Villanueva clubs two more blasts for El Paso

Christian Villanueva blasted four home runs in Triple-A El Paso's recently concluded four-game series against Sacramento. On Friday night, it was Reno's turn to fall victim to the red-hot slugger.
The Padres infielder drilled two homers for the second straight night and finished 3-for-5 in the Chihuahuas' 13-4 win over the Aces at Southwest University Park.

Villanueva kicked off his night by belting a 1-1 pitch from Reno starter and D-backs No. 17 prospect Matt Koch over the left field wall in the fourth inning to put El Paso on the board.
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"I think it was a cutter, middle-in. It was a good pitch to hit out of the park," he said with a laugh.
The Mexico native did not have to wait long before striking again. With the Chihuahuas clinging to a 4-3 lead in the fifth, he attacked Koch's first offering and crushed it to left-center field for a two-run shot.
"I always try to make good, hard contact and look for something up in the zone," Villanueva said. "I think it was a fastball or maybe a sinker. But I always look for the fastball rather than the breaking ball."
Villanueva traced his two-homer outburst back to the first inning. In his initial at-bat against Koch, he lofted a popup to first for an easy out. The 26-year-old said that failure forced him to reconsider his approach against the Aces left-hander.
"I'm not making any excuses, but it's hard to see the first couple innings," he said. "I was just very anxious. I didn't have a plan in the first at-bat, so I talked to [hitting coach Morgan Burkhart] and I came to the plate a little calmer after the first at-bat. I saw the ball better."
Villanueva struck out in the sixth, then singled to left and scored in the eighth to close out his night.
The 2008 international signee has gone on a rampage in the final 10 days of June. Since an 0-for-4 effort against Fresno on June 19, he's hitting .342 (13-for-38) with seven dingers, 13 RBIs and 37 total bases in 10 games. That run has moved Villanueva within striking distance of the Pacific Coast League home run lead, with his 15 trailing Nashville's Renato Núñez by six. He also raised his slugging percentage to .602, which would be the third-best in the PCL if not for two trips to the disabled list that kept him from having enough plate appearances to qualify.
In 51 games this season, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound slugger owns a .304/.366/.602 slash line with 25 extra-base hits and 45 RBIs.
Villanueva attributed his success to the tutelage of the El Paso coaching staff.
"I've been working hard with my hitting coach, Morgan," he said. "I think I'm putting all the things together and I feel really good at the plate right now. It's the hard work I've been putting in. Hard work pays off."

Jabari Blash and Dusty Coleman also homered for the Chihuahuas, while 23rd-ranked Padres prospectFranchy Cordero went 4-for-5 with a double.
El Paso starter Zach Lee (2-1) gave up three runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts over five innings for the win.
Koch (0-1) was tagged for six runs on seven hits and a walk in five frames, fanning one.
Rehabbing D-backs center fielder A.J. Pollock ripped a pair of solo homers for Reno.