Dodgers minor league news

Cody Thomas hits 10th home run in Quakes win

By David Hood Jul 5, 2018, 10:44am PDT

Big nights for home runs and offense on the farm, but few wins produced at the upper levels of the system.

Player of the day

Cody Thomas hit his tenth home run of the year to reach double digit home runs in a season for the third time in his career. While Thomas is not presently on pace to match last year’s total of 20, he’s making more consistent hard contact, already matching last year’s double mark and exceeded his triples tally. Thomas has also hit .300 over his last ten games despite 16 strikeouts.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City had 14 hits but could only produce five runs in a 8-5 loss to the Round Rock Express (Rangers). Alex Verdugo led the offense with three hits in five at bats. Kyle Farmer also had a pair of doubles in five at bats, while Breyvic Valera added a single and double in a losing effort.

Kyle Lobstein took the loss after allowing five runs in 3.1 innings of work. Ariel Hernandez (1.2 innings) and Josh Sborz (one) held the Dodgers close with scoreless outings in relief.

Double-A Tulsa

Tulsa could not overcome a pair of rough innings in falling to the Midland Rockhounds (Athletics) 7-3. Andrew Istler took the start in what turned out to be a bullpen day, lasting 3.2 innings while holding the Rockhounds scoreless. Michael Johnson took the loss in relief, allowing four runs in the fifth and three in the six before exiting.

DJ Peters hit his 17th home run of the season, and third in four games. He is now hitting .344 over his last ten games. Yusniel Diaz also homered, his fifth of the season. Zach Reks had a pair of hits, including a double, to lead the offense.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning and padded their lead in the ninth to defeat the San Jose Giants 3-1. Omar Estevez started the scoring with his sixth home run of the season. Cody Thomas added insurance with his tenth home run of the year in the ninth inning. Connor Wong also had a pair of hits.

Leo Crawford might have had his best start in his pro career. Crawford allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings, striking out seven. Zach Pop continued his dominance over the California League with a scoreless ninth inning, recording his seventh save.

Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons could must just five hits in a 7-0 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres). Devin Mann paced the offense with two trips on base, one via walk. Devin Morales also had a hit to extend his hitting streak to eight games.

Andre Jackson struggled to start the game, lasting just 1.2 innings and allowing four runs. Darien Nunez was the only Loons’ reliever to hold the TinCaps scoreless, striking out two over two innings of work.

Short Season Ogden

The Raptors enjoyed their trip to Grand Junction, knocking out 22 runs with 21 hits to beat the Rockies 21-7. Miguel Vargas led all Raptors with a perfect four for four game, with three doubles, a triple, and three runs driven in. Dillon Paulson also had three extra base hits with two doubles and a home run, while Ronny Brito also homered, doubled, and singled.

The Raptors’ pitchers were solid even without the aid of the offense. Joel Inoa allowed just one earned run over five innings, striking out five and walking one. Justin Hagenman, Gregorio Sequera, and Reza Aleaziz each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

Rookie Level Arizona

The Dodgers saw a lead slip late only to walk off the Padres Two 9-8 in eleven innings. Aaron Ackerman led the way with three hits in six at bats, including his first professional home run. Jon Littell also had a pair of hits including a triple.

Brayden Fisher was much better in his second professional outing, holding the Padres scoreless over 1.2 innings, striking out one. Orlandy Navarro was the only reliever to hold the Padres scoreless, keeping them from doing further damage in the eleventh inning to allow for the Dodgers to walk off winners in the bottom half of the inning.