Sardinas, Odor power Pelicans' romp

Fans of the Texas Rangers might want to make their way to Myrtle Beach. If they do, they might see their future double play combination.

Luis Sardinas, the Rangers' No. 2 prosepct, went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while No. 8 prospect Rougned Odor drove in three runs Saturday night as the Pelicans rolled past visiting Wilmington, 11-3.

Batting leadoff, Sardinas also walked, drove in a run and stole his 26th base of the season. Two spots behind him, Odor singled twice to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

"They have a feel for the game and what they want to do at the plate," Myrtle Beach hitting coach Josue Perez said. "They set everything up for the rest of the guys in the lineup. It's pretty remarkable, especially at that age. It's a blessing for me."

Sardinas has been particularly effective this month, batting .388 in 17 games in July. The key to his success lies in his blossoming walk-to-strikeout ratio as he's gone from fanning 20 times and drawing eight walks in April to walking eight times and fanning six times in July.

"We've been working on being able to command the strike zone, command pitches and get into better counts," Perez said. "That's been the key for the last six weeks. Once you have a little command of the strike zone, you get pitches you can drive instead of the pitch you can put in play. Take some pitches and then you'll be in a better position."

Overall, the 20-year-old shortstop is batting .301 and ranks second in the Carolina League with 65 runs scored in 87 games.

Odor has been just as hot, batting .368 with 24 RBIs in 26 games since the All-Star break. The 19-year-old second baseman shares the league lead with 107 hits, ranks third with a .307 average and is tied for fifth with 56 RBIs.

"Odor has a little more power than Sardinas but mostly the same things as far as using the whole field and hitting line drives," Perez said. "Odor is being patient enough, using the whole field, he's seeing breaking balls better, and because of that he's getting better counts and able to do some damage."

Sardinas opened the bottom of the first inning with a single and scored on a base hit by Odor as the Pelicans grabbed a quick 2-0 lead. Sardinas delivered an RBI single and Odor singled home two more runs in the second to make it 5-0.

Jake Skole smacked a pair of doubles and drove in two runs for Myrtle Beach, while starter Nick Martinez (8-6) allowed a run on three hits with six strikeouts over five innings.