MILWAUKEE — When Edwin Maysonet was called up to the Brewers last weekend, he tried to be realistic with the media about his potential impact with the team.
"I don't think I'm going to have a big impact on the team," the second baseman said on Monday. "I'm just like a little guy in the corner. Whenever they need me, I'll go out there. If they need me to be the boost, I'll try to be the boost."
Turns out, the "little guy in the corner" was being a bit modest.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning on Saturday and the Brewers leading by one run, Maysonet took an 0-1 pitch from Cubs pitcher Chris Volstad and blasted it to the left field bleachers for his first-ever grand slam, giving Milwaukee an insurmountable 6-1 lead. For a team that's struggled to put together consecutive good performances on offense, Maysonet's homer was one heck of a boost.
"I was just trying to get a good fastball to hit a line drive," Maysonet said after the game. "I'm not a home run hitter. You can see my stats. … God just helped me out on that one."
The grand slam was the first by a Brewers position player since June 2010. Pitcher Shaun Marcum boasted the team's only grand slam in the 2011 season.
It's true that without a bevy of injuries, Maysonet probably wouldn't have been on the team's major league roster this year. At Triple-A Nashville, Maysonet had hit just .214 this season with no home runs and four RBI before being called up on May 5. And on Saturday, Maysonet had no idea he'd be in the lineup until he got to the clubhouse that morning.
The utility infielder has never been one to hit for power, as his Saturday grand slam was just the second home run he's hit in 51 games at the major league level. His last one came in 2009 when he was a fill-in starter with the Astros.
And although Maysonet will likely head back to the bench when everyday second baseman Rickie Weeks is deemed okay to play following a hand injury last night—Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he's day-to-day — the infielder's performance on Saturday had Roenicke singing his praises.
"He's a pretty aggressive kid," Roenicke said. "We saw in spring training, if he gets that first pitch right there, he's swinging. … Because of that he's got an aggressive mindset. It's not a tentative swing. He swings the bat."
He may not swing the bat any better all season than he did on Saturday, but as the Miller Park crowd cheered him on, Maysonet took a curtain call in his first start as a Brewer. One thing is for sure: he won't soon forget Saturday's game against the Cubs.
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