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Kirilloff posts four hits in second FSL game

Third-ranked Twins prospect clubs long ball, drives in five runs
Alex Kirilloff is 5-for-12 with a home run, five RBIs and a pair of runs scored in two Florida State League games. (Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com)
June 22, 2018

Since Alex Kirilloff arrived in the Florida State League on Thursday, the Class A Advanced Fort Myers offense has been a juggernaut.The third-ranked Twins prospect went 4-for-6 on Friday -- his second game with the Miracle -- and blasted his first FSL homer while driving in five runs as Fort

Since Alex Kirilloff arrived in the Florida State League on Thursday, the Class A Advanced Fort Myers offense has been a juggernaut.
The third-ranked Twins prospect went 4-for-6 on Friday -- his second game with the Miracle -- and blasted his first FSL homer while driving in five runs as Fort Myers collected 20 hits in a 14-7 drubbing of Bradenton at LECOM Park. The Miracle scored in every inning but the seventh.

The Miracle have clubbed 38 hits and scored 24 runs since Kirilloff was promoted from Class A Cedar Rapids. MLB.com's No. 71 overall prospect accounted for five of those hits and seven of those runs. He batted .333/.391/.607 with 38 extra-base hits, 56 RBIs and 36 runs scored in 65 games with the Kernels.
"I'm just trying to build off of what I did at Cedar Rapids and carry it over here," Kirilloff said. "I'm trying to stay within my approach and stick with what's been working for me, and I'm focused on being consistent with it."
After grounding into a double play on the first pitch he saw from right-hander Adam Oller (0-2) in the opening frame, Kirilloff attacked Oller's first offering again in the third and poked a ground ball into left field for a base hit.
With two on in the fifth, the 20-year-old Pittsburgh native was aggressive again, hammering Oller's first pitch over the wall in right-center field for his 14th dinger of the year. It extended Fort Myers' lead to 9-3.
"I just step in there looking for a good pitch to hit and then put a good swing on it. And all those first pitches were in the zone, so I wanted to be agressive early," he said. "It felt good to get that first homer here. It was really a blessing for me, a blessing from God."
After reaching on a fielder's choice in the next inning, Kirilloff stepped in against southpaw Jake Brentz in the eighth. He lined a 2-1 pitch into center for a single that scored Mark Contreras from second base.
Gameday box score
In the ninth, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2016 Draft drove in Contreras again with another line drive into center, this time turning on an 0-1 fastball from lefty Ronny Agustin. It was Kirilloff's second four-hit game of the season. His other came a week ago when he went 4-for-6 with two homers and four RBIs in a 10-3 victory at Kane County.
"My goal is to continue to build off of this game and take it day by day," he said. "Hopefully, I can do this again tomorrow."

Twins No. 21 prospect Luis Arraez also had an impressive night as he went 5-for-6 with an RBI and four runs scored out of the leadoff spot. The Venezuela native cracked the first pitch of the game over the wall in center for his first dinger of the year and doubled in the third. He finished a triple shy of the cycle.

"Luis is a special hitter," Kiriloff said. "He's a lot of fun to watch hit. I like to say that he's the Latin Tony Gwynn. That's how good of a hitter he is. And everything starts with him. He gets this lineup going from the top, and having him on base is huge for us. He's just a special player."
Ben Rortvedt, Minnesota's 22nd-ranked prospect, clubbed a pair of dingers and drove in four runs.
Tyler Wells (6-3) got the win, yielding three runs on six hits and a walk over six frames. The 6-foot-8 right-hander fanned four and did not allow a run over his final five innings.
Jared Oliva supplied the offense for the Marauders with a grand slam in the seventh.

Rob Terranova is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobTnova24.