Mars has otherworldly night for Red Sox

For one night, Danny Mars was as out of this world as his name implies.

The Red Sox outfield prospect smacked six hits and drove in a career-high five runs Saturday as Class A Advanced Salem beat Lynchburg, 12-11, in 13 innings.

Mars fell a homer short of the cycle on his historic night. He started with an RBI single in the first inning and flied out in the third. From there, the 22-year-old collected five straight hits, including two doubles and two triples. He tied the game with a two-out, two-strike triple in the 12th that plated Red Sox No. 3 prospect Rafael Devers.

"It was just another night that went into extra innings," Mars said. "I felt good at the plate tonight and you try to keep things simple and it kind of worked out. I got a little lucky on a few of them, too.

"It was a full count [in the 12th] and the guy [Dominic DeMasi], he had pretty good stuff, so I was trying to stay in the middle with his fastball and he threw a pretty good slider that I was able to get the bat on the ball and, thankfully, it found the gap and we tied it up there."

Mars became the second player in Salem history to record a six-hit game and the first since Mark Gile on May 20, 1984, when the team was called the Redbirds. The Florida native fell one shy of the Carolina League record, set by Winston-Salem's Louis Sander on July 11, 1945. All the accolades would have been for naught, however, had the Red Sox not been able pull out a win, according to Mars.

"That's pretty cool. It's a great honor. It was also great that we came out on top tonight. Big win against a good team," he said. "The whole record thing is great, but I don't think it would have meant as much without the win."

Mars has been on a roll since the start of July, batting .358 with 13 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs in his last 31 games. The hot stretch has raised his average 36 points to .293, tying him for sixth in the league.

"I've worked with our hitting coach, Nelson Paulino, a lot," the 2014 sixth-round pick said. "Whenever he sees something, he tells me the minor adjustment I need to make. It's really about simplifying things and learning how to work on your swing in the cage and let it ride in the game. When you're playing, you have to go in gamer mode and can't worry about your swing."

Devers, MLB.com's No. 23 overall prospect, was 3-for-6 with two RBIs and four runs scored, continuing a second half in which he boasts a .946 OPS.

"That guy, he's a different animal," Mars said. "What he's been doing in the second half is incredible. I've played with him a little bit last year and all this year and he's an unbelievable player and an even better kid. He's going to be something to watch in a few years."

Deiner Lopez singled home Jose Sermo with the winning run in the 13th.

Bobby Bradley, the Indians' third-ranked prospect, slugged his league-leading 22nd homer for the Hillcats.