Ryan Pepiot strikes out 10 for OKC, James Outman hits grand slam for Tulsa

The Dodgers got three wins in this trip around the minors. Before we get to the recap, Kenneth Betancourt won Player of the Week for the Quakes in Low-A.

Player(s) of the day

Ryan Pepiot had an oustanding outing for Oklahoma City Tuesday, striking out 10 batters in six innings and only allowing one run on three hits. The right-hander improved to 6-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.74.

James Outman gave Tulsa four runs in a hurry when he drilled a grand slam in the third inning, his 15th homer of the year. The outfielder added a single to go 2-for-5 on the night and is now hitting .290 this year with a .946 OPS.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and cruised behind Pepiot’s solid start to defeat Round Rock (Rangers) by a score of 7-1.

Miguel Vargas got the scoring started in the first with a solo homer to left field. The third baseman reached base three times Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a walk, adding a run-scoring single in the second.

Jason Martin (first) and Jake Lamb (fourth) each doubled in a run and Michael Busch put the game away in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer. Busch was one of five with two hits for OKC on the night.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers got a huge lift from Outman’s grand slam early and rode that momentum to a 7-2 victory over Midland (Athletics) on the road.

Starter Landon Knack gave two of those runs right back in the bottom half of the third when he walked two and gave up a two-run double to cut the lead in half. But that would be all Knack allowed over five innings, working around three hits and three walks to strike out five.

Tulsa didn’t waste time getting the runs back, scoring twice in the top of the fourth to regain a four-run lead. Hunter Feduccia hit a solo homer and Devin Mann brought catcher Carson Taylor home on a sacrifice fly. Taylor was 3-for-4 Tuesday and scored twice.

The Drillers got a run on a Leonel Valera groundout for good measure in the eighth and two different relievers pitched two scoreless innings to put the game away for Tulsa.

With a win Wednesday, Tulsa can clinch the first-half title if it’s combined with a Wichita loss.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning on a three-run homer from outfielder Jonny DeLuca and were able to hold on late for a 4-3 victory over Fort Wayne (Padres).

Great Lakes gave up a run in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth but reliever Jeff Belge restored order to get the final five outs of the game to earn his second save of the year.

Diego Cartaya ended his night 2-for-5 and drove in the crucial fourth run for the Loons on a single in the top of the seventh inning.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

A six-run fifth inning was too much for Rancho to overcome Tuesday as they dropped the series opener by a score of 14-7 to Lake Elsinore (Padres).

The Storm scored in every inning from the first to the sixth, putting up four in the first and the six-spot in the fifth. While the Quakes had initially taken the lead 1-0 in the top of the first and had four of their own in the second for a 5-4 lead, they just couldn’t keep pace.

By the time they scored a pair in the ninth, it was much too late for a comeback.

Transactions

Triple-A: Oklahoma City activated reliever Dellin Betances.

Tuesday scores

• Oklahoma City 7, Round Rock 1
• Tulsa 7, Midland 2
• Great Lakes 4, Fort Wayne 3
• Lake Elsinore 14, Rancho Cucamonga 7

Wednesday Schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Nick Nastrini) at Fort Wayne (Ryan Bergert)
• 4:30 p.m.: Tulsa (Bobby Miller) at Midland (Hogan Harris)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Michael Grove) vs Round Rock (Cole Ragans)
• 6:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (River Ryan) at Lake Elsinore (Jairo Iriarte)