White homers twice in Travs' victory

After launching eight long balls in June, Evan White saw his power numbers dip in July. A night after clubbing a tater, he continued his power surge. 
The fourth-ranked Mariners prospect hit his second and third roundtrippers of the month and tied his career high with five RBIs as Double-A Arkansas cruised to an 8-1 victory over Springfield on Friday at Hammons Field. 

After grounding out in his first at-bat, MLB.com's No. 74 overall prospect deposited a 2-0 offering from Tommy Parsons into the left field lawn seats for his 15th homer of the season. The leadoff blast extended the Travelers' lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning.
"Since I've come back, my timing has been a little off," said White, who spent a week on the injured list with a concussion. "My first at-bat, I didn't feel any better than I had been. I need to be the guy on the attack and get a ball to drive in. It's more of a mentality for me." 
With two outs in the sixth, White came up with runners on first and third and got to Parsons again. He socked the right-hander's first pitch over the left field fence, capping his second multi-homer game of the season and giving Arkansas a 6-0 cushion.
"The previous at-bat, he gave me a high curve ball," White said. "I was just trying to be on time for the fastball. I was able to pick up the hanging breaking ball and get a good swing on it." 
Gameday box score
The right-handed slugger tied his career high in RBIs in the seventh, plating Mariners No. 28 prospect Donnie Walton with a single to right. Walton finished a homer shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. 
"It all comes down to timing," the 2019 Futures Game selection said of his recent string of quality at-bats. "I need to make better swing decisions. I'm seeing pitches that I can swing at and get the barrel on more consistently.
"It comes down to trusting my swing, trusting my hands and most importantly ... trusting myself." 
Ricardo Sánchez (8-8), Seattle's No. 24 prospect, yielded three hits and struck out two over seven scoreless innings. After allowing a one-out single to Elehuris Montero in the second, the 22-year-old southpaw retired the last 16 batters he faced.
Tenth-ranked M's prospect Kyle Lewis smacked two solo shots for his third career multi-homer effort and first since May 28, 2018 with Class A Advanced Modesto. 
"He had a heck of a night," White said of Sanchez. "I didn't realize 'til after the game, he set down 16 in a row. He's always fast and attacking guys. He's a lot of fun to play behind as are all our staff. Kyle had a nice night, too. He swung it well." 
White is batting .294, is tied for fourth in the Texas League with 16 long balls and has 50 RBIs in 75 games. 
"It's been a good one, but it's definitely been a roller coaster with a couple of injuries and a concussion," he said. "After playing well then being out for a week, it kind of slows things down. But I've battled through it.

"I was down for a bit. I didn't do anything for three days. My faith grew stronger. I had to just ease back into things, which was frustrating because I was feeling pretty good before. But I understand that the head stuff is nothing to play around with. I've been cautious, but I'm glad to be back out there with the guys."  
Since his return to the lineup on Tuesday, the University of Kentucky product is 6-for-18 with three homers, eight RBIs and four runs scored in four games. 
"I try not to pay too close attention to the numbers," said White, the Texas League Player of the Month for June. "I haven't set any goals. This season has been more about me being better at my timing and hitting balls hard." 
Nine-time All-Star catcher Yadier Molina went 1-for-3 in a rehab appearance for Springfield, while Cardinals No. 2 prospectDylan Carlson singled and stole a base in four trips to the plate.