Buehler strikes out nine, Calhoun walks off River Cats

Pitching was the prominent story on Wednesday, with three affiliates reaching double digits in strikeouts contributing to three wins on the farm.

Player of the day

Walker Buehler outdueled Cardinal prospect Jack Flaherty in in a Double A early start Wednesday. Buehler set a new career high with nine strikeouts in three and two thirds innings of scoreless work, reaching his pitch count in the fourth inning. Buehler allowed just three hits while walking just one. Buehler’s ERA at Double A lowered to just 2.35 after the outing, but saw his batting average rise to .500 after going one for two in his first two professional plate appearances.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City walked off winners on the Sacramento River Cats (Giants) 3-2. Willie Calhoun was the ninth inning hero, hitting his seventh home run of the season as part of a two for four night. Trayce Thompson also chipped in with his third home run of the year. Darnell Sweeney would score the Dodgers other run in going one for two with a walk and a stolen base.

The pitching for the Dodgers was electric, with three arms combining for fifteen strikeouts. Justin Masterson struck out seven over six innings, allowing two runs. Justin Marks would follow by striking out the side in the seventh, while Josh Ravin earned the victory with five strikeouts over two scoreless innings.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers wrode fifteen hits and a strong starting performance by Walker Buehler to a 7-4 victory over the Springfield Cardinals. The first four hitters in the Tulsa lineup combined for ten hits, with Kyle Farmer leading the way with three, including his second home run of the season. Tim Locastro also had three hits, including two doubles, while seeing time at both shortstop and center field. Edwin Rios had a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to five games, with multi-hit games accounting for four of the streak.

Michael Johnson followed Buehler’s strong start with four strikeouts over a pair of scoreless innings. Corey Copping earned his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

Rehabbing Dodgers helped lead the way to a Quakes victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 5-2. Adrian Gonzalez paced all hitters with a single and two doubles in four plate appearances, while Logan Forsythe added a hit and a walk before exiting in the sixth inning. Zack McKinstry would also go two for four with a double and run scored.

Denis Santana was solid across fiving innings, allowing just one unearned run while striking out five, lowering his ERA to 2.13 on the year. Andrew Istler would go on to earn his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons squandered a late lead and lost in extra innings to the Lake County Captains (Indians) 10-7. Each Great Lakes starter recorded at least one hit, led by Gage Green and Brendon Davis each getting a pair of hits. Green had the team’s only extra base hit with a double, but Davis, Mitchell Hansen, and Saige Jenco each stole a base to contribute offensively.

Chris Mathewson made his first start of the season, lasting four innings but allowing four runs. Sven Schuller would ultimately blow the save and would be saddled with the loss allowing four runs in an inning and two thirds of work. While Schuller was charged with just one earned run, he was his own worst enemy, committing two errors in the tenth inning.

Transactions

Class-A: Rancho Cucamonga placed OF Ariel Sandoval on the seven day disabled list, while recalling OF Logan Landon from Extended Spring Training.

Wednesday scores

Oklahoma City 3, Sacramento 2

Tulsa 7, Springfield 4

Rancho Cucamonga 5, Lake Elsinore 2

Lake County 10, Great Lakes 7 in 10 innings

Thursday schedule

4:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (TBD) at Fort Wayne (Will Headean)

5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Jair Jurrjens) vs. Sacramento (Joan Gregorio)

5:10 p.m.: Tulsa (Scott Barlow) at Springfield (Sandy Alcantara)

7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Dean Kremer) vs. Lake Elsinore (Eric Lauer)