team returned to Victory Field for a four-game series against the Rochester Red Wings. "It was a long time ago, over 10 years ago."

Putting a position player in to pitch isn't unprecedented, even this season. On May 12 at Victory Field, the Norfolk Tides sent Allan de San Miguel, usually a catcher, to the mound in the bottom of the 14th inning. de San Miguel did not fare as well as Boggs, allowing two hits, two walks and the game-winning run while not recording an out as Indianapolis won 5-4 on Matt Hague's walkoff single.

When de San Miguel entered that game, there was much musing in the Victory Field press box about which position player would be the one to pitch for Indianapolis in an emergency. Less than a month later, the answer was revealed, but the Indians had already put a plan in place.

"A while back, [Indians manager Dean Treanor] asked me if I could [pitch] and if I could throw strikes and I told him yeah," Boggs said. "And it just ended up that same situation came about and they were like, 'Alright, you got it this time' and I was like, 'Alright, perfect.'"

Boggs, who also went 2-for-4 in the game, said he just focused on throwing strikes in his appearance, throwing only two-seam and four-seam fastballs that ran between 79-82 miles per hour.

"You just don't want to get on the mound and be that position player that can't throw strikes and then walks the bases loaded and stuff like that and then give up even more runs and, ya know, makes it look even worse in the box score."

Boggs said he was pleased with his outing, happy to come out sans damage.

"I was like, well, I got through it -- and unscathed -- so I was just kind of happy," Boggs said. "And at the same time, it's a surreal feeling that you can come in and get these guys out.

"These are guys in Triple-A -- one step away from the big leagues -- and you can get them out, ya know, just using location. So I was just happy and relieved."

Michael Raines writes for indyindians.com and called it that Boggs would be the Tribe's go-to positional pitcher. You can contact him at therainesdelay@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Michael__Raines.