Dodgers minor league report July 6: Quakes provide late fireworks on 4th of July weekend

Minor League Player of the Day – Jeremy Rathjen (HiA) - 5 for 6, 4 2B's, 1 HR, 3 RBI's, 4 Runs.  It was really a tossup for this award between Rathjen and Corey Seager (who drove in 6 with a pair of homers), but I gave the slight edge to Jeremy thanks to his 5 extra base hits on Sunday.  It was also coming out game for Rathjen who had struggled so far this season prior to this contest.

AAA – Red Patterson and the rest of the Isotopes got dominated by the 51's (Mets) 12 to 1 on Sunday.  Patterson gave up 4 early runs, and while he settled down over the next few frames he got into more trouble in the 5th and in total permitted 7 runs on 9 hits.  Colt Hynes and Paco Rodriguez allowed two runs each in relief and then 1st baseman Brock Pederson finished things up by giving up a solo homer in the 9th.  At the dish both Tim Federowicz and Mike Baxter went 2 for 4 with a double for the only offensive highlights.  Carl Crawford played left field and was 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.

AA – Blake Smith blew the save in the bottom of the 9th, but his offense picked him up an inning later as the Lookouts defeated the Suns (Marlins) 5 to 3 in 10 innings.  O'Koyea Dickson, who had been hitless in regulation, played hero in the 10th as his 2-run single put Chattanooga up for good.  Scott Schebler was also part of the late scoring as he doubled to lead off the top of the 10th, while Jeremy Hazelbaker also had a big game by going 2 for 4 with a couple of two-baggers and 2 RBI's.  On the mound starter Chris Reed tossed a great game as he allowed just 2 hits and 1 run over 6 frames.  Josh Ravin was then perfect over the next two innings prior to the Blake Smith blown save.  Robert Carson did was Smith couldn't and earned the save with a hitless bottom of the 10th.

HiA – The Quakes laid the smackdown on the JetHawks (Astros) in a 17 to 4 blowout.  Several Rancho hitters had big games in this one, but Corey Seager and Jeremy Rathjen shined especially bright as they combined for 9 hits and 9 RBI's.  Seager went 4 for 6 with a couple of homers and 6 runs batted in, while Rathjen had an incredible 5 extra base hits with 4 doubles and a long ball of his own.  Steven Proscia scored 3 runs and went yard as well while James Baldwin went 3 for 5 with a double and 2 RBI's.  Starter Jharel Cotton impressed on the other side of the ball as he struck out 10 over 6.2 frames and did not allow an earned run.  Craig Stem and Daniel Coulombe finished up the final few innings with the game already in hand.

LoA – Trailing by two heading into the 8th, the Loons responded in a big way by scoring 10 runs in in the final 2 frames to pull out a 12 - 4 victory over the Lugnuts (Blue Jays).  Josmar Cordero doubled with the bases loaded to start the late rally, while Jacob Scavuzzo plate two with a two-bagger of his own in the 9th.  Jesmuel Valentin went 2 for 4 and scored 3 runs while Joey Curletta had two base knocks and drove in a pair.  On the bump Jonathan Martinez didn't have his best stuff as he allowed 9 hits and 4 runs over 5.1 frames.  Ralston Cash picked up the win in relief with 1.2 scoreless innings.

Rookie Ogden – Reliever J.D. Underwood had a nightmare game as the Raptors fell to the Chukars (Royals) 13 to 4.  After starter Trevor Oaks allowed just 1 hit over the first 3 frames, Underwood took over in the 4th and promptly gave up 7 runs while recording just 1 out.  Fellow reliever James Baune also had trouble later in the game as he permitted 4 additional runs to score.  It was a strange day at the dish for the Raptor offense as everyone in the starting lineup had exactly 1 hit.  Only two of those hits went for extra bases as Kelvin Ramos doubled and Julian Leon continued his hot start with a solo home run.

Rookie Arizona – The Arizona Dodgers used a 7 run 5th inning to defeat the Indians 9 to 6.  All 7 runs in the 5th came on home runs as Scott De Jong connected on a grand slam and then Alberto Estrella followed that up with a 3-run homer.  Alex Verdugo also had a solid game as he doubled and walked twice.  On the mound Takumi Numata allowed just 3 hits and a couple of unearned runs over 5 solid innings to record the win.  Karch Kowalczyk threw the final 1.2 frames to collect his second save of the season.

DSL – Off day

Coming up – Monday will be a relatively quiet day as both the Loons and the Raptors have the day off.  Of the five other teams, the scheduled starters are Drew Carpenter for the Isotopes, Andres Santiago for the Lookouts (in an early 9:05 am game), and Tom Windle for the Quakes.

Minor League Transactions – AAA: Casio Grider joined the Isotopes to take the place of the recently promoted Carlos Triunfel.  AA: Aaron Bates was placed on the DL while Faustino Oguisten was activated from the disabled list.

Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)

Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)

Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)

Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)

Arizona Dodgers Box Score (Rookie)

Minor League Central - Daily Dodger Recap