Suns' Dean records first two-homer game

Austin Dean's learning all the facets of being a good cleanup hitter. He put them into action Tuesday.

"I was just trying to slow the game down," Dean said. "Yesterday, I was rushing to the plate a lot so the coaches and manager (Dave Berg) just told me to slow it down and let the game come to me."

Miami's sixth-ranked prospect belted two homers for the first time in his career and drove in five runs to lead Double-A Jacksonville over Biloxi, 9-1, at MGM Park. He went 3-for-5 and scored three times .

"A lot of the credit goes to Yefri Perez and Jeremias Pineda," Dean said of his fellow Suns. "They've been getting on base a lot for both (J.T.) Riddle and myself. Our job is to get them in and they just make it that much easier for us."

After going 0-for-4 on Monday, the 22-year-old outfielder tripled to right field to lead off the second inning and scored on Brady Shoemaker's sacrifice fly to get Jacksonville on the board. An inning later with Perez and Pineda on base, Dean lofted a three-run homer to left off Shuckers starter Jorge Ortega for a 6-0 lead.

The 2012 fourth-rounder went yard again in the sixth against left-handed reliever Hobbs Johnson, sending a two-run shot to the same area.

"I wasn't thinking too much [when I jogged around the bases]," Dean said. "It's really cool to get my first two-homer game, but I was just more happy to be winning."

Dean now leads the Southern League with 27 RBIs on the season, topping Riddle's tally by one. The Marlins' No. 10 prospect, who batted ahead of Dean in the No. 3 spot Tuesday, contributed an RBI single in the third.

"J.T. is a really good hitter," Dean said. "When he's hot, he's hot. He doesn't struggle very often. He's also a fast runner and can steal bases, so if he gets on second base and I hit the gap, I know he's going to score. He just adds a lot of leverage.

"This is also his first time hitting in the 3-hole and he has been very impressive. Everybody on the team is liking what they are seeing."

Moises Sierra also provided some offensive Tuesday with a pair of solo shots, his first long balls of the season.

"Sierra has got a lot of pop and everybody knows it," Dean said. "Today in batting practice, he was just relaxed and wasn't trying too hard. He just gives the team that boost in the lineup."

All the offense backed Marlins' third-ranked prospect Jarlin Garcia (1-2) on the mound. The southpaw allowed three hits and two walks while striking out four over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, rebounding from a subpar outing against Jackson on May 5 that saw him exit in the fourth.

"He was just pounding the zone and not being scared up there," Dean said. "We have a lot of great pitchers here and a couple of games just weren't going our way, so this was a good bounceback win for all of us."

Victor Araujo allowed one run on three hits and two walks in relief of Garcia and Raudel Lazo tossed a perfect ninth to close out the victory.