Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) — W, 9-1 vs Sugar Land

This was the James Tibbs III show. The DH went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and four RBI in a dominant 9-1 win over Sugar Land. That’s four ribbies on the night — likely a blast with the bases occupied — and the kind of damage we’ve been waiting to see from Tibbs at the Triple-A level. He’s settling in, and the power is translating. Keep an eye on this one.

Seby Zavala added a three-RBI homer of his own (2-for-4), so the middle of this lineup was doing real damage. Jack Suwinski also went deep, going 1-for-5 with a solo shot. That’s three home runs in one game from our OKC bats. Noah Miller continued his steady work at shortstop, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Miller doesn’t generate a ton of buzz, but he consistently gets on base and puts quality at-bats together. Austin Gauthier drew a walk, swiped a bag, and scored twice — doing the little things even on a night he struck out twice.

On the mound, Charlie Barnes earned the win (1-1) with five solid innings — one earned run, four strikeouts, and zero walks. That’s exactly what you want from a Triple-A starter: throw strikes, eat innings, let the offense work. He did that cleanly.

Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) — W, 11-7 vs Northwest Arkansas

Elijah Hainline was the story here. He went 1-for-2 — but what a line: a home run, three walks, four RBI, and two runs scored. That’s a guy who the Naturals simply could not figure out how to pitch to. When you walk a hitter three times and then he still puts a ball over the fence in his lone at-bat that counts, you’ve lost the battle. Hainline’s plate discipline at Double-A has been impressive, and nights like this show you the full package — power and patience working together.

Josue De Paula was electric at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored. That’s an all-around offensive performance. De Paula has real tools and he’s starting to use them consistently. Zyhir Hope chipped in a 2-for-4 night with a double and two RBI, while Griffin Lockwood-Powell went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two driven in. Even Mike Sirota, who went 0-for-3 at the plate, still managed an RBI, two walks, a stolen base, and two runs scored. That’s a productive night without a hit — exactly how you contribute when the barrel isn’t cooperating.

The pitching was messier. Patrick Copen went 6.1 innings with four strikeouts but allowed four earned runs and issued three walks. It was a grind-it-out start — not sharp, but deep enough to give the bullpen some cover. Maddux Bruns picked up the win (2-1) in an unconventional way: one inning, three strikeouts, but also two walks and three earned runs allowed. That’s a wild line. The strikeout stuff from Bruns is clearly there — three punchouts in a single inning is electric arm talent — but the walks and the damage remind you why he’s still in Double-A. The stuff is ahead of the command. That’s the development challenge, and it’s a night-to-night project. Eleven runs was enough to make it all work out anyway.

Great Lakes Loons (High-A) — L, 2-3 vs Dayton

A tough one-run loss for the Loons. The bats just couldn’t get going. Jose Meza was the most productive hitter, going 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI, and a stolen base — doing a little of everything in limited plate appearances. Eduardo Guerrero added a double and a stolen base (1-for-4), and Kole Myers went hitless (0-for-4) but drew a walk and stole a base. The aggressiveness on the basepaths was there even when the bats weren’t connecting.

The real bright spot was Brooks Auger on the mound. Five innings, seven strikeouts, just one walk and two earned runs. That’s a strong start — you can’t ask for much more than that from a High-A arm. The offense just didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Two runs won’t get it done most nights, and this was one of those nights.

Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A) — W, 15-4 vs Visalia

Where do we even start? Ontario hung fifteen runs on Visalia and it felt like everyone contributed. This was a full-roster demolition.

Anson Aroz led the charge from the catcher spot — 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks, three RBI, and three runs scored. That’s a monster night from the catching position, where you rarely see that kind of offensive output at this level. AJ Soldra matched those three RBI with a 1-for-4 night that included a homer and a walk. Ching-Hsien Ko was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, two walks, an RBI, and three runs scored. He reached base every single time he came up (and this is a name to remember). Ko’s bat-to-ball skills are legitimate.

Easton Shelton went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI, and Jaron Elkins also went deep (2-for-5, two RBI, a stolen base, and two runs). Joendry Vargas added a homer from the shortstop spot (1-for-6, two RBI) — the 1-for-6 line tells you he was up a lot and not always on, but the power showed up when it mattered. Javier Herrera was quietly excellent, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, two walks, and two RBI. That’s five times on base with extra-base pop from the second base position.

Five home runs as a team. Fifteen runs. When a Single-A lineup clicks like this, it’s worth noting — even against a weaker opponent, you still have to execute. Ricardo Montero picked up the win (2-1), though his line — 1.2 innings, no strikeouts, a walk, and an earned run — suggests this was a bullpen game where the offense made everything comfortable.

ACL Dodgers (Rookie) — L, 6-8 vs ACL Guardians

The ACL Dodgers dropped a close one, 6-8, against the Guardians. Eduardo Rojas was the standout, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored from behind the plate. Abel Lorenzo went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and a stolen base — a well-rounded night at the dish. Aidan West tripled and drove in two (1-for-4), and Daniel Mielcarek added a 2-for-4 line with a run scored.

Six runs should be enough to win a lot of rookie-ball games, but the pitching staff couldn’t hold things down. Spencer Green took the loss (0-2) and was charged with a blown save, though his actual line — one inning, three strikeouts, one walk, zero earned runs — doesn’t tell you the whole story. Sometimes the damage that scores on your watch doesn’t show up in your earned run column. Still, three punchouts in an inning is a positive sign for the arm talent. These are young players learning how to pitch in high-leverage spots, and that process isn’t always pretty.