Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) — W, 11-2 vs Las Vegas

Landon Knack looked like a man on a mission in his first start back with OKC. Five innings, five strikeouts, zero walks, and just one earned run. That’s the kind of outing that reminds you why he’s been on the big-league shuttle. The command was there from pitch one — no free passes, efficient work through the order. He picks up the win to move to 1-0. If someone on the 40-man needs an IL stint, Knack is making it very hard to skip over him.

The offense made his job easy. Ryan Fitzgerald went 3-for-5 with two home runs, two RBI, and two runs scored. That’s a quiet name that keeps producing loud nights. Ryan Ward added a homer of his own along with a double, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBI and a walk. Ward’s power hasn’t been a question — it’s whether he can keep the strikeouts manageable and walk enough to profile at first base. Nights like this help the case.

Hyeseong Kim continued to be a pest at the top of the lineup, going 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and three runs scored. He’s doing exactly what you want from your table-setter: getting on base and letting the big bats behind him drive him in. Alek Thomas chipped in a triple and a double, scoring twice. Jack Suwinski went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI, though he struck out twice — the power-and-whiff combination that defines his profile. Noah Miller was quietly productive at short, going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. He doesn’t chase, and that plate discipline at his age is encouraging.

An 11-2 win where the pitching and hitting both show up. Nothing complicated about it — our guys in OKC just took care of business.

Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) — W, 6-2 vs Northwest Arkansas

Three home runs. Jake Gelof hit three home runs. He finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and scored all three times he reached base. That’s the kind of night where you just tip your cap and move on. Is Gelof a finished product? No — there are still swing-and-miss questions to answer as he moves up — but the raw power is absolutely legit, and when he gets into a groove like this, it’s as loud as any bat in the system. Keep an eye on this one.

The other story here is Payton Martin, who was outstanding on the mound. Eight innings. Seven strikeouts. One walk. Two earned runs. That’s a complete-game-caliber start in every way except the final three outs. Martin moves to 5-3 on the year, and what we saw from him tonight was a pitcher who trusted his stuff and attacked the zone all night. He gave his bullpen a full night off, which matters more than people realize over a long minor league season.

Frank Rodriguez added a homer and two RBI from the catcher spot, going 2-for-4. Getting offensive production from behind the plate is always a bonus at this level. Elijah Hainline collected three hits, going 3-for-4, and Zyhir Hope added a two-hit night as well. When the lineup supports pitching like Martin’s, you get clean 6-2 wins. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

Great Lakes Loons (High-A) — L, 4-5 vs Fort Wayne

A tough one-run loss, but there were things to like here. Tyler Gough gave us four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. The stuff was clearly working. Three walks are a bit much and that’s the area to clean up, but holding Fort Wayne off the board for four frames is a solid building block. He handed the game over to the bullpen in good shape — the runs came later, and that’s not on him.

Eduardo Quintero had the best night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. He reached base four times in five plate appearances — that’s the kind of discipline and bat-to-ball ability that plays at any level. Charles Davalan went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. He’s showing a well-rounded offensive game out of the center field spot. Nico Perez drove in two runs on a 1-for-4 night and added a stolen base, so even a quieter night at the plate came with some production. Eduardo Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a run scored at shortstop.

You’d like to have the win, obviously, but one-run losses happen. The process here was mostly fine — they just couldn’t quite close it out.

Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A) — W, 12-3 vs Fresno

Let’s start on the mound, because Blake Snell (and yes, that name is going to get people clicking — no relation) was absolutely electric. Four innings, nine strikeouts, zero walks, zero earned runs. Nine punchouts in four innings at Single-A is flat-out dominance. The command was pinpoint — no free passes at all — and hitters simply could not catch up to him. This is a name to file away.

The offense backed him up with a 12-run outburst. Ching-Hsien Ko had a huge night, going 2-for-3 with a triple, two walks, and three RBI. That’s five times reaching base in five plate appearances. He was the engine of this lineup tonight. Joendry Vargas matched him with three RBI on a 2-for-5 night. Mairoshendrick Martinus — yes, that’s his full name, and it’s worth remembering — went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored from the shortstop position. Power and speed from a young middle infielder? We’ll take it.

Conner O’Neal went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored from the catching spot. Kellon Lindsey went hitless but drew two walks and scored twice with a stolen base — a productive 0-for-3 that shows he understands his role in the lineup. Brendan Tunink had a similar line: 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Oswaldo Osorio went 2-for-5 with a run scored as the DH, though three strikeouts temper the line a bit. Marlon Nieves picked up the win in relief (2-3), going 2.2 innings with two earned runs — not as clean as Snell’s work, but he got the job done and ate innings the bullpen needed.

A 12-3 win at any level is fun. When you get dominant pitching and top-to-bottom lineup contributions like this, it’s a good sign for the development staff. Ontario is doing its job right now.