Three wins and one gut-wrenching loss as the Loons could not hold a lead down the stretch.
Player of the day
Even though he had recently had a two-homer game, this was the first time Zach Ehrahrd reached four RBI in a little under two months, moving away from the traditional role of table setter at the top of the lineup and slugging the Comets towards a victory away from home.
Finishing the game two for five, Ehrhard was responsible for two-thirds of Oklahoma
City’s RBI, helping compensate for Tommy Edman and James Tibbs II going 1 for 9 right behind him.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Who needs a cycle when you can accomplish four RBI with just a triple and a home run to nearly single-handedly drive forward your team’s successive efforts in a comeback win by a score of 6-3? That was the performance put forward by center fielder and leadoff hitter Zach Ehrhard.
With the unusual setup of having your designated hitter batting ninth, the Comets and Ehrhard, in specific, took advantage of Gauthier’s productive game, reaching base in three of four at-bats. Jack Suwinski was the only other Comet besides Ehrhard to leave the yard, hitting a solo shot in the sixth.
While Jackson Ferris struggled with the long ball, giving up two homers to put OKC down in a 3-0 hole early on, Ryder Ryan was outstanding out of the bullpen. Ryan earned the win by tossing four scoreless innings with six K’s, lowering his season ERA to 4.46.
Double-A Tulsa
The corner infielders ran the show with Chris Newell and Kyle Nevin recording all five of the Drillers’ RBI in a shutout win at home as the bottom of the order thrived against the Wind Surge.
After dropping a lazy fly ball just in the right spot for a single with the bases loaded and giving Tulsa the 1-0 lead in the second, Newell mashed a three-run shot in the sixth—his third homer in the last six games—the best stretch he’s had this season.
Overcoming four walks in five innings of work, lefty Adam Serwinowski kept the zeroes on the board to earn his fifth win of the season, supported by a bullpen that was equally as dominant.
Lastly, one mustn’t forget Mike Sirota maintaining what is now a 48-game streak reaching base safely.
High-A Great Lakes
It’s a particularly tough pill to swallow when, twice in the late innings (ninth and tenth), a team blows a lead on its way to a one-run loss on the road. Notably, that wasn’t even the weirdest part about this game; it was the absurd 15 walks allowed by Loons’ pitchers, digging quite the hole for themselves.
The Loons took an early lead thanks to a Jose Meza three-run shot in the top of the first and were in control of this one for nearly its entirety, only to falter late. Davis Chastain blew his third save opportunity since the start of May, and Joseilyn Gonzalez took the loss thanks to a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the 10th.
Single-A Ontario
While the Loons gave away a late lead, the Tower Buzzers came back to beat the Storm by one run at the top of the eighth. Second baseman Mairoshendrick Martinus got Ontario first on the board with an RBI triple in the first and was also responsible for the go-ahead run, driving in Chase Harlan on a groundout.
While Harlan didn’t have an RBI, he was once again crucial to the success of the Tower Buzzers, upping his season average to .341 with a couple of doubles in three at-bats, adding a walk just for good measure.
Transactions
Outfielder Kole Myers was assigned to the Loons, and shortstop Cameron Decker was activated off the injured list. Catcher Francisco Espinoza was activated by the Ontario Tower Buzzers.
Tuesday’s scores
- Charlotte 3, Oklahoma City 6
- Tulsa 5, Wichita 0
- Wisconsin 10, Great Lakes 9
- Lake Elsinore 4, Ontario 5
Wednesday’s schedule
- 8:05 a.m. PT: Oklahoma City (River Ryan) at Charlotte (Jonathan Cannon)
- 10:05 a.m. PT: Tulsa (Payton Martin) vs. Wichita (Jose Olivares)
- 10:10 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Aidan Foeller) at Wisconsin (Josh Knoth)
- Game 2: Great Lakes (Jakob Wright) vs. Wisconsin (Tanner Perry)
- 6:05 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Lake Elsinore (Jesus A. Castro)
