Brandon Lewis homers in 4-hit game for Rancho Cucamonga

Big innings defined all four levels on Sunday in the minors, with three of the four going against the Dodgers affiliates.

Player of the day

Rancho Cucamonga designated hitter Brandon Lewis had four hits, including a home run and two doubles on Sunday, scoring three times. A fourth-round pick out of UC Irvine in 2019, Lewis has played mostly third base and some first base this season, hitting .286/.386/.534 with 20 extra-base hits in 34 games.

In the six-game series against Lake Elsinore, Lewis was 10-for-24 with five doubles, two home runs, four walks, nine runs scored, and five RBI, hitting .417/.517/.875.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Old friend and newcomer Vidal Nuño was roughed up in the fourth inning, and Oklahoma City’s comeback effort fell shot in a loss to the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres). Nuño allowed two doubles, three singles, and two walks in his first inning since rejoining OKC, allowing six runs to give El Paso an 8-0 lead. Nuño did recover to pitch a scoreless fifth and sixth, as Oklahoma City began their comeback effort.

Sheldon Neuse hit a three-run home run, his first in Triple-A this season. Third baseman Cristian Santana doubled home a run. Center fielder Drew Avans had two hits on his 25th birthday, and when Carlos Asuaje drove him home in the eighth inning, OKC pulled to within 8-6.

They would get no closer.

Garrett Cleavinger pitched for a third time on his minor league rehab assignment, allowing three straight singles to start the seventh. But he was able to escape damage with a strikeout and double play.

Double-A Tulsa

Gerardo Carrillo allowed six runs and recorded only five outs, tying his shortest outing of the season while walking a season-high five. That was pretty much it for the Drillers in a loss to the Wichita Wind Surge (Twins).

First baseman Ryan Noda homered in the second inning for Tulsa’s only run of the game, Noda’s team-leading ninth home run of the season.

High-A Great Lakes

Unlike the two Dodgers affiliates above them, the Loons were the team that struck first with a big inning, beating the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Center fielder James Outman’s three-run home run highlighted a five-run first for Great Lakes.

Right-hander Jesus Vargas allowed two runs in five innings for High-A Great Lakes. It’s the fourth time in five starts he’s pitched at least five, and leads the team with 33 innings on the year. The 22-year-old, signed by the Dodgers out of Venezuela in 2014, struck out five on Sunday, but also walked a batter. It was just his second walk of the season, to go with 23 strikeouts.

Catcher Carson Taylor, the Dodgers’ fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Virginia Tech, hit his first professional home run, a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Andrew Shaps doubled and drove in three, giving him eight RBI over the last two games.

Miguel Vargas, after his franchise record 26-game hit streak, had no hits in his last three games, going 0-for-13.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

Thanks to the big game from Lewis, the Quakes had a two-run lead late, but a five-run seventh gave the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) a comeback win. Rancho Cucamonga had six errors in the loss.

Transactions

High-A: Outfielder Joe Vranesh, who left Saturday’s game in the fourth inning, was placed on the seven-day injured list. Pitcher Kevin Malisheski was activated.

Sunday scores

• El Paso 9, Oklahoma City 6
• Wichita 7, Tulsa 1
• Great Lakes 9, Dayton 6
• Lake Elsinore 8, Great Lakes 5

Monday schedule

5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Markus Solbach) vs. El Paso (Daniel Camarena)

Tulsa, Great Lakes, and Rancho Cucamonga are off on Mondays this season.