Quakes demolish opponent with 22 hits and 10 walks in 24-9 thumping

Today’s trip around the Dodgers minor league affiliates consists of two shutouts, a comeback win and an absolute blowout.

Player of the day

There were several performances worthy of this spot down in Low-A for the Quakes. When you get to that section, you’ll understand.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

An unearned run in the fifth inning was all it took to hang a 1-0 loss on Oklahoma City at the hands of the Round Rock Express (Rangers).

Dellin Betances made his Dodger debut Wednesday and didn’t allow a hit or walk to the four batters he faced. An error by Jake Lamb at third allowed the first hitter to reach but the big right-hander got the next three.

The problem is that the runner stole second and third on Betances and would come in to score two batters after the error, on a sacrifice fly for the only run of the game.

Michael Grove tossed five scoreless for OKC, allowing a pair of hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts. Despite being called to the major leagues twice this season, Wednesday was Grove’s first five-inning outing of the season at any level and it ties a career-high for the right-hander.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers got behind early and couldn’t find a way onto the scoreboard all night, eventually being shutout 4-0 at the hands of the Midland RockHounds (Athletics).

Bobby Miller struck out eight hitters with only four hits and one walk in five innings of work but gave up a two-run double in the first to get stuck with his second loss of the year.

A two-run homer for Sahid Valenzuela in the seventh sealed the deal on Tulsa after the Drillers could only string together six hits. Tulsa didn’t have multiple hits in an inning until the ninth when they put two runners on. But Justin Yurchak would ground out to end the threat.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons scored three runs over the final two innings to pull of a 4-2 comeback win over Fort Wayne (Padres).

Down 2-1 in the eighth with runners on second and third, Ismael Alcantara punched a line drive to center for a two-run single to give Great Lakes their first lead of the game. Alex De Jesus doubled to start the ninth and would score an insurance run when the next two batters ground out to score him from second.

Nick Nastrini tossed five innings for Great Lakes and allowed two runs, both earned, on five hits and two walks. The right-hander struck out seven TinCaps in his outing.

In between the two runs Nastrini gave up in the first and fifth, Jose Ramos hit a solo homer in the fourth that had tied the game at that point.

Great Lakes had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win and they did their part. The Loons stuck around the clubhouse and found out they clinched when the Dayton Dragons lost the second game of a doubleheader to the Lake County Captains, 3-0, officially sending the Loons to the playoffs for the sixth time in the last nine seasons.

The Loons have now won 12 of their last 13 games and gone from 8 ½ games back with 14 left in the first half, to winning the first-half Eastern Division.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes broke out the bats on the road in Lake Elsinore (Padres) Wednesday, scoring two dozen times as they flattened the Storm 24-9.

Believe it or not, the Storm had a two-run lead in the first inning before Rancho’s bats woke up. The Quakes scored five in the second, four in the fourth and a whopping nine runs in the sixth. Lake Elsinore scored seven runs over the final three frames but it wasn’t nearly enough to consider it a ballgame.

Every spot in Rancho’s lineup had at least two hits outside of Gaige Howard in the five hole going 1-for-5. But Howard still reached three times after he walked twice.

Luis Rodriguez hit a two-run homer and Austin Gauthier smacked a three-run shot in the second. Rodriguez ended his night with five runs batted in after he doubled in two in the fourth and singled in another in the sixth. The Quakes’ outfielder was 3-for-5 with a walk and scored twice.

Rodriguez would fall a triple shy of the cycle.

Damon Keith was 4-for-6 with a walk and drove in four runs on an RBI-single in the fourth and a three-run double in the sixth to cap the nine-run outburst.

Already up 20-7 heading to the ninth, Julio Carrion crushed a grand slam to put the icing on the cake. Carrion, who didn’t even start the game, still reached base twice on the homer and a walk.

If it wasn’t enough that Rancho had 22 hits on the night, they also walked 10 times.

Transactions

Triple-A: Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of RF Stefen Romero from the Oklahoma City Dodgers.

High-A: Pitcher Ben Harris assigned to Great Lakes Loons from Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Low-A: Pitcher Jhan Zambrano assigned to ACL Dodgers from Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Pitchers Jonathan Edwards and Gabe Emmett assigned to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes from ACL Dodgers.

Wednesday scores

• Round Rock 1, Oklahoma City 0
• Midland 4, Tulsa 0
• Great Lakes 4, Fort Wayne 2
• Rancho Cucamonga 24, Lake Elsinore 9

Thursday Schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Kyle Hurt) at Fort Wayne (Noel Vela)
• 5:00 p.m.: Tulsa (Clayton Beeter) at Midland (Colin Peluse)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Mitch White) vs Round Rock (Cole Winn)
• 7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Huei-Sheng Lin) at Lake Elsinore (Manuel Castro)