Rutherford collects three hits, four RBIs

Blake Rutherford probably doesn't want to see June come to an end.
The seventh-ranked White Sox prospect homered in his second straight game, drove in four runs and collected three hits to lead Class A Advanced Winston-Salem to an 8-2 victory over Down East on Friday night at BB&T Ballpark.

Gameday box score
"With his three hits today, he hit the ball pretty good," Dash manager Omar Vizquel said. "He hit the ball to all fields, down the left field line with two guys on and the home run. He also beat out a chopper to third base. He's doing just about everything right now. He's been good, things are working out for him. When you see the ball that well, a lot of things start to go your way. He's looking good at the plate right now."
Rutherford took a three-game hitting streak into the Carolina League All-Star break and picked up where he left off Thursday with a solo homer. He went deep again on Friday, sending a breaking ball from Wood Ducks starter Walker Weickel over the center field fence to score Laz Rivera in the first inning.
The 21-year-old doubled home Mitch Roman and No. 3 White Sox prospect Luis Robert with a line drive to left in the fourth, then scored on a single to right by 10th-ranked Micker Adolfo to give the Dash a 5-1 lead.
Rutherford beat out an infield single leading off the seventh and came home again on Yermin Mercedes' double to center.
It was the left-handed hitter's fourth four-RBI game of the season and his third three-hit game this month. He has a .333/.358/.587 slash line in June to get his overall average up to .295 and his six homers are a career high.
"Right before the All-Star break, he was pulling the ball a lot," Vizquel said. "He decided to stay through the middle of the field more and maybe a little bit the other way. He really has his confidence and his stroke. He tried that for three or four days to get back on track and then after that he started pulling the ball again and hitting it hard everywhere.
"In general, right after the All-Star Game, I know it's only been two games, but he's hitting the ball and seeing the ball well. It looks like he's recharged himself, got focused and ready to go again."
Rutherford went nearly a month without a homer before going yard in back-to-back games. And while the power surge is encouraging, Vizquel said he wants MLB.com's No. 85 overall prospect to focus on just making contact.
"It's nice to see it, especially when he hits third [in the lineup], but I don't think that's the kind of guy that he is," Vizquel said. "He's not looking to hit the ball out of the ballpark, he makes a lot of hard contact. That's what he's doing now -- he's making hard contact and getting in front of the ball and sometimes hitting the long ball. But I think if he tries to do that on an everyday basis, he might start striking out more."
Ti'Quan Forbes also homered and drove in two runs for Winston-Salem, while Robert singled twice and walked in his second game since a promotion for Class A Kannapolis.
Luis Martinez (4-4) earned the win, limiting the Wood Ducks to an unearned run on four hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Top Rangers prospectLeody Taveras had two hits, including an RBI single, for Down East.