Healthy Snider maintains hard-nosed style for 51s

Two stints on the disabled list with a wrist injury have done little to alter Travis Snider's hard-nosed style.

Nearly eight weeks after jamming his right wrist trying to make a diving catch, the 51s right fielder was at it again Sunday, making a nice sliding catch of a fly ball at Cashman Field.

"You want to play hard for your teammates and put your team in position to win, but I'm trying to be a little smarter about picking the right spots to dive and sell yourself out," said Snider, 24.

One of the few bright spots for Las Vegas in a 16-4 loss to Colorado Springs, which rocked 51s starter Yohan Pino for 11 runs on 11 hits in 1 1/3 innings, Snider went 2-for-5 with a run in his second game with the 51s since May 17.

He went 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and two runs in Saturday's 9-3 win.

"I feel like I've been seeing the ball pretty well," he said. "I want to make more consistent, hard contact. But I'm happy with the at-bats I've had and my pitch selection is better than it was in (Single-A Dunedin) Florida."

Activated June 9, Snider hit .227 (5-for-22) in five games for Dunedin before rejoining Las Vegas.

"It was just getting back into game shape," he said. "The results weren't the greatest during games, but I was at a point where I was comfortable to come back up here."

Snider opened the season for the 51s on an 18-game hitting streak that ended April 26, when Snider's glove got caught under his wrist as he dived for a ball during a home game against Tacoma.

"Two tendons in my wrist were aggravated. We weren't sure if it was jammed or strained," Snider said. "It was one of those freak things. When you play the game hard, that kind of stuff happens."

Initially placed on the DL on April 27, Snider was activated May 9. But after being bothered by the wrist while going 2-for-21 in seven games, he returned to the DL on May 18.

"I thought it was going to be a little bit of pain to work through, but it continued to get worse and it was cutting into the quality of my repetitions in the cage, affecting my routine and ultimately my swing in the game," he said. "Unfortunately, it took longer (to heal) than everybody expected, but that's kind of what I've learned about injuries in the past."

Snider, who has played parts of the past four seasons for the Blue Jays, is batting .337 with five home runs and 28 RBIs in 28 games for Las Vegas.

With Snider back at full strength, 51s hitting coach Chad Mottola expects him to regain his top form.

"He looks healthy and that's all that matters," Mottola said. "If he's able to put the work in and he's healthy, everything will take care of itself."

■ NOTE - Brendan Harris was 3-for-3 with a homer and five RBIs for Colorado Springs (33-37), which led 12-0 in the second. Adam Lind, Ricardo Nanita and Paul Phillips each had two hits for Las Vegas (39-31), which has lost three of four.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.