Chris Betts leads Tulsa to victory, Loons start postseason with a win

It feels weird that there were only two games among Dodgers affiliates Tuesday night. But with one team’s season over and a rainout, this version of the minors report comes down to a playoff game and the start of the last series of the year for Tulsa.

Player of the Day

There’s something about the Dodgers and the name Betts. It was Tulsa’s catcher Chris Betts that was getting it done Tuesday night, hitting two homers and a double to drive in five runs on the night.

Betts drove in the first five runs for Tulsa with a solo homer in the third and a three-run shot in the fifth. The 25-year-old hit a ground-rule double to drive in another run and get the offense moving again in the seventh in a rally that turned the tide back in the Drillers favor.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City and the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies) were rained out and will play a doubleheader Wednesday. With El Paso (Padres) beating Round Rock (Rangers), that drops the Dodgers to a half-game behind El Paso for the lead in the PCL East.

Double-A Tulsa

Tulsa jumped out to a 4-0 lead but saw it evaporate when Springfield (Cardinals) plated six runs in the top of the sixth. The Drillers came right back with five in the seventh to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, winning 9-7 in the final regular season series opener.

With the first four runs coming off the bat of Betts and his two dingers, Tulsa saw the early advantage slip away in the sixth. On a pair of stolen base attempts, pitcher John Rooney made a throwing error and a wild pitch to allow two runs to come across.

Rooney would be lifted in favor of Gus Varland with the bases loaded and two outs. Chandler Redmond would hit a grand slam one the first pitch he saw to give Springfield a 6-4 lead.

Tulsa came right back in the seventh with five runs to take the lead when the first six batters of the inning reached and all nine came to the plate. Betts’ double started the scoring, followed by back-to-back singles from Leonel Valera and Justin Yurchak to drive in a two more. Andy Pages and Brandon Lewis added sac flys to round out the scoring.

The bullpen held the line over the final two innings with Jordan Leasure tossing a perfect ninth for the save.

High-A Great Lakes

The Loons took a big advantage with a 7-2 win in the opener of the best-of-three series over the Lake County Captains (Guardians) Tuesday. They now get to come home needing just one win in two home games to move on to the championship round.

It was a team win with all but one in the lineup having at least one hit while the bullpen didn’t allow a run over the final six frames.

Damon Keith got the Loons going with a solo homer in the second to start a three-run inning that also featured a Yunior Garcia two run double.

Dalton Rushing had a productive debut after getting promoted when Rancho’s season ended over the weekend. Playing first base Tuesday, Rushing went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while smacking a two-run single in the seventh.

Keith finished 2-for-4 with the solo home run and a run-scoring single in the ninth to help put the game away. Jose Ramos tacked on an RBI-single to finish off the scoring in the ninth.

Ryan Sublette (1 ²⁄₃ innings), River Ryan (3 ²⁄₃ innings) and Ben Harris (1 ¹⁄₃ innings), were fantastic out of the bullpen. The trio protected the lead by striking out 10 and walking none while only surrendering two hits. Ryan struck out seven of the 12 he faced.

Transactions

Double-A: C Kekai Rios assigned to Tulsa Drillers from Great Lakes Loons. Tulsa Drillers placed C Ryan January on the 7-day injured list and activated C Kekai Rios.

High-A: Great Lakes Loons activated C Max Hewitt. Great Lakes Loons placed RHP on the temporarily inactive list. Great Lakes Loons placed CF Ismael Alcantara on the temporarily inactive list.

Tuesday scores

• Oklahoma City at Albuquerque (postponed)
• Tulsa 9, Springfield 7
• Great Lakes 7, Lake County 2

Wednesday schedule

• 10:05 a.m. PT: Tulsa (Landon Knack) vs. Springfield (Logan Gragg)
• 3:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) at Albuquerque (Zach Neal)
• Game 2: Oklahoma City (Jon Duplantier) at Albuquerque (Brandon Gold)