Dopirak flourishing in Florida heat

It was another 100-degree day in Dunedin, Fla. And while it might tire out some Florida State League, the hot temperatures have fueled Brian Dopirak.

The Florida State League All-Star cranked two homers and plated five runs in the Blue Jays' 10-7 comeback win over the visiting Palm Beach Cardinals on Sunday. "I was born and raised in Florida, so I love the heat," said the Tampa native, who was selected out of Dunedin High School by the Chicago Cubs in the 2002 Draft. "It doesn't bother me at all."

Dopirak has hit at least one roundtripper in three consecutive games, piling up 11 RBIs. It was his second multi-homer game in the past week, but the first to officially count. He went yard in a July 13 game against the St. Lucie Mets that was suspended due to bad weather and later canceled after rain washed out the rest of the series.

"I guess that I've fell into a groove a bit," said Dopirak, who also plated a season-high five runs July 5 against the Clearwater Threshere. "I'm trying to make adjustments pitch by pitch, keep things simple and help my team win."

Entering the sixth inning down, 5-1, the Blue Jays started chipping away at the Cardinals' lead with Dopirak's three-run shot to right field. He put an exclamation point on a six-run seventh with a two-run blast that gave Dunedin a 10-5 edge.

"We were able to get some momentum going and were just focusing on trying to move a guy over and get guys in," Dopirak said.

In his first season in the Toronto organization, he has depended on manager Omar Malave and hitting coach Paul Elliot have helped the team stay relaxed while sticking with their respective approaches.

"They make you want to play hard for them," Dopirak said. "Our hitting coach is working within my approach and is keeping things real simple for me. He makes sure I'm sticking to the fundamentals, focuses on positive movements and keeps an upbeat attitude. It's like he is one of the guys and keeps things loose."

Chris Emanuele chipped in a homer and scored three times, and Adrian Martin (5-2) tossed three scoreless innings with three strikeouts in relief to pick up the win for first-place Dunedin (20-6).

Charles Kingrey homered and scored four times and Matthew Arburr added a longball and plated three runs for Palm Beach (14-4). Shaun Garceau (5-3) allowed only a run over five innings before being tagged for six more in his last 2 2/3 franmes.