Zach Ehrhard turned in the kind of day that doesn’t waste a pitch. The 23-year-old outfielder reached safely in all four plate appearances and accounted for four of Oklahoma City’s 11 hits, a tidy line that made him the clear choice for Player of the Day.
It was another strong snapshot of why the Dodgers had no issue sending him to Triple-A to start 2026 after he climbed through three levels last season. Ehrhard’s latest homer also pushed him into the 20-20 club, and his season already includes 107 runs scored in just 128 games.
Oklahoma City rode that production to a 7-4 win over Sugar Land. James Tibbs III added a single and a walk, while Ryan Fitzgerald supplied the other Comets home run.
All four runs allowed by Oklahoma City came against the bullpen, after starter Cole Irvin worked five scoreless innings. Ben Casparius was tagged for two of those runs, while Jake Cousins earned a hold with his third straight scoreless outing in September, coming back only recently from injury.
The Drillers also got it done, though in a very different way. Tulsa beat Northwest Arkansas 7-5 despite being outhit 10-6, leaning on big innings and a sharp night on the bases.
The Drillers went a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen-base attempts, including Josue De Paula’s 31st steal of the year. De Paula didn’t collect a hit, but he walked twice and scored twice.
Jake Gelof drew a team-high three walks, drove in two runs, and reached 96 RBI on the season. Tulsa drew 12 walks overall, taking advantage of shaky command from the Naturals.
At High-A, Great Lakes opened its Division Series with a statement. The Loons blanked Dayton 6-0, and the game was barely underway before they had control.
Three batters into the first inning, Eduardo Quintero and Emil Morales had already homered, putting Great Lakes ahead by three. Mairo Martinus added a solo shot in the second, and by the end of that frame the Loons had scored five times.
Tyler Gough and the bullpen did the rest. Great Lakes didn’t allow a single extra-base hit, and the staff kept the Dragons from turning their nine singles and five walks into anything dangerous.
The wildest finish came in Class-A, where Ontario nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages. The Tower Buzzers scored six times in the bottom of the ninth against Lake Elsinore, but still came up a run short in a 10-9 loss to open their Division Series.
Jholbran Harder made that mountain even steeper, allowing a three-run homer and four runs in the top of the ninth. Still, Ontario kept swinging.
Joendry Vargas hit a solo shot to cut the deficit to 10-9 with two outs, and Easton Shelton came up with the tying run on the line after a night in which he had reached in three of his first four trips, including his 37th homer of the season. This time, he struck out.
The rally had started with Caleb Johnson, who launched his second homer of the game. For a player who had only recently begun his Class-A run with Ontario and still had fewer than 100 at-bats, it was production that came out of nowhere.
Tuesday’s scores: Oklahoma City 7, Sugar Land 4
NW Arkansas 5, Tulsa 7 Great Lakes 6, Dayton 0
Ontario 9, Lake Elsinore 10
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Dodgers Are Finally Turning To A Top Prospect For Answers
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De Paula arrives with the reputation of a highly ranked prospect and the kind of upside the Dodgers have long been willing to bet on. He is expected to fit into the outfield mix and could also see time at designated hitter, giving Los Angeles another look at a bat it believes may be ready for a bigger stage. The only real question now is how quickly the transition comes together once he gets his first extended run. [Read more 🡒]