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Sunday in the Dodgers minor leagues featured a pair of standout performances at the plate.
Player of the day
Michael Busch hit two-run home runs in each of his first two at-bats for Oklahoma City on Sunday night, and also singled and walked.
Two batters into their first at-bat, the Dodgers have a 2-0 lead!
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) July 23, 2023
Michael Busch swats his 14th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/s4SgFx31Bz
Michael Busch...do it again!
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) July 23, 2023
He goes deep for the second time in three innings for his first multi-homer game of the season! pic.twitter.com/rTicGQTQhb
Since getting optioned back to Triple-A on June 27, Busch has eight home runs and 21 RBI in 19 games. His slugging percentage during that stretch is .662 with an isolated power (ISO) of .364, compared to .540 and .227 in his first 44 games with Oklahoma City this season.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Busch provided the early offense, the Oklahoma City pitching made it hold up to beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).
Gavin Stone struck out five in his five innings, allowing three runs, two of which were earned. Jimmy Nelson walked two and allowed two stolen bases in the third game on this current rehab assignment, but also struck out one and pitched a scoreless inning.
Victor González, Nick Robertson, and Wander Suero each followed with scoreless innings to close out the win.
During the Oklahoma City broadcast, play-by-play announcer Alex Freedman mentioned that Trayce Thompson would likely join OKC this coming week in Reno, after a pair of games in the Arizona Complex League over the weekend. That would give Oklahoma City four players currently on minor league rehab assignments, along with Nelson, Noah Syndergaard, and Ryan Pepiot.
Double-A Tulsa
Up 7-2 in the sixth inning, the Quakes bullpen allowed seven runs in a road loss to the Northwest Arkansas Travelers (Royals).
Starter Kyle Hurt allowed a pair of runs in his five innings and struck out seven, giving him 105 strikeouts on the season to rank second in the Texas League.
Northwest Arkansas scored three runs each off of relievers Tanner Dodson and Antonio Knowles to grab the lead, but Jorbit Vivas singled home Austin Gauthier in the eighth inning to tie things up. Vivas had three hits and a walk on Sunday, scoring three runs.
The ninth inning decided the game, with both teams getting early extra-base hits. Yusniel Díaz doubled to open the top of the frame, advanced to third base on one groundout, the was thrown out at home on a grounder to second base. In the bottom of the inning, Diego Hernandez tripled with one out for the Travelers, then two batters later he was singled home by catcher Luca Tresh.
Center fielder Jose Ramos homered and drove in a season-high five on Sunday. In addition to his three-run homer in the fourth inning, Ramos also had an RBI groundout in the first and an RBI single in the sixth. Ramos drove in at least one run in four of six games in this series against Northwest Arkansas.
Jose Ramos is the man with this 3-run home run! pic.twitter.com/OfEadWArZm
— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) July 23, 2023
High-A Great Lakes
Chris Newell hit a home run and the Loons bullpen pitched 5⅔ scoreless, hitless innings to beat the Lansing Lugnuts (A’s).
Newell hit a solo shot in the second inning for Great Lakes’ first run to tie the game, and walked with the bases loaded in the sixth.
Starter Justin Wrobleski allowed three runs and left with one out in the fourth inning with two runners on base. The quintet of Christian Suarez, Michael Hobbs, Lucas Wepf, Juan Morillo, and Benony Robles combined to record the final 17 outs, with six strikeouts and three walks.
The game started with a 55-minute rain delay, but several Loons stayed busy.
h/t Tim Zeko and @brad_tunney:
— Jesse Goldberg-Strassler (@jgoldstrass) July 23, 2023
Great Lakes' Jack Dreyer instructs Mitchell Tyranski and Jake Vogel in proper fishing techniques. pic.twitter.com/v1GiqSFAdk
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
The Quakes bullpen allowed five runs in the eighth inning to turn a four-run lead into a loss the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).
Designated hitter Thayron Liranzo had four hits for Rancho Cucamonga, including two doubles and a walk. Catcher Simon Reid also doubled twice, each one driving home two runs. Second baseman Luis Guerra also had two doubles in his three-hit day.
The blown lead marred an otherwise solid performance by Christian Romero, who struck out six and walked none in a career-high six innings, allowing three runs. The 20-year-old Romero had not pitched longer than four innings in a game this season before Sunday.
Transactions
Triple-A: Catcher Patrick Mazeika was activated off the temporary inactive list after the birth of his son on Wednesday, and catcher David Freitas was placed on the development list.
Low-A: The Quakes skipped starter Payton Martin this week and on Sunday placed him on the development list. Right-hander Ben Serunkuma and left-hander Garrett McDaniels were promoted to Rancho Cucamonga from Arizona.
Sunday scores
- Oklahoma City 5, El Paso 3
- NW Arkansas 9, Tulsa 8
- Great Lakes 5, Lansing 3
- Lake Elsinore 9, Rancho Cucamonga 8
The week ahead
- Oklahoma City at Reno (D-backs)
- Tulsa vs. Springfield (Cardinals)
- Great Lakes vs. Dayton (Reds)
- Rancho Cucamonga vs. San Jose (Giants)
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