Moncada tattoos two homers for Sea Dogs

Yoan Moncada might not be known for his power -- the switch-hitting second baseman had 12 home runs in his first 142 Minor League games. But after the past month, that analysis might start to change.

Boston's top prospect notched the first multi-homer game of his career in the Sea Dogs' 11-4 victory over Trenton on Monday, blasting two long balls and driving in four runs. The Cuban-born infielder has seven dingers in 21 games with Portland after putting four over the fence in 61 games with Class A Advanced Salem.

"It's the same baseball everywhere," Moncada told MiLB.com of the differences at the new level earlier this month. "But it's just older people, that's all."

The 21-year-old has feasted on Double-A pitching with a .329/.415/.683 slash line in 94 plate appearances, and he's been even hotter since the calendar turned to July. In 12 games this month, Moncada is slashing .405/.528/.722 in 53 plate appearances with six home runs, 16 RBIs, 14 runs scored and six stolen bases.

"I haven't really felt any pressure," Moncada said in a recent interview with the Portland Press Herald. "My job is to play baseball. I just work on what I do."

After striking out in his first two at-bats, he grounded out to end the fifth inning. A four-run sixth by the Sea Dogs knocked Thunder starter Jordan Montgomery out of the game, and Moncada capitalized.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound second baseman took an outside pitch to the opposite field for a solo homer against reliever Matt Wotherspoon in the seventh, and he followed that up with a three-run blast down the right-field line against Travis Hissong to cap a four-run eighth.

Moncada has recorded a hit in 12 of his past 13 games while reaching base in 15 straight, including a recent stretch in which he walked twice in four consecutive games from July 14-17. His combination of patience, power and speed (43 stolen bases in 52 attempts across two levels this season) is only part of the story..

"Here's a guy who is hungry; he knows where he's come from," Sea Dogs manager Carlos Febles recently told MiLB.com. "He went through a lot to get here, so he wants to get to the big leagues. He's focused on playing the game and getting better."

Moncada has been lifting the ball more since his promotion, as he's cut his ground ball-to-fly ball ratio almost in half.

"I keep preparing myself and don't try to overthink stuff," he told MiLB.com a few weeks ago through interpreter and teammate Mauricio Dubon. "The day I'm ready to go [to the Majors], I'll be ready to go. I don't try to think that I should be over here, or over there. Right now I'm just focused on what matters right now and taking it day by day."

Dubon had a solid day at the plate as well, slashing three singles and scoring two runs out of the No. 2 spot in the order. Aneury Tavarez added three knocks, including a triple to lead off the second.

Portland starter Jalen Beeks (1-2) lasted a season-high six innings to pick up his first win in five Double-A starts, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out four.

Montgomery (8-4) allowed four runs on six hits while striking out 10 in 5 1/3 innings for the Thunder.