Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A) — W, 13-9 vs Visalia Rawhide

Ontario’s offense went absolutely nuclear tonight. Thirteen runs on a lineup that drew a combined 14 walks — the Buzzers made Visalia’s pitching staff work all night long and punished them when they found the zone, too. This was a team-wide demolition job.

Javier Herrera was the star of the show from the two-hole. He went 1-for-1 with a home run and an RBI, but the real story is the four walks. Four. He scored three times and basically lived on base all night. That’s an absurd level of plate discipline from a Single-A infielder, and the kind of approach that makes evaluators pay attention. When a young hitter can do damage when he swings and also take his free passes? That’s a complete at-bat profile in development. Keep an eye on this one.

Oswaldo Osorio only needed one official at-bat to make his mark — a three-run homer — and added two walks on top of it. That’s 3 RBI on 1-for-1. Efficient night. Ching-Hsien Ko launched a two-run shot of his own, going 1-for-4 with two walks, two runs scored, and a strikeout. Ko has shown pop before, and a night where he combines power with patience is exactly what we want to see from him.

Jaron Elkins was busy in center, going 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, an RBI, and a stolen base. That’s the kind of toolsy, multi-faceted game that plays up as you climb. Brendan Tunink drove in three runs on a pair of doubles (2-for-5, walk), and Mairoshendrick Martinus added a 2-for-4 line with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a stolen base. Easton Shelton didn’t have a hit to show for it but reached base three times (two walks), scored twice, and swiped a bag. A productive night even without the batting average.

On the mound, it wasn’t exactly clean — the staff gave up nine runs — but Cam Leiter got through 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and three earned runs. Not his sharpest, but he ate innings and let the offense do its thing. Jholbran Herder picked up the win (3-2) with 1.2 innings of relief, striking out three while allowing one earned run. The command was a little loose with two walks, but he got big outs when it mattered. When your lineup puts up 13, you just need the bullpen to hold serve. They did enough.

Great Lakes Loons (High-A) — W, 6-2 vs Lansing Lugnuts

This was the cleanest win of the night across our affiliates. Great pitching, timely hitting, and a comfortable final score. Exactly what you want from a development standpoint — guys executing their roles.

Aidan Foeller was outstanding on the mound. Five innings, zero earned runs, three strikeouts, and just one walk. That’s a quality outing at any level, and the efficiency matters. He moves to 2-0 on the season. Foeller commanded the zone, limited free passes, and let his defense work behind him. Not every start has to be a flashy strikeout showcase — sometimes the best outings are the ones where a pitcher trusts his stuff and attacks hitters. That’s what we saw tonight.

Emil Morales provided the power from the shortstop spot, going 1-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. He did strike out twice, so it wasn’t a perfect night at the plate, but the homer and the walk show he can impact the game on both ends of a plate appearance. Chase Harlan drove in three runs on a 2-for-5 night that included a double. Three RBI from the third base spot is a nice evening’s work, and Harlan came through in key spots.

Victor Rodrigues had the best raw hitting night in the lineup, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored from behind the plate. That kind of production from your catcher is a bonus every time. Jose D. Hernandez chipped in a solid 2-for-3 line with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored from second base. When the lineup clicks like this from top to bottom, good things happen.

Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) — L, 3-4 vs Reno Aces

A one-run loss is always frustrating, especially when you get a start like the one Christian Romero delivered. He went 5.1 innings, struck out three, walked one, and allowed zero earned runs. That’s the kind of outing that should lead to a win. Romero did everything you could ask from a starter — kept his team in the game and gave the offense every opportunity. The fact that the bullpen couldn’t hold it and the bats couldn’t push across one more run isn’t on him.

Teoscar Hernández — obviously on a rehab assignment here — went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. That’s most of the Comets’ offense right there. If you’re looking for signs that his timing and power are where they need to be before heading back to the big club, a homer in four at-bats is a pretty good indicator. Alek Thomas was the other bright spot offensively, collecting three hits in four at-bats and scoring a run. Thomas continues to put together quality at-bats at Triple-A, and a 3-for-4 night is hard to argue with.

Sometimes the pitching and the hitting don’t sync up on the same night. This was one of those games. Romero was excellent, a couple of hitters did their jobs, and it still wasn’t enough. That’s baseball.

Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) — L, 1-10 vs Corpus Christi Hooks

Not much to love here. A 1-10 loss is a 1-10 loss, and when you only push across one run, there’s only so much silver lining to find. But we still look for individual development, and there were a couple of things worth noting.

Josue De Paula had the best plate appearance quality of anyone in the Tulsa lineup, going 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, and the lone run scored. That’s a .600 on-base percentage for the night. In a game where the offense was lifeless, De Paula was the one guy consistently making opposing pitchers work. The double shows he can do damage, and the two walks show he wasn’t chasing in a game where it would’ve been easy to expand the zone out of frustration.

Zyhir Hope went 1-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout. Another hitter who showed good discipline despite the lopsided score. Hope didn’t get many opportunities but took advantage of the ones he had by not giving away at-bats. When we’re evaluating young players in blowout losses, that’s the kind of composure that matters more than the final score.

Tough night all around for Tulsa. These happen. You move on and get after it tomorrow.