Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) — W, 11-7 vs Charlotte

Zach Ehrhard had himself a night. The right fielder went 3-for-3 with two home runs, two walks, two RBI, and three runs scored. He didn’t make a single out. When a guy reaches base five times in five plate appearances at Triple-A and two of those are homers, you sit up and pay attention. Ehrhard has been quietly putting together quality at-bats, and Friday was the kind of game where everything he hit found the barrel. Keep an eye on this one.

James Tibbs III was nearly as productive from the cleanup spot, going 1-for-2 with a homer, three walks, and two RBI. The walks are what stand out to me — Tibbs drew three free passes, scored twice, and showed the kind of plate discipline that separates hitters who mash in the minors from hitters who can stick in the big leagues. The power has never been in question. The selectivity is what we want to see developing.

Ryan Fitzgerald provided the extra-base pop from the left field spot, going 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, two RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored. That’s a complete line. Taylor Young added a solo homer from the third base spot (2-for-5, RBI), and Austin Gauthier chipped in two hits and two RBI from second base. Top to bottom, this lineup did damage.

On the mound, Garrett McDaniels picked up the win to move to 5-1, tossing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks. Clean and efficient — exactly what you want from a reliever protecting a lead. The bullpen gave up seven runs elsewhere, so it wasn’t all smooth sailing on the pitching side, but when you score 11 you can absorb some damage.

Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) — W, 8-7 vs Wichita

This one was a grind. The Drillers squeaked out an 8-7 win over Wichita, and the pitching story was really a tale of two halves. Roque Gutierrez got the start and battled through four innings — four strikeouts, but three walks and two earned runs. He was around the zone enough to get through it, but the command wasn’t sharp. Then Wyatt Crowell came in and absolutely slammed the door: four innings, six strikeouts, three walks, zero earned runs. That’s a dominant middle relief outing. Crowell’s stuff played up in a big way, and four innings of zeros gave our offense the runway to take the lead.

Nick Robertson closed it out in the ninth for the win (5-0), though he did blow a save and allowed an earned run before finishing things off. Two strikeouts, no walks — he got it done, even if it wasn’t clean. A 5-0 record from the back of a Double-A bullpen is notable regardless.

At the plate, Josue De Paula led the way going 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, a run, and a stolen base. De Paula (and this is a name to remember) continues to show tools across the board. Kyle Nevin drove in two with a 2-for-4 night that included a double. Kole Myers contributed an RBI, a walk, a stolen base, and a run from the DH spot. Elijah Hainline went hitless (0-for-3) but drew two walks and scored a run — not a wasted night at the plate by any means. Getting on base is getting on base.

Great Lakes Loons (High-A) — W, 3-1 vs Wisconsin

A 3-1 win over Wisconsin is the kind of game that doesn’t generate a lot of buzz, but these are the games that build winning habits. The pitching staff held the Timber Rattlers to one run, and the offense did just enough.

Charles Davalan provided the big blow — a solo homer to go along with a walk in a 1-for-4 night. Eduardo Quintero matched him with a solo homer of his own (2-for-4, RBI). When you only score three runs and two of them come on solo shots, every swing matters. Both guys came through.

Reynaldo Yean picked up the win (1-2) with a clean inning of relief — one strikeout, one walk, no runs. Yean has had a rough stretch this season based on that 1-2 record, so a scoreless outing like this is a step in the right direction. Sometimes development at High-A isn’t about dominance — it’s about stringing together clean innings and building confidence.

Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A) — L, 1-17 vs Lake Elsinore

Not much to say here. A 1-17 loss to Lake Elsinore is ugly no matter how you slice it. The lone bright spot was Javier Herrera, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles and showed he wasn’t going to just roll over in a blowout. You tip your cap to a guy who competes regardless of the scoreboard. Beyond that, we’ll flush this one and move on. These nights happen in Single-A — the key is that they stay isolated.

DSL Dodgers (DSL Rookie) — L, 0-17 vs DSL Astros Orange

A 17-0 shutout loss against the DSL Astros Orange. There’s no sugarcoating it — this was a rough day from top to bottom. No batting highlights to speak of, and the pitching staff got hit hard. In the DSL, you’re dealing with extremely young players still learning the fundamentals of professional baseball. Days like this will happen. What matters is how they respond next time out. We treat every affiliate seriously here, and that means acknowledging when a game is simply one to forget.