The Tulsa Drillers were the only one of the four primary Dodger minor league teams to win a game on Wednesday. The Drillers delivered a massive slugfest with at least one run scored in each of the first six innings to hand the Springfield Cardinals their first loss of the season.
Player of the day
The Dodgers number one prospect and a top 15 one according to MLB.com’s preseason rankings, Josue De Paula, was at the forefront of that scoring outburst from the Tulsa Drillers. Hitting second, De Paula capitalized heavily
on a great game from the leadoff man, Kendall George, as well.
It wasn’t the most powerful of games early on, but with singles in three of the first four innings, De Paula kept the line moving and earned a couple of RBI. Eventually, the Dodgers’ star prospect hit one of the two home runs the Drillers would have, going deep in the fifth inning to virtually put the game to bed.
De Paula is now 8 for 22 in this start to the season with the Tulsa Drillers, and that home run represented his second extra-base hit of the campaign, his first long ball.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Another candidate for Player of the Day, Ryan Ward, unfortunately, didn’t receive much support from the rest of the offense in his 4-for-4 performance, ultimately leading to a 6-2 defeat. Going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, the Comets couldn’t get back into a game they trailed right from the outset, allowing three runs in the first two innings.
The game was, however, closer than the final scoreline would indicate, considering half of the Express’ six runs came in at the top of the ninth. Cole Irvin didn’t get off to the best of starts, but he did what was asked of him when you factor in that poor start, delivering a bit of length following a short outing from Jackson Ferris the evening prior.
One of the primary storylines of the minor league season for the Dodgers, James Tibbs III, was held in check with a 1-for-5 performance. Tibbs III also contributed negatively defensively in the outfield, with an error in right during the first inning.
Double-A Tulsa
Even Luke Fox’s tumultuous outing, with three walks in four innings, wasn’t enough to derail a commanding win from the Tulsa Drillers, who scored all the team’s 10 runs by the end of the sixth frame, thus creating a comfortable situation for a bullpen to wrap things up with five scoreless frames.
The bottom of the order couldn’t produce with hits, but they still played a key role, responsible for three of the 10 runs the Drillers scored, all having reached base via walks. At the top, Kendall George and Josue De Paula proved to be a menacing duo, responsible for seven of the team’s 10 RBI.
Perhaps the one negative is that the over-aggression on the basepaths saw Josue De Paula caught stealing twice, but he made the most of one of those situations, seeing George score from third in a runners-at-the-corners scenario.
High-A Great Lakes
A Jesus Galiz two-run single had the Great Lakes tied at 2-2 with the West Michigan Whitecaps deep into the eighth inning of what was evidently a close affair. However, left-hander Cody Morse really didn’t have it coming out of the bullpen and allowed three runs on five hits to take the loss in this one as the Loons dropped this one 5-2.
Needing their eighth-hole hitter to provide all of the production, the Loons delivered a disappointing offensive performance, particularly at the top of the order—the first three batters combined to go 1 for 12. Eduardo Quintero now only has three hits in 19 at-bats this season.
Class-A Ontario
When the Tower Buzzers scored three runs in the top of the ninth, they looked set for a memorable 10-8 win in a back-and-forth affair against the 66ers, but the Inland Empire matched those three runs in the bottom of the frame to win it in walk-off fashion, 11-10.
Neither pitching staff had much positive to write about, but what separated the two and was ultimately the downfall of the Tower Buzzers was the walks. While the Inland Empire offered only four free passes, Ontario pitchers delivered a ridiculous 14 free passes in nine innings of play. Such a high number wasn’t confined to a specific player or two, as all five of the Tower Buzzers’ pitchers allowed multiple walks (Estrada, Geronimo, Porco, Gagnon, and Jiménez).
Offensively, the production was quite evenly distributed, with a specific shout-out to Jarod Elkins, the only Ontario hitter with multiple extra-base hits, including a two-run homer in the second.
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Wednesday scores
- Round Rock 6, Oklahoma City 2
- Tulsa 10, Springfield 4
- Ontario 10, Inland Empire 11
- Great Lakes 2, West Michigan 5
Thursday schedule
- 3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Sterling Patrick) at West Michigan (Hayden Minton)
- 4:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (River Ryan) vs. Round Rock (TBD)
- 4:35 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Adam Serwinowski) at Springfield (Jurrangelo Cijntje)
- 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Inland Empire (Jose Romero)
