Braves' Salazar nets career-high five hits

Alejandro Salazar has taken his coach's advice to heart and came through with a perfect night at the plate Sunday.
The Atlanta infield prospect finished with a career-high five hits, scored three runs and drove in two in Double-A Mississippi's 12-9 loss to Pensacola in 11 innings at Trustmark Park. Salazar bested the previous high of four hits he had accomplished four times, most recently with Class A Rome on May 15, 2016.

M-Braves hitting coach Carlos Mendez could sense good things were coming for the 21-year-old.
"He's looked pretty good the last few games," Mendez said. "He's been laying off a lot of bad pitches early and getting into hitter's counts and hitting his pitches. He's a very aggressive hitter, and one thing we've talked with him about is calming down at the plate a bit. He's got a big leg kick and can get a little out of control on his front side, but he's looked pretty good since he's been [in Double-A]."
Salazar got Mississippi off to a quick start with an RBI base knock to center field in the first inning and beat out a bunt single and scored on Carlos Martínez's bases-loaded walk in the third. He earned a free pass and crossed home on Tyler Marlette's groundout in the fourth. Salazar reached on an infield single that deflected off Pensacola pitcher Jesús Reyes in the sixth, but he was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Tyler Neslony's double. The infielder tied his previous career high in hits with a double to right-center in the eighth. 
Gameday box score
The clubs entered extra innings tied, 7-7, but Pensacola pushed a run across in the 10th, which provided Salazar an opportunity in the bottom half. The native of Venezuela made the moment count by lining a single to right that knotted the score, 8-8. Luis Valenzuela was thrown out on the back end of the play trying to score the winning run.
"It was a fastball away and he went with it," Mendez said of Salazar's fifth hit. "It's been nice to see him create more balance at the plate. He can put it in play, but we're trying to get him to barrel up the ball a little more. If he can do that, he'll be an asset to us or any organization, for that matter."
It was a breakout performance for Salazar, who was playing in his 12th game with Mississippi since after a two-game cameo with Triple-A Gwinnett. He began 2018 with Class A Advanced Florida, where he batted .271/.303/.319 in 57 games. His performance Sunday raised his average with the M-Braves 112 points to .306. Overall, Salazar is hitting .277/.307/.332 in 71 games across three levels this season.

"I was with him last year in Florida and I can see the difference since then," Mendez said. "He's definitely stronger and is hitting more behind the ball now. That's one of the first things we noticed when he got here. Now if he can just drive it a little more with his increased strength, it'll be a plus. He's going to be OK."
Neslony added three hits while Ray-Patrick Didder and Martinez both drove in a pair of runs for the M-Braves.
Mitch Nay homered on a three-hit night while scoring three times and driving in two. Reds No. 23 prospect Gavin LaValley plated three runs and Cassidy Brown went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Blue Wahoos, who scored four times in the 11th.
The teams combined for 21 runs on 29 hits and 15 walks.
Carlos Navas (4-1) allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk in the 10th.