Quakes' bats, catchers' tempers heat up on Wednesday evening

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes' offense explodes on an otherwise quiet night on the farm.

Player of the day

Cody Bellinger launched his eighth home run of the season Wednesday night as part of his two hits in the Quakes win over the Modesto Nuts.  Bellinger has more than held his own as a teenager in the California League and has more or less accomplished everything we could expect from him to solidify his place as a top prospect in the Dodgers' system.  While the California League harbors many great hitters' parks, Bellinger's power has spiked well beyond what we could have expected after skipping Low A to start the year in High A.  Power is going to be the determining factor ss to how valuable Bellinger can be to the big league club, but right now, all signs are trending in a positive direction.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Two solo home runs was all the Dodgers' offense could muster, falling to the Salt Lake Bees (Angels) 6-2.  Andy Wilkins hit the first home run in the second, and Buck Britton followed with his in the fourth.  Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to four games with a hit and a walk.

Yasmani Grandal had his rehab outing cut short after being ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth inning after striking out for the third time on the evening.  Newly added Dodgers Eric Surkamp and Matt West allowed six Bees runs to score in their five combined innings of work.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers provided few highlights in Midland, falling to the Rockhounds (Athletics) 8-3.  The game saw Manager Razor Shines extend his consecutive games with an ejection streak to two after getting tossed following his entrance into a verbal altercation between Ali Solis and the home plate umpire that also saw the catcher ejected.

Daniel Mayora was the only Driller with multiple hits, going two for four with a double.  Jeremy Kehrt took the loss after failing to escape the fifth inning with the lead in hand.  Jorge De Leon would allow the eventual winning run to score before closing out Kehrt's line.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes broke out the bats early against the Modesto Nuts (Rockies) and cruised to a 12-4 victory.  Cody Bellinger, Tyler Ogle, and Paul Hoenecke each had two hits and one home run apiece.  Joey Curletta added to the offense with two hits of his own, including a double.

Brock Stewart was much improved on his second start for the Quakes, going five and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks, while striking out six.  AJ Vanegas pitched his second scoreless outing since rejoining the team from the disabled list, going two innings with a walk and a strikeout to his line.

Low Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons struggled to muster much offense on the road in a 5-2 loss to the Fort Wayne Tin Caps (Padres) that was shortened to seven plus innings by rain.  The umpires waited out the rain for 90 minutes before calling the game, giving Great Lakes their third straight loss.  Jacob Scavuzzo went three for three with a double, accounting for three of the team's seven hits, and was only one of two players (Spencer Navin the other) with a multi-hit game.

Victor Gonzalez took the loss after allowing five runs over six innings, allowing ten hits but walking none.  J.D. Underwood threw a scoreless inning of relief before the rain halted the game in the top of the eighth inning.

Transactions

Triple A:  Chris Heisey was recalled to Los Angeles, while Yadir Drake, P.J. Walters, and Chris Reed were reassigned to Tulsa.  To take their places, Eric Surkamp and Matt West were assigned to the the team, David Aardsma was activated, and Ian Thomas was optioned down to Oklahoma City.

Double A:  As listed above, Drake, Reed, and Walters were reassigned to Tulsa while West was promoted to Oklahoma City.  Dustin Richardson was also placed on the 7-day disabled list, while Travis Witherspoon was reassigned to Rancho Cucamonga.

High-A:  Billy Bereszniewicz was reassigned to extended Spring Training while Travis Witherspoon was reassigned from Tulsa to Rancho Cucamonga.

Low-A:  Victor Gonzalez was activated from the disabled list to make his start on Wednesday.

Tuesday box scores

Salt Lake 6, Oklahoma City 2

Midland 8, Tulsa 3

Rancho Cucamonga 12, Modesto 4

Fort Wayne 5, Great Lakes 2 in 7.2 innings

Thursday schedule

11:05 a.m.: Oklahoma City (Joe Weiland) at Salt Lake (Andrew Heaney)

3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Kevin Guzman) at Fort Wayne (Michael Kelly)

Game 2 of DH: Great Lakes (TBD) at Fort Wayne (Chris Huffman)

5:00 p.m.: Tulsa (Jose De Leon) at Midland (Nate Long)

7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (John Richy) vs. Modesto (Antonio Senzatela)