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May 5--Diory Hernandez had a bloody spot on his knee, an imprint of a baseball on his chest and a smile on his face yesterday.
He's pumped to be in Triple-A with the Richmond Braves -- and playing like it.
Hernandez had three hits, scored twice and sparked the decisive run in Richmond's 5-4 victory over Louisville in 11 innings before 2,275 at The Diamond.
He led off the 11th with a double, then made an alert baserunning play by taking third on a pitch that squirted a few feet behind catcher Alvin Colina. That put Hernandez in position to score the winner on Josh Anderson's two-out, infield hit.
Since coming up from Double-A Mississippi nine games ago, Hernandez, a second baseman/shortstop, is batting .457 with one homer and six RBI.
"He's earned the right to play in Triple-A every day," RBraves manager Dave Brundage said. "He's got to learn about the little things in baseball, but it's pretty evident he's playing up to his tools and talent right now."
The Braves signed Hernandez, 24, out of the Dominican Republic in 2002. Cultural adjustments and hand injuries slowed his progression.
Hernandez started to blossom last year. He finished fifth in the Double-A Southern League with a .307 average.
"I just think he's grown a lot in the last two years," Atlanta farm director Kurt Kemp said. "He's always been a talented young man. His performance has matched up to his ability."
The only thing that went awry for Hernandez yesterday was a throw that he missed on a stolen base. Trying to make a quick tag on the runner, Hernandez moved his glove too soon. The ball hit him in the chest.
COMEBACK: Richmond fell behind 4-1 before rallying to win its third straight game. Brent Lillibridge's RBI double and Scott Thorman's two-run homer tied the game in the sixth. Anderson had three of the Braves' 12 hits.
SNEAKY: A disastrous play for the Braves in the seventh wasn't a complete loss, thanks to some heads-up baserunning by Wes Timmons.
lpmagic 
