Rainiers' Montero stays hot with four RBIs

Jesus Montero has been playing with a heightened sense of concentration this season, and it's shown.

"You try to hit the ball hard every single time and to help the team win," the Mariners farmhand said. "That's what I'm trying to do, and every time there are guys on base, I focus more on hitting the ball hard and try to get the runs in to help the team."

His efforts earned him four RBIs and the first two-triple game of his nine-year career Tuesday night, as the 25-year-old first baseman went 3-for-4 to power Triple-A Tacoma to an 8-7 win at Fresno.

"It felt very good," Montero said. "I said in the middle of the game, 'We need to win. This is a very important game. We need to stay as close them as we can and win this fourth game.'"

The victory earned the Rainiers (43-43) a series split with the first-place Grizzlies (49-37), pulling second-place Tacoma within six games. It also gave Montero, whom Seattle shut down after an incident involving an ice cream sandwich last year, a career-high five triples this season.

"My manager [Pat Listach] always tells me to play hard, every single time. If you're closer to the plate, it's easier to score a run. If you have the chance to get to third base, get to third base," Montero said. "Today, I had the chance to get to third base two times."

The Venezuelan slugger is batting .538 (21-for-39) with 10 RBIs in his last 10 games. And his 110 hits over 83 games are by far the most in the Pacific Coast League, 16 more than Nashville's Jason Pridie.

Montero singled in a run in the first inning, putting the Rainiers on the board against Grizzlies starter Mike Hauschild. He tripled to right-center field off Hauschild in the second, then tripled again to almost the same spot against Kevin Chapman in the eighth.

He said he knew right away he'd pulled off a first.

"That's pretty crazy," he said. "Right when I got the second triple, that's what I was thinking, that it was the first time I'd had two in a game. After the second one, I was very excited."

On both triples, he was thinking three bases out of the box.

"Right away, I was going hard. When I saw the ball go so far and I could see they were still looking for it, I was going to do my best to get to third," he said.

Montero has had at least three hits nine times this season, and his .328 batting average puts him on pace to post his highest mark since he hit .337 between Class A Advanced Tampa and Double-A Trenton in the Yankees organization in 2009.

"I feel good. Like I said, I just try to hit the ball hard and help the pitcher win," he said. "That's what I care about. I've just got to focus on where I am right now and helping the team win."

Domingo Santana -- the Astros' No. 3 prospect -- delivered a two-run double and scored twice for the Grizzlies, while Matt Duffy went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.