Garcia’s 2 homers, six RBI power White Sox to 16-1 rout of Mariners

SEATTLE — There is no slowing down Avisail Garcia.

The White Sox right fielder, already off to a surprising start through the first 40 games of the season, belted two homers and doubled twice in his first four at-bats Saturday, driving in a career high six runs in the process and tying a club record with four extra-base hits as the Sox rolled to a 16-1 victory over the Mariners.

It was the fifth career multi-homer game for Garcia, who is batting .357 with a .400 on-base percentage and .610 slugging percentage. He has eight homers and 34 RBI.

“He’s got all the talent in the world and is obviously putting it together and having a pretty good start,” said Mike Pelfrey, who pitched six innings of one-run ball for his first win. “As big as he is and as strong as he is, there might be a couple more multi-homer games.”

Garcia (4-for-5) also scored three runs and became the first Sox to collect four extra-base hits since Jermaine Dye on Aug. 2, 2007 at the Yankees. His 12 total bases are the most by a Sox since Dan Johnson on the last day of the 2012 season in Cleveland.

“Every year you want to get better and every year you want to improve,” Garcia said. “That’s how we play. That’s the game you love. So you want to do good and do good things for your team.”

The beneficiary of the run support was Pelfrey (1-4, 4.85 ERA), who pitched a season-high for innings his seventh start. Pelfrey gave up four hits, walked none and struck out three.

Garcia hit a three-run homer to left in the first and a solo homer to right-center in the third inning against right-hander Yovani Gallardo. He doubled to left field against lefty Dillon Overton to drive in two runs in the Sox’ five-run fourth.

“You don’t have to worry about pulling the ball,” Garcia said. “When you do that [try to pull] your head goes fast, so you go around the ball and hit a ground ball. So you have to stay up the middle, trust your hands and you know, be focused. That’s the most important thing.”

Other offensive highlights:

*Jose Abreu reached 1,000 career total bases with a double and single.

*Matt Davidson hit his eighth homer.

*Willy Garcia hit his first career homer. Manager Rick Renteria presented him with the scorecard after the game. “The lineup, I’m going to frame it,” Garcia said. “And the ball I’m going to put in a box in a special place in my house with all of my memorabilia.”

*Yolmer Sanchez extended his hitting streak to 11.

*Every Sox starter had at least one hit and scored.

*The 16 runs were the most by the Sox in Seattle and the most in any game since April 20, 2014 in a 16-2 victory at the Rangers. The Sox had 19 hits.

Sox acquire bonus pool slots from Orioles

The White Sox are spending a bundle on prospect Luis Robert, but they cut the overall cost a bit by trading Class A left-hander Alex Katz to the Orioles in exchange for two international bonus pool slots valued at $756,000.

By spending more than $25 million on Cuban free agent outfielder Luis Robert Saturday, the Sox went well over their bonus pool limit and will owe 100 percent overage on the amount spent. Acquiring $756,000 in international money equates to about $1.5 million in savings. The Sox acquired the 45^th slot, valued at $451,400, and the 75^th slot ($304,900) from the Orioles.

Katz, 22, was a low-cost selection by the Sox in the 27^th round of the 2015 draft. He was 0-1 with a 4.40 at low A Kannapolis and is 0-4 with a 3.09 ERA over three minor league seasons.

Down on the farm

Right-hander Michael Kopech, the other top prospect acquired from the Red Sox along with Yoan Moncada in the Chris Sale trade, accomplished highs in innings (seven) and pitches (104) Friday and while he walked two in the first inning, the hard-throwing right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth for AA Birmingham. Kopech, 21, owns a 2.76 ERA with 59 strikeouts over 42 1/3 innings.

*Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade, owns a 2.20 ERA with 26 strikeouts and has won five straight decisions at AAA Charlotte.