Dodgers Minor League Roundup: Loons Walk It Off, Drillers Slug Through Loss, Comets Stumble in Albuquerque
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system produced another eventful night across the affiliates on Wednesday, highlighted by a dramatic walk-off victory courtesy of Jesus Galiz for the Great Lakes Loons, and dominant pitching performances from Sterling Patick, then the Ontario Tower Buzzers entire staff despite a tough loss. The Drillers battled offensively but were undone by a disastrous fifth inning, while the Oklahoma City Comets ran into a red-hot Albuquerque lineup in an 8-2 defeat. And, playing in Albuquerque is like going into the Bermuda triangle with the altitude.
Great Lakes continued to look like one of the top clubs in High-A baseball, improving to 21-13 with a clutch ninth-inning win over West Michigan. Tulsa’s offense showed flashes of explosiveness from several top prospects despite the loss, while Ontario’s pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts in one of the most electric mound performances of the year. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, struggled defensively and could never recover after Albuquerque erupted for six runs in the second inning.
OKC Comets Fall to Albuquerque Isotopes, 8-2
The Oklahoma City Comets dropped to 20-20 on the season after an 8-2 loss to the Albuquerque Isotopes. A six-run second inning by Albuquerque proved to be the difference as the Comets were unable to claw back despite collecting eight hits.
Albuquerque struck quickly in the second inning after Chad Stevens hit a one-out double, then Drew Avans, a former Dodgers farmhand, reached on a fielder’s choice aided by a throwing error from shortstop Noah Miller. Cole Carrigg then crushed a bases-clearing triple to make it 3-0 before Adael Amador added an RBI fielder’s choice. Zac Veen followed with a two-run single to cap the six-run outburst.
The Isotopes added another run in the third inning on a Carrigg sacrifice fly, then tacked on one more in the fifth.
Oklahoma City’s offense was limited most of the night by Sean Sullivan, but Zach Ehrhard finally put the Comets on the board with a solo homer in the fifth inning. The Comets added their second run in the sixth when Alex Freeland reached on an error, and Tyler Fitzgerald delivered an RBI single.
Carrigg finished with four RBIs and was the catalyst offensively for Albuquerque, while the Comets stranded nine runners and went just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Top Offensive Performers — OKC Comets
Ryan Fitzgerald: 2-for-5
Tyler Fitzgerald: 2-for-4, RBI
Zach Ehrhard: 1-for-4, HR, RBI
Ryan Ward: 1-for-3, walk
Noah Miller: 1-for-4
Pitchers — OKC Comets
Cole Irvin — 1.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Carlos Duran — 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Griff McGarry — 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Jordan Weems — 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Ronan Kopp — 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Antoine Kelly — 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Analysis and Takeaways — OKC
The biggest issue for Oklahoma City was early defensive execution. Two errors directly contributed to Albuquerque’s huge second inning, putting Cole Irvin in a difficult position almost immediately. And, Irvin is not overpowering, so for his starts to be successful, the defense has to be clean behind him. Offensively, Zach Ehrhard hit his third homer of the season, while Tyler Fitzgerald collected another multi-hit game. Griff McGarry’s clean inning with two strikeouts was also encouraging as he continues searching for consistency.
Tulsa Drillers Drop Slugfest to Springfield Cardinals, 9-5
The Tulsa Drillers fell to 20-15 after a back-and-forth game turned sharply in Springfield’s favor during a five-run fifth inning.
Tulsa got in an early 2-0 hole, but fought back with aggressive baserunning and situational offense. Griffin Lockwood-Powell delivered an RBI single in the second inning before Elijah Hainline tied the game in the third with an RBI single that scored Josue Depaula, who walked to lead the inning off. Chris Newell then grounded into a forceout that scored Kyle Nevin, giving Tulsa a 3-2 lead.
The Drillers added another run in the fourth when Josue De Paula singled home Sean McLain to make it 4-2.
But Springfield’s lineup exploded in the fifth. Chase Davis tied the game with a two-run homer before Jeremy Rivas blasted a three-run homer later in the inning to suddenly push the Cardinals ahead 7-4. Both, unfortunately, were off the starter Patrick Copen. After getting off to an incredible start to the season, Copen has faced turbulence, giving up 15 runs in his last 9 innings.
Tulsa never fully recovered, though Griffin Lockwood-Powell continued his impressive night with a double in the fifth inning. Kendall George later scored on a De Paula groundout in the eighth to provide the Drillers’ final run.
Springfield’s offense was led by Davis and Rivas, who combined for six RBIs and two homers.
