The two home runs were great, and Joey Gallo is enjoying being part of a loaded Triple-A Round Rock lineup. Still, the best part of Saturday might not have had anything to do with baseball.

"Today we didn't have to wear sweatshirts under our jerseys," Gallo said with a laugh. "So it was a little easier to move around and play and swing."

The Rangers' top prospect posted his first multi-hit performance of the season with a pair of homers, driving in four runs as Round Rock raced by Iowa, 9-3, in Des Moines.

The Las Vegas native spent the month of March getting another extended look in Major League camp in Arizona before being optioned to the Express to start the year. For his team's first series in the midwest, temperatures have dipped into the 30s with winds nearing 40 mph nightly. But the early spring conditions haven't derailed Round Rock's powerful lineup.

"The weather we played in the last two days, you can't prepare for that at all and you can't get used to it," he said. "We've been swinging the bats pretty well so far. Today, we kind of just stayed hot with that, I think. The first two nights were pretty cold. We couldn't really drive the ball too much, so today we were able to put balls up in the wind. It worked out in our favor."

With his team in front by a run in the third inning, Gallo gave the Express breathing room when he connected on a three-run shot to right-center.

"My first one was with two strikes and I kind of just wanted to move the guys over," MLB.com's No. 8 overall prospect said. "I was able to hit one up really high. I didn't think it was going to go out at all, and it ended up just barely sneaking over. It was kind of a two-strike swing, trying to put the ball in play."

Three innings later, the third baseman powered a two-out solo shot to left for Round Rock's final run.

"I was able to go opposite field on kind of a two-seam away," Gallo said. "I was happy about going the other way like that."

The multi-homer performance was the 18th of Gallo's Minor League career.

"It's been great," he said. "I've been really good on working counts, getting into good counts to swing. I want to be patient, and I'm doing that so far. I'm battling with two strikes and my at-bats have gone pretty well. I'm happy about it. It's tough to go from Spring Training and keep that rhythm all the way into the beginning of the year, especially playing in the conditions we've been playing in, but we've been doing a pretty good job of that, everybody."

Every Express starter registered at least one hit with Round Rock's top four hitters -- Ryan Strausborger, Jurickson Profar, No. 3 Rangers prospect Nomar Mazara and Gallo -- going a combined 8-for-18 with six RBIs and six runs scored. Mazara also connected on a two-run homer, his first of the year, in the fifth.

"It's a lot of fun," Gallo said. "We're a very, very talented team, a very good hitting team. It's a lot of fun to be a part of. With guys like Mazara and Profar in front of me, it makes my job a lot easier. Hopefully, we can all stay together a while before people start moving every which way."

Social media was abuzz regarding Mazara's status shortly after the Express finished off the win. Mazara, who went 3-for-4, was lifted in the ninth, shortly after Texas scratched outfielder Shin-soo Choo from its game at Anaheim with a calf injury he suffered during batting practice. Mazara is on Texas' 40-man roster.