Gavin Stone tosses six scoreless, Ryan Noda walks it off in Tulsa

There was no shortage of good pitching performances across all levels in the Dodgers minors Friday.

Player of the day

Just when it looked like Gavin Stone had locked up the player of the day honors, Ryan Noda entered the chat. But that doesn’t mean two players can’t share the spotlight.

Rain in Tulsa forced the game between the Drillers and Wichita (Twins) to be shortened to a seven-inning affair. The two clubs would need an extra frame to settle the outcome. That’s when Noda decided to end it.

With two out and two on, Noda sent a ball over the fence in center to give his team a 4-1 victory. It was the 22nd long ball of the season for the 25-year-old outfielder.

Stone was dominant Friday night for Rancho Cucamonga, striking out 12 of the 22 batters he faced in six scoreless innings, leading the Quakes to a 4-0 victory. It was the second time in the last three starts that the 22-year-old lasted six innings without allowing a run.

The Dodgers drafted Stone in the 5th round of the 2020 draft and the right-hander has now struck out 101 against 20 walks in 70 innings this season. Friday night was the first win of his professional career.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Austin Bibens-Dirkx didn’t start the game but he sure finished it. After two scoreless from Nick Tropeano to open, Bibens-Dirkx took it the rest of the way, going seven strong innings to complete the 2-0 shutout over Round Rock (Rangers).

The pair of right-handers combined to scatter eight hits and strike out 11 without issuing a walk.

Drafted in 2006 by the Mariners, the 36-year-old Bibens-Dirkx struck out eight of those hitters. It was the first time since May 2, 2018 that he struck out that many hitters, at that time a member of the team he helped beat Friday.

Cristian Santana and Luke Raley both singled in a run late to help the cause and secure the win.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers received eight strong innings from their pitching staff that allowed only the extra-innings runner to score from second in the top half of the eighth. It would have been a tough way to lose but as mentioned above, Noda sent everyone home happy.

High-A Great Lakes

Some early offense for the Loons wasn’t nearly enough to keep pace with Wisconsin (Brewers). Great Lakes allowed five runs in the fifth and never recovered, falling by the score of 10-4.

It was the seventh loss in the last nine games for the Loons, who now sit in third place in the East division of the High-A Central.

A two-run homer off the bat of Jonny DeLuca in the second and a solo shot from Eddys Leonard in the third, gave Great Lakes a 3-1 advantage into the fourth inning. It would all unravel in the fifth on reliever Melvin Jimenez.

Bookending a pair of strikeouts, Jimenez allowed a run-scoring single and a pair of two-run homers. In a span of seven hitters, the Timber Rattlers got all they needed in that single inning.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes hit two homers in support of Stone’s strong outing. Luis Yanel Diaz hit a two-run shot in the fourth and Jorbit Vivas hit one of the solo variety in the fifth.

Elio Serrano and Carlos Alejo combined to finish the final three innings for Rancho to shut the door on the 4-0 victory. Overall, Rancho pitching struck out 17 without a walk to Inland Empire (Angels).

Friday scores

• Oklahoma City 2, Round Rock 0
• Tulsa 4, Wichita 1
• Wisconsin 10, Great Lakes 4
• Rancho Cucamonga 4, Inland Empire 0

Saturday schedule

• 4:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Hyun-il Choi) at Wisconsin (Justin Jarvis)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Ryan Pepiot) vs. Round Rock (Glenn Otto)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Jose Martinez) vs. Wichita (Cole Sands)
• 5:30 p.m. PT: Rancho Cucamonga (Robbie Peto) at Inland Empire (Andrew Peters)
• Game 2: Rancho Cucamonga (Huei-Sheng Lin) at Inland Empire (Coleman Crow)