Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A) — W, 17-9 vs Inland Empire 66ers

Where do we even start with this one? The Buzzers put up 17 runs on 18 hits and basically turned the box score into a phone book. The headliner was Chase Harlan, who went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI. Harlan has been showing more pop lately, and tonight he was sitting on pitches in the zone and doing damage. Five RBI from the third base spot is hard to ignore no matter the level. Keep an eye on this one.

But Harlan wasn’t even the hit leader. That honor goes to Kellon Lindsey, who went a ridiculous 5-for-6 with a triple, a double, two RBI, a stolen base, and four runs scored. Five hits. In six at-bats. Lindsey was all over the basepaths and put the ball in play with authority every time up. That’s the kind of night where you just tip your cap.

Mairoshendrick Martinus (and yes, that is a name to remember) joined the party from the shortstop spot, going 3-for-6 with a homer, a double, and two RBI. AJ Soldra added two doubles and two RBI out of the nine-hole, scoring three times. Ching-Hsien Ko drove in three, Easton Shelton launched a homer of his own with two RBI, and even Javier Herrera contributed an RBI and two stolen bases without recording a hit. Everyone was involved. When you score 17, everyone eats.

On the mound, Jhonny Jimenez picked up the win (2-3) with 1.1 scoreless innings in relief — no walks, no runs, just clean work. The pitching staff gave up nine runs in a game like this, which isn’t ideal, but sometimes in Single-A you just outscore the chaos. Ontario did that and then some.

Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) — W, 5-3 vs Reno Aces

Tyler Fitzgerald provided the big swing our guys in OKC needed, going 1-for-4 with a three-run home run that essentially decided this game. One hit, three RBI — that’s efficient work. Fitzgerald has the bat speed to punish mistakes, and Reno gave him one. Chuckie Robinson added two RBI behind the plate, going 1-for-3 in a solid day catching. Jack Suwinski went 0-for-2 at the plate but drew two walks and scored a run, so he was contributing even without a hit — though the two strikeouts are worth noting.

The pitching story here is a split one. Cole Irvin went four innings, giving up two earned runs with three walks against only two strikeouts. That walk total is something to watch — Irvin is at his best when he commands the zone and forces weak contact, and three free passes in four innings isn’t that. The good news is Carlos Duran came in and slammed the door, tossing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks to earn the win (1-0). Clean, efficient relief work when we needed it. Duran’s ability to throw strikes in high-leverage spots is what gets guys promoted.

Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) — L, 4-8 vs Wichita Wind Surge

Tulsa dropped this one 4-8 against Wichita, and while the final score wasn’t pretty, we did see some encouraging individual work. Sean McLain was the standout, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, and an RBI. A homer and a triple in the same game tells you McLain was squaring balls up and hitting them hard to different parts of the yard. That’s the kind of multi-tool offensive night you want from a Double-A middle infielder.

Chris Newell added a solo homer of his own, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and a strikeout. Mike Sirota drew two walks in his two plate appearances — didn’t get a hit, but showed plate discipline against a pitching staff that was clearly attacking around him. The issue tonight was on the pitching side, as giving up eight runs is going to lose you most ballgames. Not much else to say there — the bats showed life, but not enough to overcome it.

Great Lakes Loons (High-A) — vs Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

No game data to report from Great Lakes tonight. We’ll have more on the Loons as information becomes available.