Dodgers minor league news

Darnell Sweeney collects 4 hits to continue hot streak

By David Hood Jul 9, 2015, 7:07am PDT

Darnell Sweeney went 3-4 with a home run Wednesday evening.

Darnell Sweeney continued his torrid hot streak in a losing effort, while a couple of affiliates found their victories more comfortable.

Player of the day

After hitting .336 for the month of June, and .346 through six games in July, Darnell Sweeney showed no signs of slowing down Wednesday night, going 4-5 with two doubles and a home run. Sweeney raised his average to .297 on the season and in hitting his eighth homer, he put himself on pace to pace last year's career high of fourteen. Sweeney started the game in left field and has displayed enough versatility to envision a career for himself as a utility player for the Dodgers in the near future, but still has enough value to profile as a potential starter at second or in centerfield down the road.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

A four run eighth inning Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers) rally spoiled the Dodgers comfortable lead late, and they could not recover in time before Randy Fontanez allowed the winning run in walk off fashion in the tenth inning. Eric Stults pitched solidly for six innings, striking out six and walking none while allowing two earned runs to score. The bullpen would allow 5 runs in their 3.1 innings of work, with Ramon Trancoso, Ryan Buchter, and Randy Fontanez each allowing at least a run to score.

Outside of Sweeney's big night, Chris Heisey went three for five, while Darwin Barney and Andy Wilkins each collected a single and a double. Corey Seager went one for five and is only hitting .244 over his last ten games.

Sky Sox overcome six-run deficit to stun Dodgers in 10 innings, but Sweeney shines in loss. Recap: http://t.co/6uHDbOglXC
— OKC Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) July 9, 2015

Double-A Tulsa

Five Drillers would record multi-hit games while the team compiled seventeen hits in an easy 9-3 victory over the Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros). Kyle Farmer, Peter Lavin, and Yadir Drake each recorded three hits, while Ronald Torreyes and Jarek Cunningham would both grab two hits in the offensive onslaught. Every Driller starter would record at least one hit in the game.

Jharel Cotton continues to show no signs of getting a late start to the season. He picked up his third win of the season after striking out eight Hooks over six innings, while allowing only two earned runs. The bullpen would finish the game with three scoreless innings.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

Paul Hoenecke had three hits and two runs, the second coming in the tenth inning after a walk-off single by Josmar Cordero to give the Quakes a 6-5 victory against the Lancaster Jethawks (Astros). Jacob Scavuzzo was the other offensive hero, going 3-4 with his second high A home run, his seventh overall this year. Tyler Ogle and Josmar Cordero also added a pair of hits for the Quakes.

Brock Stewart has started to find his footing in High A, throwing six innings for his third straight appearance. He would surrender three earned runs on six hits and two walks to four strikeouts. Caleb Dirks would pitch a thrilling tenth inning for the win, allowing Lancaster to load the bases before striking out the side. Dirks has struck out seven of the nine outs he's recorded as a Dodger farmhand.

Low Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons found offense hard to come by against Justin Shafer and the Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays), losing 1-0. Grant Holmes stayed tough to hit but also failed to find the zone enough to pitch deep into this one. Holmes pitched four innings, striking out four but walking five. David Reid-Foley would allow a run in his three innings of work that proved to be the decisive one.

Only two Loons had hits, with Jimmy Allen generating the most offense with a 3-4 game. Julian Leon had the only other hit for the Loons all night.

Short Season Ogden

The Raptors hit three home runs that produce six of their ten runs in a 10-5 victory over the Missoula Ospreys (Diamondbacks). All three home runs were hit by the middle of the order with Willie Calhoun (his sixth), Michael Medina (fifth), and Matt Jones (fourth) each adding to their season totals. Nick Sell would come a home run short of the cycle in a 3-5 performance.

Colin Hering turned in the best performance of the five Raptor pitchers, going 2.1 innings and striking out six in route to recording the win. This was Hering's first performance on the mound for the Dodgers, after being drafted in 2014 as a position player.

Arizona Rookie League Dodgers

In his second game back from injury, Hector Olivera went 0-1 with a walk in a Dodgers loss to the Indians 9-5. Mitchell Hansen went 2-4 with a double as he continues to acclimate himself to pro ball. Brendon Davis also had a hit from the DH slot in his third professional game.

Nolan Long would make his professional debut on the mound and would surrender two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Miguel Urena struck out seven and allowed three runs over five innings in his second start, fourth appearance of the season.

Transactions

Triple A: Ian Thomas and Yimi Garcia were both optioned to Oklahoma City, while Chin-hui Tsao and Josh Ravin received the call to take their place on the big league roster.