The ins and outs of Saturday night in the Dodgers minor leagues.
Player of the day
Emmet Sheehan continued to roll in Triple-A, this time with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Sheehan allowed a run, the only tally against him in his last three starts for Oklahoma City, with five hits and two walks against him on Saturday.
Sheehan in his last three games has allowed one run in 17 1/3 innings, with 24 strikeouts and
six walks.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Zach Ehrhard homered in the eighth inning, giving the Comets a win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).
After catching three games this week, Will Smith doubled twice in his four at-bats on Saturday as the designated hitter.
Justin Wrobleski joined the Comets on a rehab assignment and got four outs in relief, his expected role once he rejoins the Dodgers in September and into October. Wrobleski allowed a run on three hits in the eighth inning, then got the first out of the ninth, and struck out two in his outing.
In the seventh inning for El Paso, old friend Brent Honeywell allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score thanks to a pair of errors in a 25-pitch frame. It was his first game action in 22 months, since Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, batting injuries for the better part of two years in between.
Double-A Tulsa
The Drillers scored four runs in the 11th inning to top the Midland RockHounds (A’s). Tulsa struck out 19 times on the night but also had 16 hits and nine walks in 11 innings, plating 10 runs.
Taylor Young doubled home a run in the 11th inning, after singling with three walks, reaching base five times with a stolen base. Jake Gelof homered and had a sacrifice fly before his two-run single adding insurance runs in the 11th, giving him four RBI on the night.
Elijah Hainline also homered for Tulsa. Jose Izarra, playing right field, doubled twice and stole a base. Kole Myers singled twice, walked twice, and stole a base.
Josue De Paula doubled, singled, and scored a pair of runs. His second run came as the free runner in the 10th inning, his 100th run scored of the season. De Paula is one RBI away from the century mark there as well, after previous career highs of 69 runs scored and 62 RBI, both set in 2024.
Jacob Kmatz, acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline in the Hunter Feduccia/Jack Suwinski swap, allowed only one run on three hits in his first eight appearances for Tulsa. But on Saturday, Kmatz allowed a run on three hits to tie things up in the eighth. But it could have been a lot worse, as the run was already in and the bases were loaded with nobody out, but Kmatz induced a force out at home, an easy flyout, and a strikeout to strand three.
Payton Martin returned after two and a half weeks on the injured list, and struck out three in two scoreless innings of relief working around a single and walk. It’s just the fifth appearance out of the bullpen in 76 career games in four professional seasons pitching. Martin in his previous seven starts before landing on the IL allowed 33 runs in 31 1/3 innings.
High-A Great Lakes
The Loons scored in five of eight innings at home to blow out the Lansing Lugnuts (A’s). Mairo Martinus hit a three-run home run and Charles Davalan hit a two-run shot. Martinus, like De Paula in Double-A, scored his 99th and 100th runs on the season on Saturday.
Eduardo Quintero and Emil Morales each doubled and singled, with Morales up to 115 RBI in 111 games this season between Great Lakes and Class-A Ontario. Not to be outdone, third baseman Eduardo Guerrero had three hits, driving in two and scoring a pair.
Isaac Ayon accepted that bounty of offense and allowed just a run on three hits in his five innings for the win.
Class-A Ontario
Catcher Conner O’Neal and Ching-Hsien Ko each homered in the ninth inning, breaking a tie in the Tower Buzzers’ road win over the Stockton Ports (A’s). Ko’s was a two-run shot.
Ontario didn’t score until the seventh inning on a solo home run by second baseman Kellon Lindsey. The 2024 first-round draft pick homered six times in his first 59 professional games between last year and this year. But since July 18, Lindsey has eight home runs in his last 33 games, hitting .250/.413/.508.
Starter Luis Gamez on the day before his 20th birthday closed out his teens in style with four scoreless innings and six strikeouts, working around four walks and a single.
Jecsua Liborius struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 11th save.
Saturday scores
- Oklahoma City 3, El Paso 2
- Tulsa 10, Midland 6 (11 innings)
- Great Lakes 13, Lansing 5
- Ontario 4, Sotckton 1
Sunday schedule
- 10:05 a.m PT: Great Lakes (Jacob Frost) vs. Lansing (Tucker Novotny)
- 11 a.m.: Tulsa (TBA) at Midland (Ben Hansen)
- 4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Charlie Barnes) vs. El Paso (Sean Boyle)
- 5 p.m.: Ontario (TBA) at Stockton (Josiah Romero)
