Villar rings in his birthday in style

Jonathan Villar snapped a bad slump Thursday -- one that spanned two years.

The Astros' No. 12 prospect was 4-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs on his 22nd birthday to lead Triple-A Oklahoma City past Nashville, 9-1.

Villar, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, singled in his first at-bat in the second inning. He doubled home Marc Krauss and Brett Wallace in the fourth, slugged a solo homer in the sixth and plated a pair with a single to center in the seventh.

"I never hit a home run like that, it was long," Villar said.

Villar had played the past two years on his birthday, going 1-for-5 both times. Setting a career high in RBIs and collecting his first four-hit game since May 21, 2012 put the Dominican native in a very good mood.

"I'm very happy," Villar said. "Today, this morning in my house when I was coming to the stadium I was thanking God for my life."

Villar is batting .317 in 27 Pacific Coast League games this season for the RedHawks. He has 17 RBIs, 15 runs scored and has stolen eight bases in his first season in Triple-A.

"I'm working on my hitting on every day," he said. "Sometimes I stay back when I'm hitting, in the cage or in the field, because I'm getting fastballs in."

Villar's previous career high was four RBIs, most recently with Double-A Corpus Christi on June 22, 2012.

Asher Wojciechowski, Houston's No. 15 prospect, made his Triple-A debut for Oklahoma City. He allowed a run on three hits and striking out five over four innings.

C.J. Fick gave up two hits in one frame, Jason Stoffell tossed a perfect sixth and Josh Zeid (2-0) earned the win with two hitless innings. Jose Valdez tossed a perfect ninth to close out the game.

Jimmy Paredes was 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI while Marc Krauss drew three walks and scored twice for the RedHawks.

Hunter Morris, the Brewers' No. 4 prospect, tripled and scored in the loss.