Top Offensive Performers — Tulsa Drillers
Griffin Lockwood-Powell: 2-for-3, double, RBI, walk, HBP
Josue De Paula: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, walk
Elijah Hainline: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 walks, 2 stolen bases
Kendall George: 1-for-5, double
Kyle Nevin: 1-for-3, walk
Chris Newell: RBI, stolen base
Pitchers — Tulsa Drillers
Patrick Copen — 4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Cam Day — 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Lucas Wepf — 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Christian Suarez — 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Analysis and Takeaways — Tulsa
Griffin Lockwood-Powell continues to swing one of the hottest bats in the Texas League, reaching base four times while raising his OPS to .889. Elijah Hainline also continued his strong all-around season with speed and on-base production. The biggest issue was Tulsa’s inability to contain Springfield’s power bats, as both Chase Davis and Jeremy Rivas punished mistakes in the fifth inning. Cam Day was a bright spot out of the bullpen with 2.2 scoreless innings.
Great Lakes Loons Walk Off West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-3
The Great Lakes Loons improved to 21-13 and strengthened their hold atop the Midwest League East with a thrilling 4-3 walk-off win over the West Michigan Whitecaps.
Great Lakes jumped out quickly with a three-run first inning. Mike Sirota opened the game with a double before Eduardo Quintero drove him home with an RBI single. A wild pitch later scored Quintero, and another run crossed when Eduardo Guerrero reached on a throwing error. Quintero stole his 9th base in that sequence as well.
The Loons pitching staff then completely shut down West Michigan for most of the night. Sterling Patick tossed six scoreless innings while allowing just four hits and striking out four.
West Michigan slowly climbed back into the game in the seventh and eighth innings. Wildness from Reynaldo Yean allowed two runs to score in the seventh, and Luke Shliger tied the game in the eighth with a solo homer.
But Great Lakes answered in the bottom of the ninth. Eduardo Guerrero singled with one out, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, before Jesus Galiz ripped a walk-off RBI single to center field to seal the victory.
Top Offensive Performers — Great Lakes Loons
Eduardo Guerrero: 2-for-4
Mike Sirota: 2-for-4, double
Eduardo Quintero: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 stolen bases
Jesus Galiz: 2-for-4, walk-off RBI
Jose Meza: 1-for-4
Pitchers — Great Lakes Loons
Sterling Patick — 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Reynaldo Yean — 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 4 BB
Davis Chastain — 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Analysis and Takeaways — Great Lakes
Sterling Patick delivered one of his best starts of the season and continued to stabilize the Loons rotation. Eduardo Quintero’s speed changed the game early, while Jesus Galiz came through with the biggest hit of the night. The Loons again demonstrated resilience by immediately responding after blowing the late lead to walk the game off in victory.
Ontario Tower Buzzers Shut Down by San Jose Giants, 1-0
Welcome back, Kellon Lindsey, who, after being on the IL, made his affiliated debut yesterday after playing 5 games at the complex. Despite that, there wasn’t much else to cheer for on the position player side, but the pitching was dominant, and, when all put together, the Tower Buzzers dropped to 15-19 after being blanked 1-0 by the San Jose Giants despite a dominant overall pitching performance.
Ontario’s staff combined for 16 strikeouts and allowed just four hits, but the offense could not capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities.
The game’s only run came in the sixth inning when Andy Polanco singled, stole second and third, then scored on an Isaiah Barkett RBI groundout.
Ontario starter Isaac Ayon was dominant, striking out 10 over five shutout innings while allowing just one hit. Jordan Gottesman matched him on the other side with five scoreless innings of relief before the Giants finally broke through against Jholbran Herder in the sixth.
Top Offensive Performers — Ontario Tower Buzzers
Kellon Lindsey: 2-for-4, triple
Chase Harlan: 1-for-3, triple, walk
Easton Shelton: 1-for-3, triple
Conner O’Neal: 1-for-3
Pitchers — Ontario Tower Buzzers
Isaac Ayon — 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K
Jholbran Herder — 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K
Will Gagnon — 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 K
Jecsua Liborius — 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Analysis and Takeaways — Ontario
Even in defeat, Ontario’s pitching staff was electric. Isaac Ayon’s 10-strikeout performance was one of the most dominant outings in the system this season, and Will Gagnon added four strikeouts in just 1.2 innings. Offensively, the Buzzers simply could not get things going much to begin with, but then couldn’t capitalize on scoring chances,es going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position while striking out 11 times.
System Takeaways
The Dodgers’ farm system showcased a mix of elite pitching performances and explosive offensive flashes on Wednesday night. Isaac Ayon’s dominant strikeout outing in Ontario and Sterling Patick’s six scoreless innings for Great Lakes stood out on the mound, while Griffin Lockwood-Powell continued his great start to the season in Tulsa with another multi-hit performance. The Loons once again looked like one of the system’s most complete clubs, finding ways to win close games behind strong pitching, speed, and timely hitting.
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