In Dodgers minor league games for Thursday, August 14th, eyes were on the mound in Oklahoma City as appearances by Roki Sasaki, Michael Kopech, and Bobby Miller all had implications for the parent Dodgers.
Roki Sasaki made a rehab start as the Dodgers hope that he might contribute to the parent Dodgers during the pennant stretch and possibly postseason. It didn’t go well. Sasaki threw 41 pitches (25 strikes) in two innings of work, giving up three runs on six hits and one walk, while striking out
nobody. His velocity, closely watched from day one after Sasaki specifically focused on that in team interviews prior to signing, was mostly 92-94 mph, never reaching 96. Sasaki threw over 100 mph in Japan before losing some velocity and effectiveness in his last season there. This was his first outing since he was shut down, so the Dodgers can hope things will improve as he builds himself up.
Not helping the Dodgers’ collective psyche was another rough rehab appearance, this time by Michael Kopech. Kopech couldn’t get through an inning, giving up two walks and two hits in the course of getting two outs. The Dodgers picked up Kopech mid-season last year, and he barely gave up a run for the rest of the season (three total runs in 24 games). He showed up injured to spring training, made it back for eight scoreless appearances, then went back on the injured list.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
For some good news, Bobby Miller may have found himself in the bullpen. His shutout inning gave him six straight scoreless appearances (seven innings), during which time Miller has only allowed one hit and one walk.
Ronan Kopp pitched two perfect innings, and he seems to have found his groove in Triple-A with three straight scoreless performances, striking out eight in four and one-third innings. Kopp, who went over a month without giving up an earned run (15 appearances) prior to being promoted to OKC, has 68 strikeouts in 44 innings on the season, with 34 walks. Notably, he has not given up a home run in 39 games.
As far as the game, the Albuquerque Isotopes beat the Oklahoma City Comets 8-5. The offense put up 13 hits (six extra-base hits) and six walks, but could only convert that into five runs. Esteury Ruiz had a productive game with two hits, two walks, a home run, and two stolen bases.
Double-A Tulsa
Maybe it’s not as weird as I think. For the fifth time in about four days, a Dodgers affiliate has pulled off this same pattern. The starting pitcher goes exactly five innings and gives up one run, and the bullpen closes with four scoreless innings. Patrick Copen worked around some traffic, yielding six hits and four walks in five innings, but only one run. James Tibbs III had three hits and is now hitting .317 as a Dodger in 11 games, with a 9/10 strikeout/walk ratio. 23-year-old catcher Nelson Quiroz, promoted to Double-A after hitting .367 in 98 at-bats in High-A, so far hasn’t found the pitching-dominant Texas League to be much more of a challenge. In 47 at-bats for Tulsa, Quiroz is hitting .362.
High-A Great Lakes
A five-run eighth inning turned the game around as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Great Lakes Loons 8-6. Logan Tabeling, in his High-A debut, got roughed up for those five runs, taking home a loss and a blown save as souvenirs. Zyhir Hope, hitting .125 in 40 at-bats in August, got two hits, and Jake Gelof hit his tenth home run. Kendall George was on base four times with two hits and two walks, so naturally, he stole four bases.
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes scored five runs in the first two innings. and the Visalia Rawhide could never catch up, the game ending in a 7-4 score. 2024 round-18 draft pick Isaac Ayon made his first appearance in Low-A ball and lasted two and two-thirds innings, giving up one run on two hits. Niko Perez drove in three runs for the Quakes, and Mairoshendrick Martinus hit his fifth home run.
Thursday scores
- Albuquerque 8, Oklahoma City 5
- Tulsa 5, San Antonio 1
- Wisconsin 8, Great Lakes 6
- Rancho Cucamonga 7, Visalia 4
Friday scores
- Great Lakes (Maddox Bruns) at Wisconsin (Sam Garcia), 4:40 PM PST
- San Antonio (Jagger Haynes) at Tulsa (Roque Gutierrez), 5:00 PM PST
- Albuquerque (Andrew Quezada) at Oklahoma City (TBA), 5:05 PM PST
- Rancho Cucamonga (Marlon Nieves) at Visalia (Adonys Perez), 6:30 PM PST
