Adames, Wheeler bash for Isotopes

Last week, Cristhian Adames got out of his own head. Now, he may be getting into pitchers' heads.

"The first week of the season, I was thinking too much about starting strong, having a good start," he said. "After a few games, it wasn't working, so I knew I just had to hit the ball and play the game hard.'

The Rockies' No. 19 prospect belted two long balls in Triple-A Albuquerque's 8-6 win at Tacoma on Tuesday to log his seventh multi-hit performance over his last eight games. Designated hitter Tim Wheeler also went yard twice -- a grand slam and a solo shot.

The two-homer night was the second of Adames' career -- he did it June 12, 2011 with Class A Asheville -- and were his first two roundtrippers of the year. Through April 13, the 23-year-old shortstop was batting .235. Since then, he's gone 15-for-34 to raise his 2015 average to .373.

Known predominantly for his defense strengths, Adames batted .288 across Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Colorado Springs last season and was 1-for-15 (.067) in seven big-league games.

"Right now, I feel better about my hitting," he said. "I'm more comfortable at the plate than I have been in the years before, so right now, I feel like I can hit in any game."

He started Tuesday by working a walk off of Rainiers starter Sam Gaviglio (1-1) and crossed the plate on Wheeler's slam to right field.

"This is a great team here and we like to win games," Adames said. "Everybody here is happy and plays the game the right way."

Facing Gaviglio again in the third, Adames popped a 1-1 changeup over the fence in right.

"I didn't hit it so well," he said. "On the first [homer], I was surprised [that it went out], but on the second one, I knew it would go out."

That no-doubter came with two outs against Forrest Snow in the seventh. Wheeler blasted a homer to center off the right-hander the previous inning.

"I don't go to the plate thinking I'm going to hit a home run," Adames said. "I just try to hit line drives, so when I made that good contact and I saw that ball flying, I knew I hit the ball out."

The switch-hitting Dominican Republic native believes he knows what he has to do to stay hot.

"Right now, I just want to play the game hard," he said. "I know when I play the game hard, good things are going to happen."

The Isotopes' Brandon Barnes went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.

Mariners farmhand Stefen Romero homered and plated three for the Rainiers.