Michael Busch hits first home run of season for Double-A Tulsa

Home runs and strikeouts stood out on the second day of minor league action, with two of three Dodgers affiliates picking up wins on Wednesday night.

Player of the day

Second baseman Michael Busch, the Dodgers No. 3 prospect by most national preseason rankings, hit one of four home runs by Double-A Tulsa on Wednesday night. It was the second three-run home run of the second inning for the Drillers, and one of two hits on the night for the Dodgers first-round pick in 2019.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

OKC starts up Thursday night in Round Rock, but their opening day roster is out.

You can also read about the expanded Triple-A rosters this season to account for the major league taxi squad.

Double-A Tulsa

Romer Cuadrado hit the first three-run homer in the Drillers’ 8-2 win over Amarillo (D-backs). Ryan Noda hit a solo shot for his second straight day with a long ball, and Carlos Rincon completed the quartet of home runs for Tulsa.

Andre Jackson, who is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, allowed two solo home runs in four innings in his start, striking out three. The bullpen that followed him was perfect, with Bryan Warzek (two innings), Mark Washington (two innings), and Nick Robertson (one innings) combining to retire all 15 batters they faced.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons got only two hits in a shutout loss to the Dayton Dragons (Reds).

Robinson Ortiz, a non-roster invitee in big league camp during spring training, got the start for the Loons, but walks defined his night, issuing five free passes while recording seven outs. Though he still managed to allow only one run, thanks to five strikeouts.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

One night after the Quakes and 66ers combined for a league-record 35 strikeouts, they matched it on Tuesday, only this time Rancho Cucamonga hitters whiffed 19 times. Despite the strikeouts, the Quakes hit well enough to wallop Inland Empire (Angels), thanks in large part to a grand slam from third baseman Brandon Lewis, the Dodgers’ fourth-round pick in 2019.

Rancho’s winning pitcher was Julian Smith, who struck out seven in four innings in relief, allowing only one unearned run on a single and two walks. The left-hander Smith was drafted by the Dodgers in the 15th round in 2018.

Transactions

Triple-A: pitcher Darien Nuñez, who was listed on the original Double-A Tulsa roster, was sent to open the season with Oklahoma City.

Wednesday scores

Tulsa 8, Amarillo 2

Dayton 4, Great Lakes 0

Rancho Cucamonga 12, Inland Empire 6

Thursday schedule

• 3:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Juan Morillo) vs. Dayton (Noah Davis)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Josiah Gray) at Round Rock (Wes Benjamin)
• 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Michael Busch) vs. Amarillo (Ryan Weiss)
• 7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jimmy Lewis) at Inland Empire (Brent Killam)