Rogers plates nine runs in Sounds' sweep
Just three innings into a long Sunday, Jason Rogers had a good day under his belt already. But there was a lot more to come.
The Brewers infield prospect homered three times and drove in nine runs between two games as Triple-A Nashville swept a doubleheader from Round Rock with wins of 13-4 and 4-2 at Greer Stadium.
"It was a long day today, but we played good, got the 'W's," Rogers said. "It feels good. I got good pitches to hit and put good swings on them."
With three runs already home in the second inning, the third baseman connected on a two-run single to extend Nashville's lead. He followed Jeremy Hermida's RBI double with a three-run homer in the fourth.
Two innings later, the 26-year-old belted a one-out solo home run.
In the nightcap, Rogers sparked the Sounds again, breaking a tie with a three-run homer in the bottom of the third.
"I felt real good," he said. "[Round Rock starter Justin Germano], we'd faced him before. I knew what he had and how they were going to pitch me, so I was trying to have a good approach and put some good swings on the ball."
Over his last 10 games, Rogers is batting .387 (12-for-31) with four homers and 11 RBIs.
"When I first got called up, they were pitching me a lot different than Double-A," he said. "I had to make that quick adjustment. I got in a groove, and I'm taking it game by game, at-bat by at-bat.
"In Double-A, they pitch off their fastball. Here in Triple-A, you've got veterans. You've got guys who have been in the big leagues. You see a lot more breaking balls. They want you to swing at their pitches, so I had to make that adjustment to get my pitch."
The victory put the Sounds at 66-56 on the season and atop the Pacific Coast League American Southern Division.
"We're playing good baseball right now," Rogers said. "We're in first place. We've got two, two-and-a-half more weeks to go, and these games are important. We're doing a good job.
"I want to get to the playoffs. The Huntsville team, the Double-A team I was with, they're going to the playoffs. This team, we were just two games behind when I first got called up. My goal is to do my part to help this team get to the playoffs."
Nashville got a quality start from Taylor Jungmann in the opener. Jungmann (6-5) struck out nine over six innings, allowing two runs on four hits while walking two. In the finale, Ariel Pena (9-7) gave up a run on five hits while striking out eight and walking two in 5 2/3 innings.
Rob Wooten closed out the Sounds nightcap, giving up a run in the seventh but picking up his 10th save.
Tyler Maun is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @TylerMaun.