Kirilloff continues power surge for Twins

Alex Kirilloff’s first big league homer came on Friday. Now, big flies are coming in bunches.

After starting his Major League career hitless through his first five games, baseball’s No. 21 prospect is coming on strong. Kirilloff extended a young hitting streak to six straight by hammering his fourth home run in three games on Sunday afternoon, adding the final three runs to his team’s tally as Minnesota routed Kansas City, 13-4.

Kirilloff was 0-for-14 before doubling for his first hit in the bigs on April 26. That sparked the 2016 first-round pick’s bat. Since, the outfielder/first baseman is 7-for-24 to boost his slash line to .184/.200/.526 after his slow start.

On Sunday, he provided the exclamation point on the Twins’ big day at the plate. Facing Kansas City reliever Jake Newberry, Kirilloff belted the first pitch he saw from the right-hander and deposited it into the second deck in right-center field. The blast left Kirilloff’s bat at 106.1 miles per hour and traveled 431 feet, according to Statcast.

Kirilloff finished the three-game weekend series against the Royals 4-for-12 with four homers, nine RBIs and four runs scored. The 23-year-old has now scored at least one run in four straight games during his current hitting streak.

More notable performances from rookies on Sunday:

Andrew Vaughn, LF, CWS (MLB No. 12)
The top-ranked White Sox prospect put up his third multi-hit game in his last six with two singles on Sunday afternoon. Vaughn lined a base hit to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning and bounced another into center in the ninth. With hits in seven of his last nine games, Vaughn has boosted his slash line from .136/.321/.227 entering play on April 17 to .275/.373/.373 after Sunday’s result. Gameday?

Pavin Smith, INF/OF, ARI
The D-backs rookie absolutely clobbered a 3-1 hanging slider from Chi Chi Gonzalez with one on and two outs in the fifth inning. Smith sent the ball into orbit over the right field wall for his third career dinger. The blast -- which traveled 424 feet -- also extended his hitting streak to four games during which he is 6-for-18 with a homer, a triple, a double, three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Gameday?

Trevor Rogers, LHP, MIA
Squaring off with three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in Washington, Rogers turned in another good outing for Miami. The southpaw struck out six batters, his sixth time in as many starts this season reaching that mark. Overall, Rogers finished his day allowing three runs on four hits over five innings with three walks and a hit batsman. More?

José Devers, SS, MIA
Devers got himself into the hit column with his first big league knock against the Nationals. The shortstop reached on an infield single that glanced off of Scherzer, one of just five hits Scherzer allowed in his complete-game victory. Gameday?

Camilo Doval, RHP, SF
The 24th-ranked Giants prospect was unhittable for the second straight outing on Sunday. Doval whiffed Jurickson Profar and Victor Caratini before coaxing Ha-Seong Kim into an infield popup to short. The righty needed just 14 pitches to navigate through the perfect frame -- nine went for strikes. This marked Doval's fourth hitless appearance and fifth without allowing a run. Gameday?

Emmanuel Clase, RHP, CLE
A ninth-inning single by Vaughn was the only hit Clase allowed in his lone inning against the White Sox. The Cleveland righty struck out a batter and hit 101.7 mph with his lively fastball. Through 13 relief appearances this year, Clase has pitched 12 1/3 innings and not allowed an earned run, striking out 13 batters and walking just three while yielding nine hits. Gameday?

William Contreras, C, ATL
Making his season debut, Contreras singled on the fourth pitch he saw to drive home a run. He later added a walk on a 1-for-3 day. Contreras got limited action with Atlanta last year and went 4-for-10 with a double in four games played. Gameday?

Patrick Weigel, RHP, MIL
Though his team ended up on the wrong end of a lopsided 16-4 score on Sunday in Milwaukee, Weigel did his part over the game’s last inning-plus. Recording four outs, Weigel worked around two hits with three strikeouts to keep the Dodgers off the board in his second appearance of the season. Gameday?

Luis Oviedo, RHP, PIT
After a handful of rough outings to begin his season, Oviedo steadied himself for the Pirates on Sunday. Over two innings against the Cardinals, Oviedo worked around a hit and two walks (one intentional) with a pair of strikeouts to turn in his second scoreless outing of five this year and first since April 3. The right-hander threw 14 of his 24 pitches for strikes and hit 97.2 mph on the radar gun with his fastball according to Statcast. Gameday?

Jordan Sheffield, RHP, COL
The 29th-ranked Rockies prospect was brought out of the bullpen to get the final two outs for Colorado on Sunday and he fanned a pair to end the eighth. With four runs already in and a runner in scoring position and one out, Sheffield whiffed Nick Heath and Nick Ahmed to escape the frame with no further damage. The righty threw seven of his 12 pitches for strikes and posted his eighth scoreless outing of the season. Sheffield is sporting a .172 average against and 0.84 WHIP over 8 1/3 innings. Gameday?