SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Austin Martin didn’t wait long to produce Glendale’s first knock Wednesday night, driving a leadoff double the other way to right-center on the third pitch he saw in the top of the first. Normally, that wouldn’t mean too much. But on Wednesday -- the night of the second no-hitter in World Series history -- maybe it meant a little extra.

“Everybody wants that one hit,” Martin said. “To get it out of the way, it does set the tone for the rest of the game. You get a lot more confident, a lot more comfortable in the box, and you’ve got the pitchers a little bit uneasy as well.”

The Twins’ No. 12 prospect followed with a bit more than just one hit.

Martin finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, two steals and one run scored from the top spot in the Desert Dogs' lineup in Glendale’s 2-1 loss to Surprise at Surprise Stadium.

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The performance pushed the 23-year-old shortstop higher up multiple Arizona Fall League leaderboards. He now ranks second with 27 hits through 18 games in the desert. His .380 average, six doubles and 10 steals all place third in their respective categories. By coming home for Glendale’s only tally, he’s in the top spot with 19 runs scored, one ahead of teammate Andy Pages (18).

“I think it’s met my expectations,” Martin said of his AFL campaign to this point. “I came here planning to play baseball the way that I play baseball. I’m glad to see the results starting to go, but I came here expecting to perform well.”

Internal and external outlooks have been high for the Vanderbilt product since he was taken fifth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft, with many evaluators believing him to be the most advanced collegiate hitter in the class.

It’s taken some time for Martin to get going in the pros, however. He’s played at Double-A each of the last two seasons and has produced a .255/.391/.348 line over 824 plate appearances there, with those slugging numbers calling into question his power potential. Perhaps in part due to those concerns, the Blue Jays traded him 12 months into his pro career, moving him to the Twins in the José Berríos deal.

His first full season as a Minnesota prospect was put on hold for five weeks in July and August when a torn UCL in his left (non-throwing elbow) placed him on the injured list. The time off forced Martin to think about the player he wanted to be, and it was one who played into his strengths -- i.e. ability to reach base, put the bat on the ball and be a menace on the basepaths -- rather than one who tried to chase his weakness.

That is to say, he wanted to stick as a prototypical leadoff hitter.

“You have to try to make things happen,” Martin said, “whether it's working a walk or -- even if you get out -- working the pitcher or allowing the guys behind you to see some pitches and get a feel for what the guy on the mound is trying to do that night. It’s a lot of responsibility because you’re the kickstarter for the team.”

Doubling twice -- the second coming down the left-field line in the eighth inning -- and swiping two bags in the sixth to score on a Pages sacrifice fly certainly stirred the Glendale drink.

If the Minnesota prospect can carry this performance forward out of the fall and back into next summer, a game like Wednesday's might just become a trademark Austin Martin Game in the Twin Cities. That’s the blueprint, anyways.

“It’s a pretty good night,” Martin said with a smirk.

Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly weren’t the only Astros standouts Wednesday night. Houston right-hander Rhett Kouba allowed just one hit and one walk over four scoreless innings as the Surprise starter, and infield prospect Will Wagner clubbed the go-ahead solo homer for the Saguaros in the bottom of the eighth. The 419-foot blast was Wagner’s second AFL dinger. He leads qualified Fall Leaguers with a .721 slugging percentage over 50 plate appearances.