Phillips, Mengden beat Rawhide, heat

Just in case California League players don't have enough to contend with between the thin air and high altitudes, the summer on America's West Coast brings another obstacle in the form of extreme heat.

In scorching temperatures recorded as 104 degrees at game time and 106 in the middle innings, a pair of JetHawks stayed cool under pressure Monday.

Center fielder and leadoff hitter Brett Phillips backed up Sunday's six-RBI game with another three-hit effort and starting pitcher Daniel Mengden earned his first Class A Advanced win as Lancaster topped the host Visalia Rawhide, 8-3, at Recreation Park.

There was no relaxing, lollygagging or dogging it Monday night. Instead it was just the opposite -- working hard, working fast and then getting back in the shade of the dugout as quickly as possible.

"It was really hot," said Florida native Phillips, who had three hits and six RBIs on Sunday night and who has eight multi-hit games in his past 17 contests. "I mean, we didn't take BP it was so hot, but the other team had to play in it as well. It's one of those things where you just had to grind it out and play through it, just like the other team.

"It was the hottest game I've played in California, probably the hottest game I've played in my career. You have to stay hydrated. We had ice towels around the neck in the dugout, the kind of things you try to stay somewhat hydrated to cool off. It's just another game and you try to make every play possible to make sure your pitcher doesn't have to throw extra pitches."

Houston's No. 6 prospect singled to center field and scored in the first inning, doubled to right and scored again in the fourth and singled back up the middle in the fifth.

Phillips, who lifted his average to .322, was one of five JetHawks to collect at least two hits. Third baseman J.D. Davis was 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored, catcher Alfredo Gonzalez collected three hits, an RBI and a run, second baseman Marc Wik homered and doubled out of the No. 9 spot and left fielder Brian Holberton went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

"I'm just looking to get good pitches to hit and not try to do too much," MLB.com's No. 98 prospect said. "One through nine can hit and I know if I get on base, someone will potentially drive me in. Every time I get on, someone will get me in, that's the name of this team.

"Daniel Mengden threw a great game and Kevin Comer was lights-out as well, and we put the bats together and scored some runs for our pitchers."

The offense proved more than enough for the 6-foot-2 right-hander, who was staked to a 4-0 lead after one inning, a 5-0 advantage after four frames and a 7-0 cushion after five.

After working around Wik's fielding error in the first and stranding two runners in scoring position in the second, Mengden settled down by retiring seven batters in a row. The Rawhide scored two runs on a leadoff walk and two hits in the fifth before Mengden gave way on the mound to piggy-back partner Comer, who allowed a run on four hits over the final four innings in his Lancaster debut.

"It was just miserable at first," Houston's No. 22 prospect said of the heat. "I was sweating before I even started warming up. It reminded me of the summer back in Houston. There it's at least 90 to 100 percent humidity most of the time [in the summer]. Here is more of a dry heat. I'm kinda used to it and I'd rather be blistering hot than cold, that's for sure.

"For me, I took some salt tablets to help me out, because I'm going to sweat whether I'm in the shade or not in the shade. When it's really hot, I go to the rosin bag and that's my best friend. My hands get pretty moist, so that helps me keep them dry."

Mengden, who said he has pitched in 110-degree temperatures in Arizona while pitching and catching for a Houston travel team while he was in high school, was making his third start with the JetHawks after being promoted from Class A Quad Cities two weeks ago. He was 4-1 with a 1.16 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 38 2/3 Midwest League innings.

However, the 22-year-old surrendered four runs over 5 1/3 innings in his Cal League debut on May 27, and he yielded eight runs on 10 hits -- both career highs -- over 4 1/3 frames in High Desert last Monday.

The Houston native and Texas A&M product said things were much better this time out.

"I felt good," said Mengden, selected in the fourth round of last year's Draft. "After my first two outings, I had to work on some stuff. It feels good to throw well and get the win. I was just trying to keep the ball down. Before, I was falling behind in counts and getting into hitter's counts and not throwing good pitcher's pitches."