Iowa's Candelario airmails dad special gifts

Jeimer Candelario couldn't be in the Dominican Republic for his father's birthday, but he delivered a pretty special gift nonetheless. 
The top-ranked Cubs prospect matched a career high with two homers and drove in three runs to power Triple-A Iowa to a 9-8 win over El Paso on Friday night at Southwest University Park. It marked the first time he's gone deep twice in a game since May 2015 when he was playing for Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach.

"Man, I'm feeling great right now," Candelario said. "Just thank God for the opportunity for having a good game. And happy that it's my father's birthday, it's good to give him a good game. It's awesome. ... I'm working really hard for having quality ABs and working on putting it in practice into the games. Having my own approach and being aggressive has helped." 
MLB.com's No. 92 overall prospect went 2-for-24 in his first seven games in July but has turned things around by hitting safely in eight of his last nine contests, including a three-hit game earlier in this series. He's found a better rhythm at the plate while working with hitting coach Desi Wilson. 
"We've been working on my hands, using my hands and my body," Candelario said. "We have some drills that we put in practice and that's what's been working now and it's paying off. When you work hard good things are going to happen. I've been working hard every time." 
Gameday box score
After Jemile Weeks put the I-Cubs on the board with a two-run homer in the first, the New York native came up three batters later and worked the count to 3-1 against right-hander Zach Lee. Staying selective, Candelario smacked the next offering over the center field wall for a solo shot. 
"I just told myself, 'Look for a good pitch to hit and don't try to pull,'" he said. "He left a fastball high and I put a good swing on it. When you put a swing on it like that, a lot of things are going to happen. I appreciate that pitch -- it was a mistake and I took advantage." 
Two innings later, with Weeks on second, Candelario worked the count full against Lee and turned on a pitch on the inner half of the plate and deposited it into the second deck of the right field pavilion. 
"You know what, I was battling in that at-bat," the 23-year-old said. "He threw me a couple of good pitches that I laid off. I was thinking in the middle instead of reacting to the fastball. I don't think too much at the plate, I've just got to use my approach and react -- get ready for the fastball and then react." 
After grounding out in the fifth and striking out in the seventh, Candelario stepped in one last time in the ninth and roped a single to right. The prospect of hitting a third homer was tempting, but he decided to keep his approach simple. 

"I just was telling myself to not swing too much," Candelario said. "It was a single, too, and he threw me a changeup and I definitely put another good swing on it." 
Bringing his batting average up to .270 through 80 games in the Pacific Coast League, the corner infield prospect has pretty straightforward goals. 
"My goal is to stay healthy and work hard and learn something every day," Candelario said. "If you learn something every day, you're going to be all right. Everything is going to pay off." 
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Jacob Hannemann also went deep for Iowa, while Taylor Davis and Mark Zagunis contributed two hits apiece
For the Chihuahuas, Padres No. 12 prospect Franchy Cordero drove in four runs with a homer and his league-leading 11th triple. Rehabbing Yangervis Solarte collected two hits and two RBIs.