Hedges, Chihuahuas slug way to 2-0 lead

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Chihuahuas have had quite enough drama this postseason.

Austin Hedges and the top of the lineup kept the drama to a minimum in Game 2 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series on Wednesday night. The Padres catcher blasted two homers as the Chihuahuas rolled to a 10-4 victory over visiting Oklahoma City and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 Finals.

"I think with that comeback win [Tuesday] night it gave us a little push to go up 2-0 tonight," Hedges said. "It was nice to see the bats come out early."

The top of the order -- Padres No. 2 prospect Manuel Margot, No. 20 prospect Carlos Asuaje, Hedges and No. 3 prospect Hunter Renfroe were a combined 10-for-17 with five extra-base hits, eight runs scored and six RBIs.

"We've talked about how the production comes from a lot of different places and [Tuesday] night I felt like the bottom of the order did some special things," El Paso manager Rod Barajas said. "Look at the box score tonight: the top of the order had 10 hits, they drove in a lot of runs, they scored a lot of runs. It's a good thing to have on a nightly basis -- you have different heroes, different guys step up."

Hedges went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored. Margot, MLB.com's No. 27 overall prospect, was 3-for-5 with an RBI; Asuaje went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored; and Renfroe chipped in two hits and a run scored.

"When you've got six through nine driving in runs, [too], that takes a lot of weight off the top of the lineup," Hedges said. "But when you get one through nine hitting, we're going to be tough to beat."

It was a frustrating night for Oklahoma City, which squandered numerous chances, even when it seemed like the Chihuahuas were handing them out.

El Paso committed four errors in the fourth inning alone, but the Dodgers were only able to score one run. They loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth and again ended up with one run.

"It could have been awful, it could have been real awful," Barajas said. "That's what you have to do when you have those types of situations, you have to minimize the situations."

In between those innings, the Chihuahuas seemingly could do no wrong. Asuaje snapped a 2-2 tie with a line drive solo shot to spark a four-run fifth and El Paso added three in the sixth to make it 9-2.

Hedges hit his homers in the fifth and eighth, both solo shots to left field. The first one cleared the back fence of Southwest University Park.

"It was a lot of fun today seeing guys like Hedges and Renfroe step it up," Barajas said.

The Chihuahuas also got a solid effort from starter Frank Garces (1-0), who allowed two runs -- one earned -- while scattering seven hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six. Four relievers gave up two runs, with Jose Torres finishing up with two scoreless frames. He came on in the eighth after Eric Yardley loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Torres induced a double play and a weak comebacker to escape the jam.

"I think the biggest thing tonight was our pitching," Hedges said. "I mean, I can't even remember how many times they had runners in scoring position and we held them to one run."

Dodgers No. 24 prospect Kyle Farmer and Drew Maggi both had three hits and an RBI for Oklahoma City, which hosts Game 3 on Friday.