The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

LUCIUS Fox has been on a hot streak at the plate to begin the month of September in his return to Triple-A baseball and the Rochester Red Wings.

Fox hit a two-run home run in the Red Wings’ 15-8 win over the Syracuse Mets Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

In the top of the third inning, Fox hit a three-run home run off Connor Grey. In the fourth, Fox also drew a walk and was eventually plated by a Jake Alu three-run home run.

He finished 1-4 with two runs and four RBI.

Fox is hitting .292 since the calendar flipped to September with nine RBI, four runs, seven hits and slugging .542 with 13 total bases through six games.

He opened the month 3-5, (including a double and a triple), with two runs scored and three RBI against the Toledo Mud Hens. He also went 2-5 with an RBI in the series finale to begin his current four-game hit streak.

Fox missed most of June and all of July before he returned from his rehab assignment on August 15.

In 39 games with the Red Wings, he is hitting .231 with 33 hits, five doubles, two triples, four home runs, 19 RBI seven stolen bases and a .677 OPS.

In the offseason, Fox was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals last December and joined the fifth franchise of his MLB career.

During the final week of Spring Training, he was recalled from the Red Wings to the big league club and had an immediate opportunity at the opening week roster after several injuries to veterans in the Washington middle infield.

He made his MLB debut on April 10 with a squeeze bunt and run scored in a win over the Mets.

On May 1, Fox ended his drought at the plate and recorded both his first hit and first stolen base of his MLB career.

He got the start at shortstop and finished 2-5 with one run scored, one RBI, and one stolen base in an 11-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California.

When he was reassigned to the Red Wings on June 7, manager Davey Martinez said he expects the versatile infielder to be back in the big leagues.

“I told him [Fox], I said, ‘Hey, look, it’s just a matter of time before you get an opportunity to come up here and play every day. It’s part of your development, we want you to go down there and get as many at-bats as possible, and work on your footwork.’” Martinez said.

“He’s learned a lot up here with [third base coach Gary DiSarcina and first base coach Tim Bogar], he has to continue to work, but I loved having him, and you see — if we can cut down his swing a little bit, and he puts the ball in play, you see what he does when he’s on the bases. He’s a very good baserunner. And he’s going to learn a lot, and he’s learned a lot, so we just want him to go down there and get consistent at-bats and play.”

He appeared at both shortstop and third base in his time with the Nationals.

Last season, Fox rose as high as No.26 in the Kansas City Royals’ prospect pipeline and spent the bulk of his season at the AAA level with the Omaha Storm Chasers in the International League. In 57 games with the Storm Chasers, Fox hit .245 with a .353 OBP, .729 OPS, 56 hits, five home-runs, 24 RBI, 44 runs scored, and 19 stolen bases.