Miguel Vargas, Ryan Ward win player of the month awards for August

A pair of Dodgers minor leaguers were named player of the month in their respective leagues for August.

Players of the day

Tulsa infielder Miguel Vargas hit .410/.470/.620 with five home runs and six doubles in August. He led Double-A Central in batting average, on-base percentage, hits (41) and runs scored (24), and was second in the league with 62 total bases. He had 15 multi-hit games during the month. Most of Vargas’ time this season has come at third base, but he’s mixed in time at first and second base since Kody Hoese returned to the Drillers’ lineup.

It didn’t count for August, but Vargas on Friday night hit a three-run home run against Springfield, his 21st of the season across two levels.

Great Lakes outfielder Ryan Ward hit .323/.409/.698 in August, and led High-A Central in home runs (10), total bases (67), runs scored (27), and runs batted in (25) for the month. His August included two different six-RBI games and a stretch of four consecutive games with a home run, hitting five total from August 12-17.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Zach Reks doubled twice, singled, and drove in two, keying a fourth-inning rally that turned the tide in Oklahoma City’s win over the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies).

Down 2-1 in the fourth, a hit by pitch and two walks loaded the bases and chased starter Ryan Castellani. With one out, consecutive RBI hits from Gavin Lux, Steven Souza Jr., and Reks plated four runs, including a two-run double by Souza.

Edwin Uceta pitched three innings in relief, allowing one run while striking out four to earn the win.

Double-A Tulsa

An eight-run sixth inning off Melvin Jimenez and Zack Plunkett spelled doom in Tulsa’s loss to the Springfield Cardinals. But the Drillers offense still had a big night in defeat.

In addition to the home run for Vargas, Michael Busch singled three times and doubled, while Justin Yurchak and Ryan Noda each had three hits.

High-A Great Lakes

Loons pitchers Logan Boyer and Alec Gamboa gave up three runs apiece, digging a 6-0 hole by the fourth inning in a loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres). Great Lakes managed only six singles, two by Jorbit Vivas, and the Loons’ only run scored came on a wild pitch in the ninth.

Left-hander Julian Smith, pitching in his fifth game in High-A, pitched three scoreless innings for Great Lakes in relief.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

Catcher Wladimir Chalo had four hits, including a home run, in the Quakes’ home win over the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres). The 21-year-old Chalo entered Friday in an 0-for-24 slump.

Mitch White continued his trend of a sojourn with the Quakes in between major league appearances, a remnant of Oklahoma City still dealing with the remnants of a COVID-19 outbreak. Rancho Cucamonga play-by-play announcer Mike Lindskog mentioned on the broadcast that OKC hasn’t had a positive test in seven days, so perhaps that might clear up soon.

In a similar vein, Tony Gonsolin is expected to pitch three innings on a minor league rehab assignment on Saturday for the Quakes rather than Oklahoma City.

White pitched six scoreless innings, throwing 60 pitches to stay stretched out. Should the Dodgers continue the up-and-down with White, he’s eligible to return to the majors next Thursday.

Transaction

Low-A: Mitch White was assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Oklahoma City.

Friday scores

Oklahoma City 5, Albuquerque 2

Springfield 11, Tulsa 9

Fort Wayne 6, Great Lakes 1

Rancho Cucamonga 5, Lake Elsinore 2

Saturday schedule

4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jesus Vargas) vs. Fort Wayne (Carlos Guarate)

5 p.m. (doubleheader): Rancho Cucamonga (Tony Gonsolin/Kendall Williams) vs. Lake Elsinore (Jackson Wolf/TBD)

5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Yefry Ramírez) vs. Albuquerque (Dereck Rodriguez)

5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (TBD) vs. Springfield (Kevin McGovern)