Dalton Rushing homers twice for Great Lakes

Three out of for Dodgers minor league affiliates won on Wednesday.

Player of the day

Dalton Rushing hit two home runs for Great Lakes on Wednesday morning, giving him three in the first two games of the season. He also walked twice, reaching base four times for the fourth time this season.

On the season, Rushing has reached base in all 25 games and is hitting .284/.462/.602. He entered Wednesday with a top-20 wRC+ (178) in all of the minors, and that was before his big day against Lake County.

Rushing’s seven home runs lead the Midwest League, and his 28 walks are second in the circuit.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

A four-run seventh inning proved the difference in Oklahoma City’s road win over the Round Rock Express (Rangers). Down two runs to start the seventh, Bradley Zimmer doubled home a run, Yonny Hernández’s two-run single gave OKC the lead, then scored an insurance run on a sacrifice fly by Luke Williams.

Hernández, playing third base on Wednesday, started a nifty double play to end the game in the ninth.

Alex Vesia walked two to load the bases with one out in the sixth inning but struck out the next two batters to escape with a scoreless frame. He struck out three in the inning.

Andre Jackson struck out four and walked one in two scoreless, hitless innings in relief following Vesia. He has a 3.00 ERA with 12 strikeouts and six walks in nine innings in Triple-A this season, including three straight appearances with two scoreless innings over the last seven days.

Double-A Tulsa

River Ryan got the first 14 outs of a Drillers’ shutout win over the Springfield Cardinals, and in doing so lowered his ERA on the season to 1.29. Ryan struck out three and walked two.

Ryan Sublette (two innings, three strikeouts) and Jordan Leasure (one inning, two strikeouts) retired the final eight batters of the game. It wasn’t nine batters because Sublette relieved Lael Lockhard after a leadoff single in the seventh, and then Sublette picked the runner off.

Tulsa has five shutout wins this season, more than any other minor league team.

Jose Ramos singled twice, and Imanol Vargas singled him home twice.

High-A Great Lakes

Three home runs fueled Great Lakes, and stingy pitching helped a blowout win over the Lake County Captains (Guardians).

Yon Castro, the minor league Rule 5 Draft pick from the Yankees, struck out five in his five innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Castro has pitched five innings in each of his last three starts, allowing one total run, and on the season has a 2.08 ERA in six starts with 28 strikeouts and eight walks in 26 innings.

First baseman Yunior Garcia was hit in the face by a pitch in the eighth inning, and had to be helped off the field. He homered earlier in the game, his fifth of the season.

The Loons added three insurance runs in that eighth inning without a hit. In addition to the hit by pitch, Great Lakes reached on a strikeout wild pitch and reached on an error, scoring runs during the frame on the error, another error on a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes managed only one hit in a one-run loss to the Stockton Ports (A’s). Dayton Dooney singled with one out in the third inning for Rancho Cucamonga’s only hit. A walk advanced him to second, and a wild pitch got him to third. He scored on a groundout for the Quakes’ only run.

Starter Luis Valdez struck out three in his 2⅓ scoreless innings, allowing a single and a walk. The 19-year-old left-hander has a 1.69 ERA in 10⅔ innings, with 13 strikeouts and eight walks.

20-year-old right-hander Darlin Pinales struck out a season-high seven and walked five in a season-high 4⅔ innings in relief, but got stuck with the tough-luck loss by allowing a single run. It’s been a wild season so far for Pinales, who has allowed 19 runs (17 earned) in 17⅔ innings with 22 walks and 22 strikeouts in his 88 batters faced. He’s been better of late, allowing one run in three of his last four outings.

Transactions

High-A: Jerming Rosario was promoted to Great Lakes after a 2.88 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 innings over six starts for Rancho Cucamonga.

Low-A: Christian Ruebeck, a right-handed pitcher signed as a non-drafted free agent last August, was added to the Quakes roster. He struck out his first batter faced, but walked the next three to end his professional debut, allowing one run.

Wednesday scores

• Oklahoma City 6, Round Rock 4
• Tulsa 3, Springfield 0
• Great Lakes 8, Lake County 1
• Stockton 2, Rancho Cucamonga 1

Thursday schedule

• 3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (TBD) at Lake County (Aaron Davenport)
• 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Bobby Miller/William Cuevas) at Round Rock (Cole Winn)
• 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Emmet Sheehan) vs. Springfield (Connor Lunn)
• 6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Payton Martin) vs. Stockton (Jake Garland)