Resurgent Engel collects four hits for Barons

Adam Engel may have finally figured out what was troubling him at the plate during the season's first half.

The No. 4 White Sox prospect collected his first four-hit game of the season with two singles, two doubles and two RBIs on Saturday as Double-A Birmingham edged Jacksonville, 9-8, at Regions Field.

Engel led off the bottom of the first inning with a double to left field, but was caught stealing third before his teammates could bring him in.

The Barons fell behind, 3-0, before the 24-year-old outfielder came to bat again in the third with runners on second and third and no outs. Looking to drive something to the right side to advance the runners, Engel ended up lofting an RBI single to center. The hit ignited an eight-run third for Birmingham.

"I was just up there looking for something on the outer half of the plate," he said. "The pitcher [Hunter Adkins] actually did a pretty good job of pitching me in, but I was able to get my hands inside of one and bloop it into center.

"The guys ahead of me made it a lot easier than what it could have been."

The 2013 19th-round pick added a leadoff single to center in the sixth and an RBI double to left in the eighth, his 11th hit in the last five games. During that stretch, his average has climbed 23 points to .241.

Several days before his hot streak began, Engel was called into a meeting with the Barons coaching staff to discuss an adjustment to his batting stance. The University of Louisville product liked to move his hands around before each pitch to establish a rhythm, but hitting coach Jamie Dismuke wanted the Ohio native to end the habit.

"I decided to kind of eliminate the bigger move and go for a smaller move, just to help with consistency of where my hands are as the pitch is coming in," Engel said. "Anytime your hitting coach does something for you and you trust him, you definitely want to take what he has to say into consideration."

The alteration already has paid dividends for Engel. He hit .170 through May 8, was briefly demoted to Class A Advanced Winston-Salem and hadn't picked up more than three hits in a game since May 17, 2015.

He said the search for answers may be over.

"Anytime you make an adjustment and it's paying off, it's a good feeling," Engel said. "It gives you confidence, for one, and it helps you understand what you need to do to have success.

"It's nice to be able to come to the park and kind of work on the same thing. You don't always have the feel of what's working. Sometimes you've got to just find that adjustment or what that feel is. Hopefully, I found it."

Eddy Alvarez went 2-for-4 and plated three runs for the Barons.

White Sox No. 6 prospect Jordan Guerrero (5-4) started for Birmingham and gave up three runs on 10 hits and a walk while fanning four over seven innings. Brian Clark allowed a run on two hits while recording one out for his second save.

Adkins (1-4) surrendered six runs on six hits and a pair of walks while fanning two for Jacksonville.

Marlins No. 12 prospect Brian Anderson went 3-for-5 with a homer and drove in four runs.