Cordero breaks out after quiet August start

Franchy Cordero had a tough act to follow throughout Friday night's road win. But as leadoff man Auston Bousfield continued setting the table, Cordero continued clearing it.

The Padres' 13th-ranked prospect homered and drove in three runs on a 3-for-5 night as Short-Season Eugene pounded out 15 hits in a 9-3 victory at Hillsboro.

On the heels of a fantastic July that saw the 19-year-old shortstop bat .328/.361/.603 in 29 games, Cordero was 2-for-17 through four games in August. He turned things around beginning in the third inning on Friday. With Bousfield aboard on a one-out single, Cordero blasted a two-run homer to center field to give the Emeralds their first lead of the night. It was his ninth roundtripper, giving him a share of the Northwest League lead.

An inning later, Cordero came to the plate with runners at first and second and two outs and laced a single to center to drive in Jose Ruiz and cap a three-run inning.

Cordero singled leading off the seventh, stole second and came home on Marcus Davis' one-out triple. The three-hit night was his second in eight days but only his second since recording three hits in back-to-back games on July 6-8. The native of the Dominican Republic has driven in at least one run in four straight and six of his last seven games.

Signed as a non-drafted free agent in November 2011, Cordero made his first jump to full-season ball this spring when he spent 22 games with Class A Fort Wayne. After struggling to the tune of a .188 average and .472 OPS, he joined the Emeralds and was named a Northwest League All-Star on the strength of his July performance.

On Tuesday, Cordero went 1-for-4 in the league's showcase event at his home ballpark, which ended in a 10-inning scoreless tie.

Eugene pulled away late on Friday, scoring four times between the seventh and ninth innings. Bousfield collected four hits, finishing a homer shy of the cycle and driving in three runs. Nick Torres added three hits, two runs scored and an RBI.

Ems starter Michael Kelly (6-3) picked up the win allowing four hits and a walk over five innings while striking out four.

Hops counterpart Jared Miller (0-1) surrendered two runs on four hits while striking out one in three innings.