Dodgers minors: Zyhir does more than just Hope for a win

TULSA, OKLAHOMA - APRIL 19: Zyhir Hope #13 of the Tulsa Drillers swings the bat during a game against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images Other than the Comets’ low-scoring defeat, it was a productive day w

What is the story about?

Other than the Comets’ low-scoring defeat, it was a productive day with a lot of offense in the Dodgers’ minor league system.

Player of the day

While the winning hit came from elsewhere, the Drillers went only as far as Zyhir Hope could take them, with the cleanup-hitting outfielder delivering a four-hit performance, including a home run. Hope, who hadn’t left the yard in nearly a month, now totals 14 on the season, one more than he had the entire last year.

Out of those four hits, though, the most impactful one wasn’t

the long ball; it was a simple RBI single that evened the score at 7-7 in the ninth before the Comets took a commanding lead.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Easily with the worst performance across all four minor league affiliates, the Comets delivered little to no offensive production in a low-scoring 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Space Cowboys.

OKC had the 2-0 lead as Cole Irvin delivered five scoreless innings before allowing his first and only run in the sixth; then just an inning later, the Space Cowboys got to Keynan Middleton.

Designated hitter Jack Suwinski was responsible for one of the Comets’ two RBI and is now one short of 60 on the season. Suwinski, alongside Ryan Ward, represented the only two batters with multihit performances in this defeat.

Double-A Tulsa

Trailing 7-4 at the start of the eighth inning, the Drillers scored seven unanswered runs to complete one of the season’s most remarkable comebacks and beat the Wind Surge away from home.

Zyhir Hope proved the Drillers’ most effective batter with a four-hit night, including the game-tying RBI single in the ninth, but the big hit came from Jake Gelof, smashing a grand slam in the top of the ninth. That was only the second Drillers homer in that game and Gelof’s 16th on the season.

The Drillers owe a lot of this comeback to the efforts of Roque Gutierrez, who, after Adam Serwinowski delivered a blowup outing, held the Wind Surge to just two hits and one run in five innings of work out of the bullpen. Gutierrez’ efficiency was rewarded with a win, now moving to an outstanding 6-0 record.

High-A Great Lakes

When you outhomer the opposition three to nothing, a win feels almost like a formality, and that is what we saw as the Loons beat the TinCaps 6-2. Perhaps the only disappointment is that the pitching staff blew the chance of a shutout win by allowing a pair of runs in the ninth.

Samuel Munoz, Eduardo Quintero, and Emil Morales were responsible for the three Loons long balls, each of them solo shots. While that represented all the production from Morales and Munoz, Quintero stood out as the Loons’ only batter with multiple hits (2) and RBI (3).

Single-A Ontario

In a slugfest and somewhat sloppy game that saw both sides combine for 22 hits and five errors, four of them committed by the Grizzlies, the Tower Buzzers secured the 12-10 win, largely thanks to an outstanding performance from Austin Shelton. Ontario’s third baseman and cleanup hitter proved why he was batting in that spot with a three-hit, five-RBI game.

Interestingly, Shelton was the only Tower Buzzers hitter with multiple RBI, as all three of the team’s home runs were solo shots, including Shelton’s 23rd on the season. Starter Hyun Seok-Jang didn’t have a particularly effective game, allowing four runs, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse considering he walked five batters in his 5.1 innings of work.