Carrizales goes 5-for-5 in Nuts' victory

Omar Carrizales already had compiled his best hitting performance of the season Tuesday night, but with his teammates continuing to rake, he wanted more.

"When I was 4-for-4, I just wanted the other at-bat," Carrizales said. "I saw the guys hitting very well against that pitcher and I was just like, 'Oh, I want to get one.'"

Carrizales got his chance and came through, matching a career high for hits on a 5-for-5 night as Class A Advanced Modesto rolled past Stockton, 10-4, at John Thurman Field.

"The key was just focusing every single at-bat," Carrizales said after his first five-hit game since May 30, 2015 with Class A Asheville. "I got my first hit and just didn't think about it. I just think about the next at-bat."

Carrizales racked up nine total bases against the Ports, starting his night with a single to center field in the first inning and following it with an RBI triple to left in the third. The Venezuela native singled again to right leading off the fifth and drove his second triple to center to start the eighth. Carrizales' fourth hit gave him his first professional game with two triples.

"When I hit those balls, I was thinking about getting three, getting on third base," he said. "The second one was a little bit tough because I thought the center fielder (James Harris) was going to catch that ball. When I saw the ball hit the ground, I just kept running fast."

Carrizales got his final at-bat against reliever Corey Miller in the eighth and came through with a single. The 21-year-old did his top spot in the lineup proud, leading off innings four times.

"I like being the leadoff guy," he said. "I get on base a lot of the time. I like that spot."

Modesto piled up 17 hits and went 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Five other Nuts had multi-hit nights, including Rockies No. 5 prospect Forrest Wall and Collin Ferguson, who mashed the game's only homer, a three-run shot in the seventh.

Carrizales has seven hits in his last two games, lifting his average back over .300. In his first season at the Class A Advanced level, he's slashing .301/.348/.430 with a .321 average and .843 OPS in 47 games in the leadoff spot.

"I feel really good," he said. "Baseball is just baseball everywhere. That's what I'm doing. I don't care about the next level or how it's going to be tougher, I just play baseball. Every guy is going to move up, so no matter the level, it's just baseball."

Rehabbing Rockies left-hander Jake McGee (1-0) retired all three batters he faced to get the win in relief of No. 28 prospect Yency Almonte, who gave up two runs on four hits over six innings with two walks and six strikeouts.