As the Milwaukee Brewers try to make a push toward a playoff spot in the National League, the Brew Crew fans, management and coaching staff must be thrilled with the overall production this season of rookie second baseman Keston Hiura of Valencia, CA. Hiura is batting .308 with 14 home runs and 37 runs batted in.
However more impressively the Asian American (Hiura is half Chinese and half Japanese), has solidified the Brewers batting order so much, he has provided valuable protection and consistency behind National League most valuable player candidate Christian Yelich of Thousand Oaks, CA. In 63 games and 240 at bats, Hiura has collected 74 hits, 39 runs scored, 18 doubles, two triples, eight stolen bases and 20 walks. He has an on base percentage of .376 and a slugging percentage of .575.
On August 21, in a 5-3 Brewers win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Hiura had his sixth multi-hit game of the month of August. He had a single and a double for two runs batted in the two run Brewers victory.
Three times in August, Hiura has actually had a three hit night for Milwaukee. They came in an 8-3 Brewers win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 7, in a 15-14 Brewers win over the Washington Nationals on August 17 and in a 16-8 loss to the Nationals on August 18.
One might be a little surprised however that Hiura only has 37 runs batted in this season when he is batting fourth in the Brewers lineup and right behind Yelich. One area where Hiura needs to improve is his batting average with runners in scoring position. Currently it is only at .259, which is 49 percentage points below his batting average.
The Brewers 5-3 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday was key as it kept them within striking distance of the National League Central division leading Chicago Cubs and the Cardinals, which hold the second wildcard spot. The Brewers are currently four games back of the Cubs and three and a half games back of the Cardinals. With a record of 65 wins and 62 losses, Milwaukee is in third place in the National League Central.
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