Padres' Reed nets homer hat trick in Australia

On his final day before returning to the United States, Buddy Reed gave the Australian Baseball League a performance to remember.
The Padres prospect belted three long balls as part of a five-hit, four-RBI game, powering the Canberra Cavalry to a 19-2 rout of the Adelaide Bite on Sunday at MIT Narrabundah Ballpark.

Box score
Taken by San Diego in the second round of the 2016 Draft, Reed turned in the second three-homer performance in Cavalry history. Minor League free agent and former Padres farmhand Ryan Miller produced the other on Jan. 7, 2016.
Reed set the tone early Sunday as he led off the bottom of the first inning with a drive over the center-field wall. He struck again an inning later with a two-run blast to center that extended Canberra's lead to 6-0.
After rolling a single to right in the fourth, the Bronx, New York, native smashed another long drive to center leading off the fifth to cap the historic power display. He added a single to left in the sixth to finish his first five-hit game with the Cavalry before striking out to end the seventh.
The performance ended a breakout ABL campaign for Reed in the power department. The 22-year-old finished with two multi-homer games after registering none in two seasons in the Minor Leagues, with Sunday's game equaling half of his six career long balls in 139 games stateside. In 31 games with the Cavalry, Reed had 10 homers among 22 extra-base hits while batting .326.
Since coming to San Diego out of the University of Florida, Reed has a .242 batting average in the Minors. He put together a .234/.290/.396 slash line with six homers, eight triples, 17 doubles, 35 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 88 games with Class A Fort Wayne last year.

Reed wasn't the only player to record a home run hat trick on Sunday in Australia. Astros prospect Connor MacDonald smacked a pair of solo shots and a three-run blast as the Sydney Blue Sox outslugged the Perth Heat, 22-19. It was the latest milestone for the 21-year-old Brisbane native, who hit for the cycle for Rookie-level Greeneville on June 29, 2016. The Blue Sox also got seven RBIs from former Red Sox and Orioles prospect Chih-Hsien Chiang, who homered twice.
Former Reds outfielder Donald Lutz of the Brisbane Bandits crushed three dingers and plated four runs in a 15-8 romp over the Melbourne Aces. The 28-year-old spent nine seasons in the Cincinnati system before becoming a free agent in November 2016. He hit .211 in 62 games in the big leagues.