Jorbit Vivas’ powerful August & Oklahoma City hits 6 home runs

Home runs were the name of the game on Sunday in the Dodgers minors.

Player of the day

Jorbit Vivas hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Great Lakes, part of a two-hit Sunday and a strong August for the infielder. The Dodgers have managed to thread the needle between having a strong, deep major league roster while also using two 40-man roster spots on two players still developing in High-A — Vivas and Eddys Leonard.

Vivas on the season is hitting .272/.377/.413, a solid 123 wRC+ with more walks (60) than strikeouts (55) at age 21, over a year and a half younger than the Midwest League average. Vivas played second base on Sunday, where he’s started 87 times this season in addition to 25 starts at third base.

In August, Vivas has been even better, hitting .305/.387/.495 with eight extra-base hits, 22 runs scored, and 17 RBI, all personal highs for any month this season.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Sunday night’s game was broadcast for free on MLBtv, which meant a wider audience got to hear six different home run calls by play-by-play maven Alex Freedman in OKC’s romp over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres). Three of the home runs came in the fourth inning, with two-run shots by Edwin Ríos and Jason Martin, plus a solo shot by Jake Amaya.

Miguel Vargas also homered for the second time in as many nights, and Devin Mann hit his first Triple-A home run. James Outman homered as well, part of a two-hit night that finished off a sublime week. In six games against El Paso, Outman was 12-for-21 (.571/.565/1.381) with ten extra-base hits and 14 runs batted in. That included two six-RBI games, one of which was a five-hit cycle with a walk-off homer.

Home runs by six different players tied an Oklahoma City franchise record, also accomplished on May 12 at Round Rock.

Rain came three pitches into the ninth inning, and with a nine-run advantage, it didn’t take too long to call this game after eight complete innings.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers finished off a 2-10 road trip with a lackluster loss to the Arkansas Travelers (Mariners). Tulsa managed just two runs on four hits on Sunday, giving them nine total hits and two runs over the last two games. They scored 14 total runs in six games in Arkansas, losing five.

Kyle Hurt had a rough start, allowing a four-run second inning, his last frame of the day. Hurt walked four and struck out one, giving him an 8.07 ERA in 29 innings over 10 games since joining Double-A.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons got all their runs in the first three innings, including the two-run homer from Vivas, enough to hold on to beat the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres). Centerfielder Ismael Alcantara accounted for the other two runs, hitting a solo home run in the second, and driving in Vivas with a double in the third.

Ronan Kopp struggled in his High-A debut, walking four while recording four outs. He allowed a pair of runs, one unearned, and struck out two.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes banged out 19 hits to beat the Visalia Rawhide (D-backs). Every starter got at least one hit. Dalton Rushing had five hits, including a double, and his hitting .485 with 15 extra-base hits and a 1.468 OPSin 19 games with Rancho Cucamonga.

Rayne Doncon, the 18-year-old Quakes shortstop, homered for the second straight game.

Darlin Pinales, a right-hander signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2019, made his Cal League debut on Sunday with three scoreless innings, striking out three while allowing just one hit, all on his 20th birthday.

Transactions

Triple-A: Oklahoma City activated centerfielder Drew Avans, who missed 10 games on the injured list after crashing into the outfield wall in Sugar Land on August 16. Pitcher Yadier Alvarez was transferred to the developmental list.

Sunday scores

• Oklahoma City 13, El Paso 4 (8 innings)
• Arkansas 7, Tulsa 2
• Great Lakes 4, Fort Wayne 3
• Rancho Cucamonga 13, Visalia 4

Tuesday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes at Lake County (Guardians)
• 4:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City at Round Rock (Rangers)
• 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa at Northwest Arkansas (Royals)
• 7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga at Inland Empire (Angels)

All four affiliates are off Monday.