Dalton Rushing leaves game after getting hit by backswing

Dodgers minor league catcher Dalton Rushing left Tuesday’s game with High-A Great Lakes shortly after getting hit by a backswing.

Wisconsin first baseman Ernesto Martinez singled to open the third inning, but hit Rushing in the helmet on his backswing. Rushing remained in the game, but reacted slowly when the very next batter popped up two pitches later. Rushing was disoriented, but caught the foul pop, then immediately exited the game with a team trainer.

Rushing, last year’s top draft pick who has rocketed into top-100 prospect lists, has been one of the best hitters in the Dodgers minors this year, hitting .265/.436/.503 with seven home runs, 13 doubles, and entered Tuesday with a 171 wRC+.

Arizona rehab continues

Daniel Hudson and Jimmy Nelson each pitched a scoreless inning for the Arizona Complex League Dodgers on Tuesday night at Camelback Ranch. Both were pitching on two days rest.

Hudson struck out all three batters faced, while Nelson allowed a two-out single and stolen base and struck out one. It was the third game for Hudson on his minor league rehab assignment, and second for Nelson.

Player of the day

Ryan Ward was one of many Oklahoma City hitters to tee off on Tuesday. The designated hitter homered in each of the first two innings, and later added an RBI double and walked.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City continued its big-inning barrage in whomping the Salt Lake City Bees (Angels). After scoring five, seven, five, and four runs in different innings on Sunday night in El Paso, OKC back home welcomed Salt Lake with a nine-run first inning on Tuesday.

Michael Busch stayed hot, with a home run of his own plus a triple and single, driving in four. Devin Mann also joined the three-hit club, including his league-leading 24th double.

Double-A Tulsa

A seven-run sixth inning broke open a close game in Tulsa’s loss to the Springfield Cardinals.

Catcher Carson Taylor homered for the Drillers. Jose Ramos had two hits, including an RBI single.

Starter Nick Nastrini allowed two solo home runs in his four innings, and struck out eight. He left trailing 2-1, which remained the score until Braydon Fisher (two runs) and Ben Harris (five) gave up the seven-run rally on four hits and four walks.

Of note: Kyle Glaser wrote about the incredible Tulsa starting staff at Baseball America:

Led by its rotation, Tulsa is tied for the hardest-throwing team in professional baseball—majors or minors—with an average fastball velocity of 94.9 mph, according to front office data provided to Baseball America. The Marlins are tied with them for first at 94.9 mph. The Yankees are third at 94.8 mph.

High-A Great Lakes

Great Lakes couldn’t muster much offense early, and a late comeback fell short in a loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers).

Frank Rodriguez, who started at first base but moved behind the plate when Rushing left in the third inning, homered in the third inning, and also singled home a run in the eighth. The Loons scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth, the latter on a two-run double by Griffin Lockwood-Powell.

Starter Hyun-il Choi allowed three runs in his three innings, including a solo home run in the third inning. Robbie Peto allowed four runs in relief, the big blow a three-run home run by Wisconsin second baseman Robert Moore.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes managed only one run, spoiling another strong start by Gabe Emmett in a loss to the San Jose Giants.

Emmett pitched a career-high six innings, allowing two runs to get hung with the hard-luck loss. Before this month, the Dodgers’ 19th-round draft pick in 2021 had never pitched longer than three innings. But he pitched five scoreless frames on June 2, followed by 5⅔ scoreless innings last Thursday before going even deeper on Tuesday.

The lone run for Rancho Cucamonga was a solo home run for Josue De Paula, the first Low-A home run for the 18-year-old outfielder.

Transactions

Triple-A: Reliever Ryan Brasier, who signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers on June 4, was added to Oklahoma City’s roster.

Double-A: Left-hander Alec Gamboa was sent back to Tulsa after earning the win with three scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut on Saturday.

High-A: Pitcher Adolfo Ramirez was activated off the injured list after missing six weeks.

Tuesday scores

• Oklahoma City 17, Salt Lake 8
• Springfield 9, Tulsa 3
• Wisconsin 8, Great Lakes 5
• San Jose 2, Rancho Cucamonga 1

Wednesday schedule

• 10:05 a.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Mike Montgomery) vs. Salt Lake (Kenny Rosenberg)
• 10:05 a.m.: Tulsa (Ben Casparius) at Springfield (Kenny Hernandez)
• 1 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Payton Martin) at San Jose (Gerelmi Maldonado)
• 4:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) vs. Wisconsin (Jacob Misiorowski)

First Double-A start for Casparius.