Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A) — W, 6-3 vs El Paso

The bullpen was the story in this one. Jackson Ferris gave us 4.2 innings with six strikeouts, but he did surrender three earned runs before handing things off. The stuff was there — the swing-and-miss was evident — but Ferris continues to work through the challenge of pitching deep into outings without the game getting away from him. Still, keeping it at three runs through nearly five innings gave OKC a chance, and that’s the job at this stage of his development.

From there, Carlos Duran slammed the door with a perfect inning — two strikeouts, no baserunners, picking up the win (3-2). And Paul Gervase locked down two scoreless frames for his third save, punching out two more. That’s 3.0 combined innings of shutout relief from those two with four strikeouts and zero walks. Clean, efficient work when it mattered.

Offensively, Austin Gauthier did most of the damage, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. He’s been quietly consistent in the middle of the lineup. James Tibbs III contributed a double and scored twice on a 1-for-4 night. Tibbs continues to find ways to impact the game even when he’s not filling up the hit column — getting on base and coming around to score is a skill in itself.

Tulsa Drillers (Double-A) — L, 6-12 vs Springfield

This was a rough one on the mound, and when you give up 12 runs, there’s not a whole lot the bats can do to save you. But credit to the Tulsa lineup for not rolling over — they put up some competitive at-bats even in a losing effort.

Zyhir Hope launched a homer with two RBI, though the two strikeouts in a 2-for-5 night remind us he’s still working through the swing-and-miss tendencies that come with that kind of raw power. The home run ball is real with Hope. So is the whiff rate. That’s the developmental tension we’re watching with him. Kyle Nevin had a solid night with two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored on a 2-for-5 line. He’s been swinging a good bat lately. Chris Newell added two hits and two RBI from the first base spot.

Taylor Young continues to do Taylor Young things — 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. He puts together quality at-bats, controls the zone, and creates havoc on the basepaths. Hayden Gilliland only had one hit but drew two walks in three plate appearances, showing good discipline behind the plate.

The pitching? We’ll move on. Sometimes you just tip your cap to the other lineup and flush it.

Great Lakes Loons (High-A) — W, 15-7 vs Dayton

Fifteen runs. Five home runs. This lineup absolutely erupted, and the headliner was Emil Morales, who went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double, four RBI, and three runs scored. That is about as complete an offensive game as you’ll see from a shortstop at any level. Morales has been showing flashes of this kind of multi-hit power, and tonight it all came together in one game. Keep an eye on this one.

Eduardo Quintero only had one hit on the night, but it was a grand slam — 1-for-5 with four RBI. The three strikeouts are worth monitoring, but when your one hit clears the bases, you can live with the rest. Eduardo Guerrero got in on the long ball action too, going 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI from the second base spot. Cameron Decker added a homer of his own, drew two walks, and scored twice. That’s a patient, productive night from the left field spot.

Jose Meza was outstanding at the plate — 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored. He was on base all night and scored seemingly every time. Jose D. Hernandez chipped in two hits including a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored from first base. Victor Rodrigues drew two walks and scored a run behind the plate. When this many guys in the lineup are contributing, you get 15-run games.

On the mound, Sterling Patick earned the win (2-5) with five innings, seven strikeouts, and just one walk. The four earned runs aren’t pretty on paper, but with a 15-7 final, the offense had his back and then some. Seven punchouts in five frames shows the stuff is playing — it’s about consistency and limiting damage.

Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A) — W, 7-6 vs Inland Empire

Hyun-Seok Jang was excellent through six innings — eight strikeouts against just two walks and two earned runs. That’s a quality Single-A start by any measure. Jang continues to show the ability to miss bats and pitch deep into games, which is exactly what you want to see from a young arm at this level. The command was sharp, and the strikeout rate tells you hitters were uncomfortable all night.

Things got dicey after Jang exited. Peter Bonilla came in for the seventh and walked three batters while giving up three earned runs, blowing the save. Three walks in a single inning — that’s a tough outing. But Jhonny Jimenez came in and absolutely rescued the game, firing two innings with four strikeouts, zero walks, and just one earned run to earn the win (3-4). That’s a clutch relief appearance when the team needed it most.

At the plate, Ching-Hsien Ko provided the biggest swing of the night — a three-run homer. He was 1-for-5 with three strikeouts, so the approach wasn’t clean, but the one hit he got did a lot of damage. That’s both the promise and the question with a guy who strikes out three times but still drives in three. Easton Shelton had a nice 2-for-4 night with two doubles and a run scored. Mairoshendrick Martinus went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored twice from the first base spot — he was on base three of four times. Kellon Lindsey only had one hit but drew three walks. That’s four times on base in five plate appearances. Impressive discipline.

Jaron Elkins added two hits with an RBI and a run scored, and Brendan Tunink drove in a run and swiped a bag. A total team effort to squeeze out a one-run win.

ACL Dodgers (Rookie) — W, 6-5 vs ACL Mariners

Jack O’Connor was sharp in his three innings of work — six strikeouts with just one walk and one earned run to pick up the win (2-3). Six K’s in three innings is a dominant strikeout rate, and for a young arm in the Arizona Complex League, that’s exactly the kind of development marker we want to track. Josehp Marte closed it out with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Offensively, Daniel Mielcarek went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, a walk, and a run scored. The homer was the big blow of the game. Leider Padilla also connected on a two-run shot, going 1-for-3 with two RBI. When your two home runs account for four of your six runs, that’s efficient offense. Nelson Quiroz didn’t get a hit but drew two walks and scored a run — good plate discipline from the catcher spot.

DSL Dodgers (Rookie) — Two Losses

Both DSL Dodgers squads came up short today, falling to the DSL Astros Blue and DSL Red Sox Blue in a pair of scoreless losses. No batting or pitching highlights to report from either game. We’ll look for a bounce-back next time out from our youngest prospects in the Dominican.