Burks tallies five hits in Smokies' romp

Looking back, Charcer Burks knew many players would be satisfied with a 5-for-5 night. But even after being retired in his sixth at-bat, he's still glad he got the opportunity.
"It's just a fight that's instilled in me," he said. "You want to keep getting better and doing better. It's a hunger and a fire in me."
The Cubs outfield prospect collected a career-high five hits, including a double, stole a base and scored twice on Friday as Double-A Tennessee topped Montgomery, 10-2, at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.

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"You have a perfect game already going, you're 5-for-5, it's easy to cash in and say it's a good day," he said. "But even if you're having a good day, you always have a chance to make it better. That's what that sixth at-bat was. It's an opportunity to have an even better day."
Burks got his night started quickly with a single to center field in the first inning and reached on an infield hit in the second. He also swiped his seventh base of the season in the opening frame.

"The first at-bat was a good one. I saw six pitches on the first at-bat and my hit came on the curveball," he said of his encounter with Rays No. 26 prospect Hunter Wood. "So that's when I was able to slow everything down on that curveball and stay close and really drive that ball back up the middle. And from that at-bat, I was in the zone and realized I was locked in and focused."
After a double to left in the fourth, Burks came around to score on a sacrifice fly by David Bote. He added a single to center in the sixth to tie the career high he established on June 22, 2014 in the Rookie-level Arizona League. 
The 22-year-old said he knew he had a decent number of hits, but he didn't know exactly how many when he stepped up in the eighth. Just wanting to continue his job as a leadoff hitter, Burks sent a 1-0 offering from Kyle Bird into center field for his fifth knock of the game.
After grounding out to end the top of the ninth, Burks realized he was 5-for-6. And while the last at-bat was his least successful, it won't be the one that sticks with him tonight.
"At the end of any game, if I was 1-for-5, I'm thinking about that one time I did get a hit ... not the other four at-bats that went bad, or in this case, the one at-bat that I didn't get a hit," he said. "That's just my mindset. I'm just thinking about those five hits and that feeling so that I can in return carry it into [Saturday]."

Burks bumped his average up to .309, the highest it's been since April 27, but he said would be more proud of his .405 on-base percentage -- even though he doesn't look at his statistics.
"When you know you have great hitters coming up behind you in the two-, three-, four-hole, I think my job is really easy. On the team, I think my job is one of the easiest. All I have to do is get on base," he said. "And that being in my head, where all I have to do is get on base, it doesn't matter how it is, it takes a lot of pressure off of me and I'm able to slow the game down and make it simple."
Jason Vosler collected a homer, triple, four RBIs and three runs scored, while Andrew Ely and Ian Rice plated two runs apiece for the Smokies.
After allowing a pair of runs in the first, Trevor Clifton (4-2) blanked the Biscuits through the sixth. The Cubs' No. 7 prospect yielded six hits and three walks while striking out five.