Nunez, Neidert among top prospect performers Wednesday

A's No. 5 drives in five; Mariners' No. 4 stays hot with seven scoreless

September 8th, 2016
Paul Sancya/AP

made the most of his four trips to the plate and led Triple-A Nashville to a 10-7 win over Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League semifinals on Wednesday.
Nunez, the Athletics' No. 5 prospect, went 2-for-3 and set a Sounds playoff record with five RBIs in the win.
The 22-year-old batted just .228 in 128 games during the regular season. But he also managed to hit 23 homers and collect 75 RBIs, and that power was on display as the postseason began.

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Nunez got Nashville off to a hot start with a three-run homer in the top of the first inning off of , who was making a rehab appearance. The third baseman drove in another run via a double in the fourth and then capped his night with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The rest of the best performances from top prospects Wednesday:
• Tyler O'Neill (Mariners' No. 2, No. 64 overall) lifted Double-A Jackson to a 3-0 win over Montgomery with a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th. O'Neill was 2-for-3 in the game.

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Braves No. 7 prospect Mike Soroka continues to throw well for Class A Rome. The 19-year-old gave up one run on seven hits in 7 2/3 innings after posting a 3.02 ERA in 25 games during the regular season.

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• Bryce Denton (Cardinals' No. 23) helped Rookie-level Johnson City win the Appalachian League title, going 2-for-4 with five RBIs and a homer. Denton hit four homers and drove in 26 runs during 54 regular season games and the five RBI game also marked a career-high.
"Every day since I signed my contract last year, it's like a dream come true," Denton told MiLB.com. "I have been still learning. It has been a grind, figuring things out for myself."
• Trevor Clifton (Cubs' No. 8) continued his dominant run with six innings of one-run ball for Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach. The 21-year-old, who didn't allow an earned run in four of his final five regular season starts, struck out six and gave up five hits as Myrtle Beach took Game 1 of the Carolina League semifinals.
•  Dodgers' No. 27 prospect Mitchell Hansen had one four-hit game during the regular season, and now he has one in the postseason. The 20-year-old went 4-for-7 for Rookie-level Ogden with a double and three runs scored.
• Yandy Diaz (Indians' No. 11) began the International League playoffs with a four-hit game for Triple-A Columbus. Diaz, who had two four-hit games during the regular season, went 4-for-5, including a solo homer.
• Nellie Rodriguez (Indians' No. 24) drove in a pair of runs for Double-A Akron in a win over Altoona. The 22-year-old, who had 85 RBIs in 132 games during the regular season, finished 2-for-3 with a double.
Indians' No. 26 prospect Mike Papi helped Double-A Akron to a 12-8 win over Altoona with a trio of RBIs. Williams finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a homer.
• Nick Neidert (Mariners' No. 4) finished the regular season strong and carried that momentum over to the playoffs. The 2015 second-round pick gave up one earned run or fewer in four of his final five starts and did so once again for Class A Clinton. Neidert struck out nine and gave up just three hits in seven scoreless innings.
"I just tried to establish the fastball to both sides of the plate to keep the hitters off balance," Neidert told MiLB.com. "We executed that plan very well. Me and my catcher [James Alfonso] ... were on the same page for the entire night."
• Andrew Moore (Mariners' No. 10) flirted with a perfect game for Double-A Jackson. The right-hander faced the minimum in nine scoreless innings, surrendering just a bunt single to lead off the seventh. Moore threw 101 pitches (71 strikes) and struck out eight.

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(Rays' No. 6) spun a gem for Double-A Montgomery, but was stuck with a no-decision because his opposition, Andrew Moore, was nearly perfect. Hu tied a season-high with 100 pitches (71 strikes) across 7 2/3 scoreless frames. The 22-year-old gave up just five hits and hasn't allowed an earned run in either of his past two starts, a span of 15 2/3 innings.
• Corey Toups (Royals' No. 30) waited until the postseason to put together his first multi-homer game of the season. The 23-year-old went 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs for Double-A Northwest Arkansas after hitting 12 homers in 127 games during the regular season.

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• Jordan Montgomery (Yankees' No. 20) put another seven zeroes on the board for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The left-hander had his 29 2/3 inning scoreless streak snapped in his final start of the regular season, but was lights out once again in the playoffs. Montgomery struck out five and gave up three hits.

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"I wasn't very sharp the first three innings, but I made an adjustment and went from there," Montgomery told MiLB.com. "Tried to be more aggressive with my fastball and get ahead in counts," the 2014 fourth-round pick said. "Just locating my fastball more and just challenging them to hit it and working more pitcher-friendly counts [helped]."
(Yankees' No. 23) waited until the first game of the playoffs to hit his first homer of the season. The 25-year-old outfielder homered as part of a 3-for-4, two RBI night for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Williams didn't homer in any of the 43 games he played this season, but did enter play with 23 long balls in 506 career games.

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