The Loons and Drillers won close matchups, while the Comets and Tower Buzzers were both defeated at home, with none of these teams playing in a game decided by more than three runs.
Player of the day
When the most impressive and most impactful performances of the day line up to be the same, the choice is rather obvious; in this case, it was Zach Root making an absolute mockery out of the Dayton lineup to lead the Loons to a close win at home.
Root needed just 81 pitches to reach double-digit strikeouts, 11 to be precise,
which represents a season-high, letting absolutely nothing across and lowering his season ERA to 2.37, earning a third win in 13 starts.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
For the third consecutive start, Charlie Barnes allowed exactly seven runs, ending this one shortly after it began as the Comets couldn’t contain the Chihuahuas, losing 8-5 at home. OKC even put up a fight towards the end with a four-run eighth inning, but when you only secure three hits in the whole game, any chance of a win virtually goes out the window.
Responsible for two-thirds of the Comets’ hits was the second baseman Hyeseong Kim, while Zach Ehrhard scored two runs in the leadoff spot, walking a couple of times. For Kim individually, this was a much-needed boost, hitting .158 in his last 15 games. Other than Kim, though, the only hitter to record a base hit was Alek Thomas.
Double-A Tulsa
In a similar fashion to the Comets game, but with a better outcome, the Drillers owe a ridiculous percentage of their 4-3 win to Kendall George, and not just because the leadoff batter secured the walk-off hit in the ninth inning. George was responsible for four of his team’s six hits.
This game could’ve been over earlier had Jake Gelof capitalized on a bases-loaded opportunity in the seventh with the score tied at three all, but he struck out, one of his three on the game. In fact, all hitters between the second and fifth spots in the lineup didn’t record a single knock, leaving the heroics to George and the bottom of the order.
Christian Zazueta and Wyatt Crowell provided quite the deadly combo on the mound, combining for 14 strikeouts to properly handle the Cardinals, who landed a few blows, including two solo shots. Covering the last four innings, Crowell earned his seventh win of the season.
High-A Great Lakes
Minor league and major league outings seldom get much better than what Zach Root delivered to lead the way on a 4-2 win for the Loons, striking out 11 over six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. It’s the second time in a row that Root begins the month with a one-hit start—he hadn’t yet pitched in July.
Unlike the Drillers, the Loons scored all of their four runs first and survived a small bullpen scare once Root left the mound. Leadoff batter Charles Davalan was responsible for the team’s only home run. Despite striking out three times, switch-hitter Logan Wagner managed an RBI as well in his sole hit.
Single-A Ontario
Trailing from the top of the first until the very last pitch of the game, the Tower Buzzers fell victim to their own subpar defensive work, allowing three unearned runs in a 5-2 loss to the 66ers. Those errors were committed by reliever Luis Carias and shortstop Joendry Vargas, the latter of whom had a great game at the plate, going three for three with one RBI.
Starter Brady Smith doesn’t have the most appealing of ERAs at 4.08, but that number also doesn’t deserve an 0-6 record that’s been handed to him, suffering yet another loss this season. Three of the game’s five runs were scored when reliever Carias was on the mound.
Transactions
The Dodgers sent catcher Chuckie Robinson to Triple-A. Shortstop Jose Izarra moved from the Drillers to the Loons, and Tulsa shortstop Sean McLain was placed on the IL.
Tuesday’s scores
- Oklahoma City 5, El Paso 8
- Tulsa 4, Springfield 3
- Great Lakes 4, Dayton 2
- Ontario 2, Inland Empire 5
Wednesday’s schedule
- 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Aidan Foeller) vs. Dayton (Reynardo Cruz)
- 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Adam Serwinowski) vs. Springfield (Brandt Thompson)
- 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (TBD) vs. El Paso (Jackson Wolf)
- 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Inland Empire (Aiden Butler)
