Mesoraco's big night fuels Bats' win

If his second home run was any indication, Devin Mesoraco's slump is long gone.

The Reds' top prospect slugged a pair of homers and drove in five runs Tuesday, powering the Louisville Bats to a 10-3 romp over the Toledo Mud Hens.

Mesoraco went 4-for-4 and fell a triple shy of the cycle. His solo shot off starter Thad Weber in the fourth inning was his first homer in nine games. After doubling in two more runs in the sixth, he slugged a two-run blast to complete his first multi-homer game since July 21, 2008 with Class A Dayton.

"This afternoon in batting practice me, and my hitting coach, Adrian Garrett, made some adjustments," Mesoraco said. "I felt I was seeing the ball well, but I wasn't hitting the ball as I would have liked. Today, everything seemed to click.

"I was just kind of leaning over with my upper body and I wasn't being as upright as I should be. And today, we watched some video and focused on that in batting practice."

The 2007 first-round pick has struggled since the Triple-A All-Star break, batting .246 with four homers in 34 games over the second half. He said he believes the adjustments he made before the game will pay dividends over the rest of the season.

"It's just a little thing, but it will take you a long way as far as having good at-bats," the 23-year-old catcher said. "I feel like I've been hitting the ball hard, but they haven't been falling in."

Mesoraco's second homer was estimated at 471 feet, making it the sixth-longest in the 12-year history of Louisville Slugger Field.

"That was a pretty good one, that was my farthest this year," he said. "It definitely felt good. As soon as I hit, I knew."

Overall, Mesoraco is batting .293 with 15 homers and 68 RBIs. He ranks second in the league with 36 doubles, third with 53 extra-base hits and ninth with 207 total bases. With Major League rosters expanding next week, the possibility of moving up looms large.

"I haven't heard anything, but I'm looking forward to it and hoping it happens," Mesoraco said. "But until then, I am going to work hard here."

Juan Francisco doubled, tripled and drove in two runs, while Jeremy Hermida reached base three times and scored twice for the Bats. Daniel Dorn and Mike Costanzo contributed solo homers.

Nick Christiani (2-1) retired all four batters he faced to earn the win.