Dodgers minor league news

Yusniel Diaz homers and has 2 RBI in Quakes 3-2 win

In 22 games played since returning from the disabled list, Yusniel Diaz is hitting .304/.347/.511 in 97 plate appearances.

By Craig Minami Aug 19, 2016, 6:00am PDT

Every Dodger affiliate won on Thursday except the Oklahoma City Dodgers. The wins helped Tulsa, Rancho Cucamonga, Great Lakes and Ogden in their playoff races. The AZL Dodgers may end up with the best record in their league but poor timing could cost them a playoff berth. The DSL Dodgers One team is battling for their division title, the DSL Dodgers Two was the first Dodger affiliate to be eliminated from playoff contention.

Player of the day

Rancho Cucamonga outfielder Yusniel Diaz had two hits and two RBI on Thursday night which were key since the Quakes won by a 3-2 score.

The 19-year old has been playing well since his return from the disabled-list. In the 22 games played after his activation off the disabled-list, Diaz is hitting .304/.347/.511 in 97 plate appearances.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers were unable to put much offense together in their 5-2 loss to the Isotopes (Rockies). Dodger starting pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla gave up all five runs in his six inning start, he also allowed eight hits and a walk while striking out five.

O'Koyea Dickson hit his 14th home run of the season but the Dodgers only had three other hits in this game. Yasiel Puig went 0-for-4 in this game.

This loss lowered the Dodgers' division lead to nine games over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers). Their magic number to clinch their second straight division is ten.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers defeated the RockHounds (Athletics) 8-6 on Thursday. After seven innings, the score was 8-1 but then the Rockhounds scored one run in the eighth and four runs in the ninth to make the game appear closer than it was for most of it. The win gave the Drillers six straight wins and two consecutive three-game sweeps.

Chase De Jong won his 13th game for the Drillers, he pitched seven innings and allowed a run on six hits and a walk. De Jong struck out four. Joshua Sborz gave up the four runs in the ninth inning, he pitched ⅔ inning and allowed four hits and a walk, Sborz struck out one.

Alex Verdugo was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Willie Calhoun hit his 26th home run, this one was a three-run shot. Tim Locastro scored twice and had two hits and Edwin Rios was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals) have a one-game lead over the Drillers as they fight for the second-half title that will put one of them in the playoffs.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes went to ten innings and got a 3-2 win over the Nuts (Rockies), with two out in the tenth, Erick Mejia walked and Will Smith doubled him home as the eventual winning run.

Alex Burgos pitched the final 1⅔ innings and that gave Burgos his third win as a Quake. Adam Bray started for the Quakes and pitched five scoreless innings, giving up two hits and one walk. Bray struck out one batter.

Yusniel Diaz was the Player of the day with his 2-for-4 game, his two hits were a solo home run and a run-scoring single.

The Quakes win moved them closer to clinching a wild-card spot, that magic number is nine. It is a little complicated so the easiest thing to say about this race is that once Lake Elsinore (Padres) is eliminated, the Quakes will be in.

Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons made it six wins in a row with their 5-1 win over the Lugnuts (Blue Jays). Luis De Paula pitched three scoreless middle relief innings to get the win. Leonardo Crawford made his third start for the Loons and he pitched four innings and allowed a run, three hits, two walks and struck out two.

The top five spots in the Loons lineup went a collective 1-for-19 with six strikeouts. It was the bottom four spots that did the damage.

Three Loons each had two hits, Zach McKinstry, Steve Berman and Darien Tubbs.

The Loons moved to a half-game out of a playoff spot with their win.

Pioneer - Ogden

The Raptors won the high-scoring game 10-6 against the Voyagers (White Sox). DJ Peters was key to the Raptors scoring four runs in the fifth. Peters hit a bases-clearing double to score three runs and was eventually driven in to score the inning's fourth run.

DJ Peters also hit a two-run double in the eighth inning. In 216 plate appearances, Peters is hitting .360/.452/.608 with 29 extra-base hits, including eight home runs.

Ogden is a half-game out of the division lead, Ogden needs to win the division to clinch a playoff spot.

Arizona League - AZL Dodgers

AZL Dodgers were powered by three home runs which propeled them to a 12-7 victory over the AZL Rangers. Shakir Albert, Hendrick Clementina, and Jeffery Souffront were the home run hitters.

Dustin May started for the Dodgers and gave up five runs in his three innings. Adalberto Pena gave up two runs in his four innings of work. Pena struck out six and was given the win, his third for the Dodgers.

Carlos RIncon went 2-for-5 with a double and a triple. He is hitting .300 in 80 at-bats with the AZL Dodgers but he has struck out 22 times and walked once in his time in Arizona.

The AZL Dodgers are in second place and are three and a half games behind the AZL Reds with a little more than a week to go in their regular season. The AZL Dodgers finished second in the first half and could have a rare season of having the Arizona League's best overall record and not make the playoffs.

Dominican Summer League - Dodgers One & Dodgers Two

Dodgers One beat the Giants 4-2 and the Dodgers Two defeated the Marlins by a 4-3 score.

The Dodgers One are one and a half games out of first place with a little more than a week left in their regular season. The Dodgers Two team has been eliminated from playoff contention.