In Dodgers minor league action, a loss was turned into a win when the right fielder missed the ball, and a Sunday stroll around the bases was enjoyed by an entire team.
Player of the day
Austin Gauthier became interesting when he had consecutive seasons with 100 walks and eye-popping on-base percentages of .441 and .435. As he advanced to Triple-A, against pitchers with better control, his on-base percentage has dropped to a still good, but more pedestrian, .360, while his batting average has hovered around .240. Now
in his age-26 season, Gauthier, who can play both middle infield positions, is fighting for his dream of playing in the major leagues, hitting .230/.363/.323 for Triple-A Oklahoma City, and singled home a run in the eighth inning to begin the Comets’ comeback.
He has a case as a utility bench player who can get on base. Additionally, Gauthier has good base-running instincts as evidenced by a high stolen base success rate (49/61) and a run scored for less than every five at-bats over 459 games.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
The Comets scored two runs in the eighth inning, and two more in the ninth to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 victory over the Sacramento River Cats (Giants). Blake Snell pitched four innings, giving up one run on four hits, striking out six, and walking one. Blake Treinen (no relation) followed Snell and pitched a perfect inning for the second time in three days.
Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday in Los Angeles that Snell would make at least one more rehab start before returning to the Dodgers rotation, per Sonja Chen at MLB.com.
Landon Knack followed with three innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks. Knack’s 6.67 ERA in Triple-A sheds light on his struggles this season.
The game was won when Gauthier came up with two outs in the ninth with runners on second and third and hit a line drive to right field that Jerar Encarnacion muffed. The error allowed the tying and winning runs to score. Jack Little pitched a perfect ninth to seal the deal with his 13th save.
COMETS TAKE THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/eFmnZXlbGR
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) July 20, 2025
Double-A Tulsa
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals) defeated the Drillers 5-4 in ten innings. Chris Campos lasted seven innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Drillers tied the game on a clutch two-out double by Ezequiel Pagan. In the top of the tenth inning, Brett Squires singled home Rudy Martin for the winning run.
I wanna be like Chris Campos when I grow up. pic.twitter.com/oseB61Kn0L
— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) July 21, 2025
We're all tied up!
— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) July 21, 2025
TUL4️⃣| ARK4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/hkGE1jodtU
High-A Great Lakes
The Loons’ finally in Dayton was canceled by rain. The two teams don’t play again this season, so this contest will not be made up.
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
The Quakes used a five-run inning and a six-run inning to overwhelm the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 11-2. Every hitter scored at least one run for the Quakes, and five different players drove in at least two runs in a balanced offensive attack. Sterling Patick started for the Quakes and pitched four scoreless innings, striking out six.
Sunday scores
- Oklahoma City 5, Sacramento 4
- Northwest Arkansas 5, Tulsa 4
- Rancho Cucamonga 11, Lake Elsinore 2
The week ahead
- Oklahoma City at Reno (D-backs)
- Tulsa vs. Springfield (Cardinals)
- Great Lakes vs. Beloit (Marlins)
- Rancho Cucamonga vs. Visalia (D-backs)
More from truebluela.com:
- Dodgers blank the Pirates behind Ross Stripling, trio of homers
- Andrew Toles returns to Triple-A lineup after missing 46 games
- Dodgers 2018 MLB draft tracker
- Caleb Ferguson to join Dodgers for major league debut
- Position players headline Day 2 of the draft for the Dodgers
- Dodgers draft LHP John Rooney in the 3rd round, No. 104 overall
