Orlando Martinez mashes three homers

Orlando Martinez put the rocket in Rocket City on Friday night, launching three home runs and adding a double in the Trash Pandas' 12-10 victory over Chattanooga.

Martinez, the Angels' No. 17 prospect, racked up 14 total bases in his 4-for-6 night, driving in six runs and scoring three himself. His monster performance was the first multi-homer game of his career.

“From the time he started playing ball, when he was 8 years old, he’s never had a game so tremendous, hitting three home runs in the same ballgame,” said Martinez's translator and teammate Izzy Wilson.

The lefty outfielder raised his slash line to .294/.333/.882 and his OPS to 1.216 with his memorable night at the plate.

Martinez's first blast, also his first of the season, was a two-run shot to right center off of Lookouts starter Randy Wynne to put the Trash Pandas up 3-0 in the first frame.

The 23-year-old launched his second homer in the top of the third, off of Wynne again, and to the same part of the ballpark. The solo shot put Rocket City up 4-3, and was followed a two-run blast by Wilson later in the inning.

His third at-bat resulted in his third extra-base hit of the night to drive in his fourth run, an RBI double driven the other way.

The Cuban outfielder's third homer of the game was a two-run shot in the top of the eighth to put Rocket City up 10-5. Martinez's lefty pop was on full display, as he pulled all three of his shots to right and right-center field.

“He felt more comfortable at the plate and his swing was more smooth tonight,” said Wilson.

Martinez came into this game hitting .091 (1-for-11) over his first three games. Hitting out of the three spot, his huge performance was the driving force behind the Trash Pandas' efforts to pick up their second victory of the young Minor League season.

“He prepared himself mentally different," Wilson said. "He watched some videos and made some adjustments based on some errors he was making in the past games.”