Ben Harris, Maddux Bruns stand out Sunday in Dodgers minors

The top four Dodgers minor league affiliates all lost on Sunday, allowing a total of 41 runs. But a few good pitching performances stood out.

Player of the day

Ben Harris was an opener for Great Lakes on Sunday, and struck out all three batters he faced. The Dodgers’ eighth-round draft pick in Georgia, Harris had a high ERA (5.53) in the high-scoring California League, but also a 46-percent strikeout rate with Rancho Cucamonga, earning a promotion to High-A on June 22.

Since joining the Loons, the 22-year-old left-hander has allowed only two runs in 13 appearances, a paltry 1.10 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 16⅓ innings, a 49.2-percent K rate. Harris also improved his walk rate from Low-A (17.2 percent) to High-A (11.5 percent).

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Robbie Erlin and Justin Bruihl combined to allow twelve runs in a blowout loss to the Salt Lakes Bees (Angels).

Bruihl before Sunday allowed five runs in 17⅓ innings in his first 18 appearances with Oklahoma City, then allowed five runs in the series finale in Salt Lake City, three of them earned.

As for the offense, Michael Busch’s fifth-inning single was the final Sunday hit for OKC.

Edwin Ríos singled once in his five at-bats as the designated hitter Sunday, which marked the first time during his rehab assignment he played on three straight days. Ríos has a six-game hitting streak, and in his eight games with Oklahoma City is 7-for-27 (.259/.323/.407) with four doubles, two walks, and 10 strikeouts.

Double-A Tulsa

John Rooney got torched for eight runs, including seven runs in the fourth inning in the Drillers’ road loss to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals).

Aldofo Ramirez, a 23-year-old right-hander from Mexico, started the season with two games in High-A but spent most of his time at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga before getting promoted to Double-A Tulsa. Ramirez walked four in his Drillers’ debut on Sunday but also recorded 11 outs, didn’t allow a run, and struck out three.

Did you know? Rooney didn’t pick anybody off the bases on Sunday, but a casual mention by Northwest Arkansas announcer Nicholas Badders alerted me that Rooney has 12 pickoffs this season. In his minor league career, Rooney has an eye-popping 48 pickoffs in just 53 games (46 starts). Here’s video proof of Rooney’s pickoff move, courtesy of Josh Thomas of Dodgers Digest in April.

Rooney’s 12 pickoffs are second-most in professional baseball this season, trailing only Padres Triple-A left-hander Ryan Weathers, who has 14 pickoffs for El Paso.

High-A Great Lakes

A five-run fifth inning broke a tie for Great Lakes, but big innings against Kendall Williams and Braydon Fisher led to a high-scoring loss to the Lake County Captains (Guardians).

First baseman Imanol Vargas doubled, singled, and drove in four runs in defeat.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

A seven-run inning spelled doom in the Quakes loss to the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels).

Maddux Bruns, the Dodgers’ first-round pick from 2021, started and pitched two scoreless innings, working around two hits and three walks thanks to two strikeouts. It’s been mostly short bursts for the 20-year-old left-hander, who has 32⅔ innings on the season. But Sunday was his sixth scoreless appearance in his last eight games.

Transactions

Triple-A: Andre Jackson was recalled to the majors.

Double-A: Outfielder Jonny DeLuca was placed on the 7-day injured list.

Sunday scores

• Salt Lake 12, Oklahoma City 1
• NW Arkansas 8, Tulsa 1
• Lake County 11, Great Lakes 8
• Inland Empire 10, Rancho Cucamonga 3

Tuesday schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes vs. Peoria (Cardinals)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City vs. Round Rock (Rangers)
• 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa vs. Midland (A’s)
• 6:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga at Lake Elsinore (Padres)

All four affiliates are off Monday.