Jays' Berti gets bat going in Fall League play
Prospect goes 4-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored in win for Mesa
MESA, Ariz. -- After scoring a total of three runs in its past two games, the Mesa Solar Sox offense broke out in a big way Wednesday.
The Solar Sox, fueled by a seven-run sixth, collected 13 hits and defeated the Glendale Desert Dogs, 11-2.
In the decisive sixth, the Solar Sox plated seven runs on five hits, and had a stretch where six straight batters reached base.
Angels No. 4 prospect Kaleb Cowart highlighted the inning with a two-run triple, but it was Blue Jays prospect Jon Berti that led the Solar Sox offense.
"It was great to have the lineup going from top to bottom," Berti said. "A lot of great at-bats from everyone. Eric Staments had a great approach today at the plate and it's nice to have that carousel going."
Berti went 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored.
"It starts with that, just seeing the ball well, trying to get a good pitch to hit and try to put a good swing on it," Berti said of his approach.
Berti has had a rough go of it in the AFL and entered the game hitting .178 through 14 games, but on Wednesday, he got off to a fast start.
The 18th-round selection from the 2011 First-Year Player Draft led off the first with a single, scored and never looked back.
Berti, who hit .270 in 136 games with Double-A New Hampshire during the 2014 season, singled again in the third, walked in the fifth and drove in a run with his third single of the day in the sixth.
To cap it all off, Berti concluded his day with a solo homer to left leading off the eighth.
"It's always nice to do a little and try to help the team win," Berti said. "When I can do that on a daily basis, I feel good about myself."
Ultimately Mesa blew the game open and won convincingly, but Glendale starter Matt Magill, kept the game tied through five.
Magill has been improving as the AFL has progressed and Wednesday's start was just the latest example.
The Dodgers prospect allowed eight earned runs over his first 12 AFL innings, but after surrendering just two runs in five innings Wednesday, Magill has given up three runs in his last 12 innings.