Flores flourishing for Las Vegas

Wilmer Flores just keeps getting better. The second baseman hit .395 in his first 10 games of July, and he continued his hot hitting Thursday night.

The No. 7 Mets prospect homered twice and drove in four runs in the Triple-A 51s' 11-3 victory over the Padres at Cashman Field.

The Venezuelan native doubled in the bottom of the first inning to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He homered in the third and fifth before flying out to right field in the seventh. Flores finished his day at the plate with a single in the eighth to raise his average to .325, eighth-best in the Pacific Coast League.

Flores hit .269 with a .715 OPS in April, his first month in the Pacific Coast League. Since then, the 21-year-old has improved his average every month, batting .306 in May, .342 in June and .438 (21-for-48) so far in July.

The 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter has multiple hits in three straight games and in five of his last 10, but hadn't homered since June 29 at Tacoma.

Jamie Hoffmann went 3-for-4, doubling twice and driving in three runs. The right fielder raised his average to .270. Matt den Dekker, who scored three times, and Zach Lutz each homered for the 51s.

Justin Hampson (4-2) earned the win, allowing an unearned run on four hits in two innings. The left-hander struck out two.