Big day for centerfielders
Sunday was full of day games in the Dodgers minor leagues, with the full-season affiliates splitting four games.
Player of the day
It’s been a fruitful season for 2020 Dodgers draft picks. The youngest of the group of six draftees is outfielder Jake Vogel, selected out of Huntington Beach High School in the third round. He had a big day Sunday for High-A Great Lakes, driving in four runs.
Vogel had nearly identical two-run doubles hit down the left field line in both the second and fourth innings.
He also walked, stole two bases, and scored two runs.
It’s been a struggle for the centerfielder this season, hitting just .220/.294/.302. His four RBI on Sunday were just one fewer than his total over his previous 32 games.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
A depleted Oklahoma City offense was held scoreless until the seventh inning, then dropped a nailbiter to the Salt Lake City Bees (Angels). Bryson Brigman drove in all of OKC’s runs with a two-run double in the seventh inning and RBI single in the ninth.
With Michael Busch getting called up on Friday and infielder Yonny Hernández sticking around for the weekend in Los Angeles in case Chris Taylor needed to be placed on the injured list, Oklahoma City was down to 10 available position players for the final two games of the weekend. And on Sunday, Kole Calhoun didn’t play, with broadcaster Alex Freedman mentioning Calhoun was “banged up.”
Drew Avans kept the game close with this throw home from center field in the fourth inning, preventing a sacrifice fly.
Now that is some serious dad strength by Drew Avans on the throw to the plate! pic.twitter.com/fqjZDaYwHK
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) June 18, 2023
Matt Andriese got hung with the loss, allowing three runs, but he also matched his season high with six innings, the fourth time he’s done so this season. Andriese has lasted at least 5⅓ innings in each of his last six straight starts, with a 2.62 ERA in that time.
Double-A Tulsa
After getting held scoreless through five innings, the Drillers erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning to pull ahead, then held on to beat the Springfield Cardinals.
Centerfielder Jose Ramos had a two-run single in the sixth to give Tulsa its first lead, part of a three-hit, five-RBI day that included his 13th home run of the season.
Third baseman Brandon Lewis had three hits. First baseman Imanol Vargas singled twice and walked twice.
After Springfield scored four runs off Ryan Sublette in the eighth inning to pull within two runs, Jordan Leasure got the final out of the eighth, followed by a perfect ninth. Leasure struck out all four batters he faced, lowering his ERA to 3.46 with a 37.3-percent strikeout rate and 10.8-percent walk rate.
Tulsa (40-23) is tied with Arkansas atop the North Division of the Texas League, with six games left in the first half. Arkansas owns the tiebreaker by winning eight of 12 head-to-head games, so Tulsa’s magic number to clinch a playoff berth is seven. The Drillers are home this week to Northwest Arkansas (24-39), while Arkansas is on the road to play Wichita (27-35).
High-A Great Lakes
A five-run seventh against Robbie Peto undid an otherwise strong offensive performance by Great Lakes in a loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers).
The Loons scored eight runs, including a solo home run by outfielder Chris Newell, his fifth since joining Great Lakes and his 19th on the season, tying for the lead in all of the minor leagues.
from MiLBtv
Speed fueled a pair of runs in the busy second inning. Chris Alleyne beat out a roller in between the mound and first base, then got a great jump on Vogel’s first double down the left field line, scoring easily from first. Vogel stole third base, then raced home to beat the throw home on a ground ball to second in a drawn-in infield.
Starter Hyun-il Choi was cruising into the fourth inning, when an error and a single but two runners on base for Ernesto Martinez, who hit a three-run home run to spoil Choi’s fun. The three runs were unearned, but it still gave Wisconsin the lead, which was reclaimed by Great Lakes in the bottom of the frame.
The Loons were wearing powder blue uniforms on Father’s Day as part of an effort to raise awareness for prostate cancer research.
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
Nick Biddison reached base four times and Kyle Nevin homered in Rancho Cucamonga’s win over the San Jose Giants.
Biddison singled twice, walked twice, and scored twice. He also stole a base but only one, so deuces weren’t completely wild with him.
Luis Rodriguez, the designated hitter on Sunday, did just that with two singles and a steal, scoring once and driving in one.
Gabe Emmett walked nearly as many (four) as he struck out (five), but limited San Jose to only one run in 4⅓ innings. That was emblematic of the Quakes’ pitching staff on Sunday, with nine walks and seven strikeouts but limited the damage to three runs.
Sunday scores
- Salt Lake 4, Oklahoma City 3
- Tulsa 10, Springfield 8
- Wisconsin 10, Great Lakes 8
- Rancho Cucamonga 5, San Jose 3
The week ahead
- Oklahoma City vs. Las Vegas [A’s]
- Tulsa vs. Northwest Arkansas [Royals]
- Great Lakes at West Michigan [Tigers]
- Rancho Cucamonga vs. Lake Elsinore [Padres]