Guzman, Parra pace Hickory to win

A little time in extended spring training for Rangers prospects Ronald Guzman and Luis Parra before reporting to Hickory appears to have been just what the fast-starting duo needed.

Guzman homered and drove in a career-high four while Parra scattered three hits and two walks while striking out four in eight innings in the Class A Crawdads' 5-0 win over the Sand Gnats on Monday night at Grayson Stadium.

Guzman, the Rangers' No. 14 prospect, hit a two-run homer and a pair of RBI singles in five at-bats to raise his average to .326. The 6-foot-5 first baseman hit .321 in 212 at-bats in the Arizona League in 2012.

"I feel really awesome because I was hitting seventh and now I have more chances to help my team out," said Guzman, who moved to the No. 3 spot June 20. "I've been missing with runners on. Today, I got the chance and it feels really good."

Parra wasn't sure why the Rangers elected to keep him in extended spring training after the start of the season, but Guzman was rehabbing from a torn meniscus in his right knee.

"I got out from surgery, so I was just trying to get ready, get my knee stronger. Working on my knee was my priority," he said.

The 18-year-old first baseman had seven hits in his last 36 at-bats before breaking out against Savannah. A rainout Sunday gave him the chance to work on extending his arms.

"I made some adjustments in my stance. I'm using my arms more now, keeping my hands back. I was a little too forward," he said.

The lefty-hitting prospect added a couple insurance runs in the ninth with his third home run of the season and the fourth of his pro career.

Parra (4-1) didn't allow a hit until consecutive singles by Nelfi Zapata and Eudy Pina with one out in the bottom of the fifth. The 6-foot-2 Dominican ended the threat by getting Jeff Glenn to ground into an inning-ending double play.

"I was really focused on working on location," Parra said. "I located where I wanted to and got ahead with first-pitch strikes."

"[Parra] came in and he was just throwing strikes really effectively, getting everyone out," Guzman said. "He gave up the two hits in the fifth, but really got on the hitters. It was 0-2, 0-1 all the time. He did a great job. He seemed really comfortable on the mound today."

Parra lowered his ERA to 0.88 in 51 innings, which would be first in the South Atlantic League if he qualified for the race -- pitchers must throw a minimum of 0.8 innings per team game. He's allowed 37 hits while holding opponents to a .202 average.

"I've been really focused on my everyday routine, throwing long toss, working in the gym, getting a little bit bigger, and improving my location [of my pitches]," Parra said.

The 21-year-old left-hander has thrown three straight outings of seven or more innings and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs all season. Parra had previously gone as many as seven innings once -- in Dominican Summer League start on Aug. 10, 2010.

Jose Leclerc fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game.