Michael Busch homers, has three hits for Tulsa

Wednesday in the Dodgers minor leagues saw three wins in four games with three of the four starting pitchers turning in scoreless efforts.

Player of the day

2019 first-rounder Michael Busch continued his strong start to 2022, going 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and two runs scored. The trio of hits raises Busch’s average to .308 on the year and gives the second baseman 11 RBI in 11 games.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers had less than half (seven) of the hits the River Cats (Giants) had Wednesday (15) but they walked 10 times to tie a season high. After a couple big innings gave OKC a comfortable five-run lead, they were able to hang on for a 9-8 winner for their fifth straight victory.

Sacramento had two early leads that evaporated when the Dodgers scored three in the fifth and four in the sixth to take a 9-4 lead. With a three-spot of their own in the seventh and one more in the eighth, the River Cats pulled within one.

With runners at first and second and one out in the ninth, Reyes Moronta induced a harmless fly out and struck out the final batter of the game to secure the win.

Eddy Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, as he went deep for the second straight game. Alvarez is now riding a season-high six-game hitting streak, going 10-for-26. He has hit safely in 11 of his 12 games overall this year and is currently batting .367.

Kevin Pillar reached base three times with a double and two walks. He finished with two RBI and two runs scored. During the current road trip, Pillar is 10-for-23 with five extra-base hits, 12 runs scored and eight RBI. He’s reached base safely in 19 of 34 plate appearances, recording eight walks and one HBP while not striking out once.

Double-A Tulsa

It was three straight two-run innings that drove the offense and ultimately the game for the Drillers as they came away with a 7-5 victory over Springfield (Cardinals).

Busch drilled his third homer of the year to get the scoring started in the third for Tulsa. The 24-year-old finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Jacob Amaya tripled in a run and came in to score on a Jeren Kendall single in the fourth. Ryan Ward and Carson Taylor each doubled in a run in the fifth. Taylor would also go 3-for-5 and drive in two runs, adding an RBI-single in the seventh as a much-needed insurance run. The Cardinals scored three in the sixth and one in the seventh to stay within striking distance.

Springfield opened their half of the ninth with two straight singles but Moises Gomez came too far around first on the second single and was thrown out by right fielder Andy Pages. The Drillers brought Guillermo Zuniga out of the pen for the final two outs and the right-hander struck out the both hitters to end the game.

Starter Michael Grove tossed two perfect innings for Tulsa before he left the game after being struck by a line drive.

High-A Great Lakes

There was little offense to speak of for the Loons Wednesday night. The only real threat of runs came in the third inning when Great Lakes loaded the bases with two outs. A popup ended the threat of what was a scoreless game to that point.

The Loons would give up three runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth to come away with a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Lake County Captains (Guardians).

Right-hander Cole Percival was solid in his second start of the season, following up four scoreless last week with three scoreless to start Wednesday’s action.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes scored four in the top of the sixth and the pitching staff made that stand up, winning on the road over the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) by the score of 4-1.

Rancho loaded the bases in their half of the sixth with three straight one-out singles and brought the first run across on a Jake Vogel walk. Luis Yanel Diaz followed with a sac fly to bring home another run before a Modesto fielding error allowed two more to come across.

The game was one out away from being a shutout for the Quakes but the Nuts used three walks and a single to plate a run and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Right-hander Madison Jeffrey came out of the pen and shut the door on five pitches, securing the win with a strikeout.

Kendall Williams pitched four scoreless in his third start of the year for the Quakes, scattering two hits and four walks. After being charged with five runs in his 2022 debut, the former 2019 second-round pick has yielded just two runs (one earned) over the last eight and two-thirds since.

Transactions

Triple-A: Dodgers recalled Zach McKinstry from Oklahoma City and placed pitcher Andrew Heaney on the injured list.

Wednesday scores

• Oklahoma City 9, Sacramento 8
• Tulsa 7, Springfield 5
• Lake County 7, Great Lakes 0
• Rancho Cucamonga 4, Modesto 1

Thursday schedule

• 3:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Nick Nastrini) vs. Lake County (Mason Hickman)
• 4:35 p.m.: Tulsa (Gus Varland) at Springfield (Dalton Roach)
• 6:45 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Yefry Ramírez) at Sacramento (Raynel Espinal)
• 7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Ben Casparius) at Modesto (William Flemming)