Kirilloff finds his stroke for Blue Wahoos

In a season full of starts and stops, Alex Kirilloff found the accelerator again on Sunday.
The second-ranked Twins prospect singled three times, walked and scored a run as Double-A Pensacola held on for a 7-5 victory over Mississippi at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The three hits matched a season high for Kirilloff, who made a diving catch in right-center field that helped curtail a Braves' rally in the ninth inning.

The 21-year-old returned in 2018 with an MVP-type campaign for Class A Cedar Rapids and Class A Advanced Fort Myers after missing a year following Tommy John surgery. MLB.com's No. 13 overall prospect hit .348/.392/.578 with 20 homers and 101 RBIs in 130 games, leading the Minors with 44 doubles and 71 extra-base hits and finishing second with 171 hits.
That success and consistency has eluded Kirilloff this season, which has been interrupted by two separate stints on the seven-day injured list that cost the Pittsburgh native more than six weeks of action. He was activated from his most recent IL stay on June 20 but was 8-for-38 (.211) with 10 strikeouts in 10 games.
Gameday box score
Sunday night was a step in the right direction for Kirilloff, who grounded an opposite-field single to left in the second inning. He lofted a soft single to left in the fourth and scored on Caleb Hamilton's knock during Pensacola's five-run outburst. The lefty-swinging outfielder lined another two-strike single -- his second of the game -- to center in the fifth and walked in the seventh. It was the second time Kirilloff has reached four times this season, something he accomplished seven times in 2018.
Drafted 15th overall in 2016, Kirilloff earned Player of the Year honors in the Rookie Advanced Appalachian League after batting .306/.341/.454 with 17 extra-base hits, 33 RBIs and 33 runs scored in 55 games for Elizabethton. He did not appear in a competitive game again until April 2018, which ended with him taking home the MiLBY award for Breakout Prospect of the Year.
"The toughest thing is being away from the game," Kirilloff told MiLB.com at the time. "I'd never had any type of significant injury, definitely not one that caused me to miss this much time. Mentally, not being able to go out and compete is an awful feeling. So I challenged myself to get through rehab and do that as best I could. ... If all I could do was get stronger, I was going to maximize that opportunity."
Pensacola took a 7-4 lead into the ninth, but Mississippi had runners at second and third with nobody out when top Braves prospectCristian Pache hit a liner to the gap in right-center. Kirilloff made a diving grab to rob him of an extra-base hit, and Zack Weiss retired the next two batters to preserve the win.

Jordan Gore doubled, singled and drove in a career-high four runs and Hamilton added a pair of RBI singles, two walks and two runs scored for the Blue Wahoos.

Twins southpaw Adalberto Mejía fanned one in a scoreless inning in his sixth Minor League rehab appearance and fourth with Pensacola. Andro Cutura (2-3) got the win, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts over six frames.
Ryan Casteel homered and had three hits for the Braves, while Luis Valenzuela went 3-for-4.
Mississippi starter Tucker Davidson (3-5) allowed a season-high five runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. The 18th-ranked Braves prospect had not surrendered an earned run in three starts since June 3.