In Dodgers minor league games played Saturday, August 23rd, we have Davalan deja-vu, Emil Morales is playing like a teen phenom, and Chris Newell had a two-homer game in a losing cause.
If Charles Davalan keeps this up, they might have to ban him from Low-A ball. Playing his fourth game of professional baseball, he had four hits for the second consecutive game, this time adding a home run. His four-game productivity looks like this: 11 for 19, eight RBIs, six runs scored, three stolen bases, and throw in an outfield assist.
The Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) defeated the Oklahoma City Comets 9-7. The Rainiers scored the first four runs of the game and never lost the lead. The Comets pushed across three runs in the fourth inning to try and make a game of it. A hit-by-pitch, single, and walk loaded the bases, and after a force out scored a run, Cody Hoese singled in two more. But the Rainiers piled on five more runs to put the game out of reach. Bobby Miller was charged with two runs, the first runs he has given up in eight games. However, the runs were scored after he was removed from the game. He came into the game in the seventh inning and easily retired the side on a pop-up and two strikeouts. He was brought back out in the eighth, retired two batters, but was removed after a single and a walk after 34 pitches. A triple brought home both runners.
CJ Alexander had three hits for the Comets, Ryan Ward hit his 30th double and drove in his 113th run, and Esteury Ruiz stole two bases, giving him 52 on the year for the Comets.
The Tulsa Drillers lost to the NW Arkansas Naturals (Royals) by the identical score, 9-7. Jackson Ferris needed 96 pitches to get through four innings, giving up three runs, eight hits, and three walks. Chris Newell hit two home runs for the Drillers, giving him 17 on the season.
Eduardo Quintero, Zyhir Hope, and Elijah Hainline all had two hits, and Joe Vetrano hit a two-run homer, but the Great Lake Loons could only manufacture three runs and lost to the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals) 6-3. The River bandits scored three runs in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie, and held on for the win.
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes put together back-to-back three-run innings early in the game, then back-to-back four-run innings late in the game, crunching the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 14-7. Charles Davalan drove in four runs with four hits, including his first professional home run. He should consider retiring now, because that .579 batting average is going to be difficult to sustain. 18-year-old Emil Morales drove in three runs on two hits, and his .337 batting average and 1.013 OPS now have a sample size of 20 games and 95 plate appearances. His seven doubles and five home runs in 20 games are also noteworthy for the shortstop.
Scores of games played Saturday, August 23rd:
Rancho Cucamonga 14, Modesto 7
Up next: games scheduled for Sunday, August 24th:
Great Lakes (Payton Martin) at Quad Cities (Drew Beam), 11:00 AM PST
Tulsa (Luke Fox) at NW Arkansas (Frank Mozzicato), 12:05 PM PST
Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) at Tacoma (TBD), 1:35 PM PST
Modesto (Walter Ford) at Rancho Cucamonga (Sterling Patick), 5:00 PM PST