PULASKI -- The power came on at Calfee Park on Tuesday night.

The Pulaski Mariners jolted the Kingsport Mets with a couple of home runs from two unexpected sources, erased a five-run deficit, and finished with an 8-6 Appalachian League victory.

The Mariners, (11-16) who started the season a dreadful 2-8, have steadied to the task of late and have now won six of their last 10 to take a firm hold on fourth place in the East Division, still 7 ¹₂ games back of front-running Danville.

"For almost the last two weeks, the kids have been hitting the ball real well," Pulaski manager Jose Moreno said. "We have had some problems on defense and with the command and control of our pitching, but we've been doing a lot better with adjustments at the plate. The swings have been a lot better."

No better rips were taken Tuesday than those of cleanup hitter Tim Morris and No. 9-batter Jarrett Burgess. Burgess, an 18-year-old out of Miami taken in the sixth round of last year's amateur draft, sparked the comeback from a 5-0 deficit by launching a three-run blast with one out in the fifth.

A self-described "line-drive hitter, an average hitter" in high school, Burgess is showing signs of becoming a power hitter.

"He's a big kid, really," Moreno said of the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder. "When he makes contact with the bat, it sounds good. Maybe in the future, he's going to make the progression and be a power guy. You never know. He's got great speed, too, real good legs."

You don't have to run fast if you hit it out of the ballpark.

"I'm leaning a little more to being a power hitter now," Burgess said. "The coaches have been working with me in the cage trying to get my hands to the ball."

To make things simple for him, they put him at the end of the lineup where he's seeing better pitches than he would in his natural position as a leadoff or second hitter.

An out later and two more on, Morris came to the plate trying to clear from his mind the residue of two long fly balls to center field in his previous two at-bats. Morris, who hits from the left side, had struggled with the inside pitch earlier in the year.

"I've had some trouble with that short porch in right field being a left-handed hitter," he said. " I've worked on tying to pull the ball better so I can hit more home runs."

He got what he was looking for on an 0-1 count.

"It was a change-up he just left up," Morris said. "I knew right away it was a good pitch to hit. I put a good swing on it ."

That polished off a six-run inning and the Mariners did not trail again. Richard Ortiz, who entered in the fifth in relief of starter Brandon Maurer, pitched three scoreless innings for the victory. Brian Moran got the last six outs and gave up a ninth-inning run but earned his first save.

The Mariners are getting better, of that there seems to be general agreement.

"No matter what, they battle," Moreno said.

Kingsport 000 050 001 -- 6 14 1

Pulaski 000 062 00x -- 9 11 2

Almonte, Rosenbaum (5), Taveras (8), Needham (9) and Freeman. Maurer, Ortiz (5), Moran (8) and Johnson. W -- Ortiz. L -- Almonte. S -- Moran. HR -- Burgess (P) 5th, two on; Morris (P), 5th, two on.