Ryan Ward does extra for Oklahoma City, Kendall George stays hot in Tulsa return

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 22: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Ryan Ward (67) makes contact during a MLB game between the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers on June 22, 2026, at Target Field in Minneapolis MN. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

What is the story about?

All four Dodgers affiliates are at home this week. The two in the state of Oklahoma picked up wins on Friday.

Player of the day

Ryan Ward homered in his first game back with Oklahoma City on June 30 after getting optioned, but had no extra-base hits in his first seven games of July. Ward made up for that on Friday with a home run and two doubles.

Ward also singled, tying his season best with four hits.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Comets had eight extra-base hits in a home

romp over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres). Ward had three of the eight extra-base hits.

Alek Thomas also homered, his third in three games. Jack Suwinski doubled twice and drove in four runs Austin Gauthier and Ryan Fitzgerald also doubled.

Christian Romero struck out five while allowing a run in 5 1/3 innings, with the only run coming on a solo home run.

Ryder Ryan came within one out of a three-inning save, but was pulled with two outs after allowing three runs in the ninth inning. Jerming Rosario entered with a five-run lead but the bases loaded and the tying run on deck. He struck out Bryce Johnson to earn a save of the more standard variety.

Double-A Tulsa

Josue De Paula had three hits, including an RBI double in the Drillers’ four-run rally that gave them the lead for good in a victory over the Springfield Cardinals.

Zyhir Hope hit the game-tying two-run single in that seventh inning and also walked and stole a base.

Kendall George singled twice, walked, stole two bases, and scored a pair of runs. After missing a month with a knee injury and five tune-up games with Class-A Ontario, George in his first four games back with Tulsa has eight hits in 16 at-bats plus three walks and three stolen bases.

Evan Shaw pitched three scoreless, hitless innings in relief with four strikeouts to earn the win.

High-A Great Lakes

Two runs in the eighth inning doomed the Loons in a loss to the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Robby Porco pitched a scoreless seventh but walked a pair with one out in the eighth before getting pulled. Both walks scored on a single off Justin Chambers.

One day after his 20th birthday, Chase Harlan hit his third home run and sixth extra-base hit in 13 games since getting promoted to Great Lakes. Shortstop Emil Morales, who doesn’t turn 20 until September, doubled, singled, and drove in a pair. Morales in four games in this series has 10 hits, including five extra-base hits, and seven RBI.

Brooks Auger allowed a pair of home runs for a second straight start, after giving up no long balls in his first 10 starts, encompassing 37 innings and 153 batters faced. Though he gave up four runs on Friday, Auger also struck out eight, giving him 66 strikeouts and 20 walks in 46 1/3 innings this season, with a 34.2-percent strikeout rate.

Class-A Ontario

Tower Buzzers pitching allowed crooked numbers in four different innings in a blowout loss to the the Inland Empire (Mariners).

The bulk of the scoring came against Marco Estrada, who allowed five runs in his 3 2/3 innings of relief, including a pair of home runs. Drafted by the Dodgers in the seventh round out of MIT last July, Estrada struck out five and walked four on Friday. The right-hander has filled up the box score this season, with 50 walks and 66 strikeouts in his 57 2/3 innings, and a 7.96 ERA.

Marlon Nieves was activated off the injured list after missing two months and allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings in his abbreviated start.

Third baseman Easton Shelton hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning, his league-leading 24th home run, nine more than anybody else in the California League. Mairo Martinus also homered for Ontario.