Twins prospect Gordon rips three more hits

Nick Gordon is off to an Arizona Fall League start that lives up to the desert air's reputation.

The Twins' No. 2 prospect went 3-for-5 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in the Saguaros' 5-4 loss to the Desert Dogs at Glendale on Thursday.

The performance was Gordon's second consecutive three-hit performance in two AFL games, and he's recorded two thefts and three runs scored. The 20-year-old shortstop and No. 47 prospect overall debuted in Tuesday's Surprise win over Mesa.

During the regular season, Gordon batted .291/.335/.386 with 23 doubles and 19 stolen bases over 116 games for Class A Advanced Fort Myers. On Thursday, he poked a grounder up the middle against top Astros prospect Francis Martes in the opening frame, welcomed reliever Colton Turner (White Sox) with an RBI knock through the left side in the second and lined a single to center against Jake Johansen (Nationals) in the seventh.

Pirates third-base prospect Eric Wood also had three hits for the Saguaros, scoring twice and knocking in a run. Baseball's No. 1 overall prospect Yoan Moncada (Red Sox) singled, giving him four hits in 10 AFL at-bats.

Alex McRae, a Pittsburgh right-hander, threw three hitless innings of relief with two strikeouts and a walk but did not factor in the decision.

Osvaldo Abreu, the Nationals' No. 19 prospect, played the hero for the Desert Dogs, delivering a walk-off two-run double in the ninth. He went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Third-ranked Cardinals prospect Harrison Bader socked his first homer of the autumn, and No. 29 Astros prospect Ramon Laureano was 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI.

Houston right-hander Jacob Dorris worked around a hit and fanned two in a scoreless top of the ninth to earn the win.

In other Arizona Fall League action:

Solar Sox 7, Rafters 5

Ryan McBroom, Toronto's No. 28 prospect, plated three runs for Mesa, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, and Bradley Zimmer scored twice. The Indians' top prospect doubled, walked and stole a base, giving him a theft and a base knock in all three games for the Solar Sox so far. Cleveland left-hander David Speer earned the victory, fanning one over a perfect inning of relief. Third-ranked Detroit prospect Christin Stewart slugged a three-run homer for Salt River. Box score

Javelinas 5, Scorpions 2

Giants No. 21 prospect Hunter Cole homered for his second straight game for Scottsdale after sitting out Wednesday, but Reds prospects Zach Vincej and Brandon Dixon led the Javelinas to victory, with the former slugging a solo shot and the latter tallying three hits and two RBIs. In his first professional start, Padres southpaw Kyle McGrath (1-0) worked around Cole's jack and struck out one in three otherwise flawless frames. Fellow San Diego hurler Jason Jester closed out the game with two walks and two strikeouts over two hitless innings for the save. Box score