Bostick's pair of blasts guide Rafters

Christopher Bostick wasn't sure whether he'd head to Arizona after a long season, but he's already making it worth his while.

Washington's No. 23 prospect went deep twice to spark Salt River past Peoria, 9-7, on Thursday afternoon in the third game of the fledgling season.

Bostick finished with three hits, four RBIs and three runs scored. The 22-year-old second baseman singled in his first at-bat to open the third inning and crossed the plate on a two-run single by Toronto's Rowdy Tellez. After popping out in the fourth, Bostick launched a two-run blast to left field in the sixth to reclaim the lead for the Rafters. He again put his club on top with his second two-run shot to left-center two innings later.

"Same with any at-bat, trying to get a good pitch, put a good swing on it," Bostick said of his final long ball. "We knew it was the kind of situation where we had a chance to push a run across. There was a base open, so I knew that [San Diego's Cody Hebner] didn't necessarily have to give me a pitch down the middle. It was important that I laid off a few pitches early in the count and got myself into a hitter's count and looked for something up."

After a season in which he reached Double-A for the first time and stole a career-high 31 bases, he found out the Nationals tabbed him for a spot in the Arizona Fall League, giving him a chance to improve on a few things from his 2015 campaign.

"The AFL has always been something I've wanted to do," Bostick said. "Initially, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to just because of personnel situations and there's only a few guys that get to play here. I thought I had a good year and I did go down to instructs. I was thrilled to hear a couple of weeks ago that I was going to get a chance to come down here, because it's something I've always wanted to do. I'm having a blast here."

It's not all fun and games for the native of Rochester, New York, who noted some of the offensive adjustments he's trying to work on.

"Obviously I'm down here trying to have good at-bats," Bostick said. "The biggest thing is I'm trying to be aggressive on pitches I can handle and laying off the pitches that maybe I can't handle too well. Trying to stay consistent and put my best swing on the best pitch I can get."

Tellez, the Blue Jays' No. 7 prospect, homered and drove in four runs while Mets' No. 5 prospect Dominic Smith reached base four times and scored twice for the Rafters.

No. 13 Orioles prospect Mike Yastrzemski doubled home a pair of runs for the Javelinas.

In other Arizona Fall League action:

Surprise 3, Mesa 0
Top Cardinals prospect Alex Reyes allowed one hit and two walks while fanning five over 3 2/3 innings to set the tone in the Saguaros' blanking of the Solar Sox. Bubba Starling, the Royals' fifth-ranked prospect, went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and No. 5 Yankees prospect Gary Sanchez also drove in a run. He's batting .545 (6-for-11) through three AFL games. The Marlins' Jake Esch gave up a hit while striking out six over three innings for Mesa. Gameday box score

Scottsdale 9, Glendale 2
JaCoby Jones, the Tigers' No. 10 prospect, followed up a two-homer, four-RBI outing Wednesday with a 4-for-4 game Thursday in the Scorpions' win. Although he also got picked off, he scored twice. Second-ranked Giants prospect Christian Arroyo homered for his first AFL hit. The Twins' Mitch Garver also went yard and doubled on a three-RBI afternoon. Detroit righty Montreal Robertson (1-0) pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings to earn the victory. No. 24 Dodgers prospect Kyle Farmer doubled twice, plated a run and scored once for the Desert Dogs. Gameday box score