Ryan Noda homers twice in Double-A Tulsa’s blowout win

A multi-homer game and a near cycle highlighted Tuesday night in the Dodgers minors, which saw their four affiliates garner two wins and two losses.

Player of the day

Double-A Tulsa left fielder Ryan Noda, acquired in February as the second player to be named later from Toronto in the August 2020 Ross Stripling trade, hit a pair of two-run home runs in the Drillers’ blowout win over Wichita.

Noda homered in the first two games of the season for Tulsa, but was 6-for-37 (.162) in the next 10 games, without a home run, before Tuesday night’s breakout.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

OKC managed only four hits in a loss to the Sacramento River Cats (Giants). One of those was a single by Zach Reks, who has reached base in all 12 games this season. Reks also walked in the ninth, and with ensuing singles by Andy Burns and Carlos Asuaje, he scored Oklahoma City’s only run of the game.

Sacramento broke open a close game with three runs in the ninth against Yaisel Sierra, who’s had a rough start to his 2021 season. On Tuesday the right-hander allowed a triple, double, single, and two walks to his seven batters faced. After injuries wiped out nearly all of his last three seasons, Sierra this season has allowed 10 hits and seven runs while recording only seven outs. Sierra did strike out his first batter of the season, getting Chadwick Tromp, but he also has five walks. That’s a .652 on-base percentage against to go with a 23.14 ERA.

Double-A Tulsa

Neither of Noda’s home runs came in the big inning for the Drillers, who used an eight-run third to beat the Wichita Wind Surge (Twins) at home. Tulsa added an extra degree of difficulty by scoring all eight runs in the frame with two outs.

After Carlos Rincon singled to open the inning, the next two batters got out, and it looked like Wichita might hold their 2-0 lead. But the Drillers had other ideas. These were the remaining batters in the third:

• Michael Busch: RBI double
• Donovan Casey: RBI single
• Noda: walk
• Kody Hoese: single
• Jeren Kendall: 2-run single
• Devin Mann: hit by pitch
• Rincon: 2-run single
• Hunter Feduccia: 2-run single
• Jacob Amaya: strikeout

Justin Hagenman got the win in relief thanks to four strikeouts in 2⅔ scoreless innings.

High-A Great Lakes

Though High-A Central entered Tuesday hitting just .219/.325/.351, and Lake County (Cleveland) ranking ninth and Great Lakes 10th in the 12-team league in scoring, both teams broke out to score 11 runs in the sixth inning alone. But it was the Captains who scored seven in the frame in a win over the Loons.

Left fielder Ryan Ward, an eighth-round pick of the Dodgers in 2019, had two singles and two walks, scoring twice. He’s hitting .317/.472/.561, leading Great Lakes in most offensive categories. Third baseman Miguel Vargas, who had two hits of his own on Tuesday, is the only other Loon with a batting average above .222.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

Sauryn Lao finished a double shy of the cycle in the Quakes’ win over the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres). The 21-year-old infielder, signed by the Dodgers in 2015 out of the Dominican Republic, has played first base most often this season. Lao tripled and scored in the second, singled in the fourth, then homered in the sixth, his first of the season. He had two chances at the cycle, but struck out in the seventh and ninth.

Designated hitter Eddys Leonard singled twice, walked twice, drove in three runs, and even stole a base, one of four steals on the night for Rancho Cucamonga. Robbie Peto struck out four in four innings in his start, allowing a run on three hits.

Transactions

Triple-A: On Monday, third baseman Cristian Santana was placed on the seven-day injured list. He last played on May 9.

Tuesday scores

• Sacramento 6, Oklahoma City 1
• Tulsa 12, Wichita 3
• Lake County 10, Great Lakes 6
• Rancho Cucamonga 8, Lake Elsinore 6

Wednesday schedule

• 10:05 a.m. PT: Tulsa (Gus Varland) vs. Wichita (Josh Winder)
• 3:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Bobby Miller) vs. Lake County (Logan Allen)
• 6:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Hyun-il Choi) at Lake Elsinore (Dwayne Matos)

Wednesday will be the first game since May 4 for Bobby Miller, the Dodgers’ first-round draft pick in 2020.