Friday night in the Dodgers’ farm system brought one bright spot and a lot of missed chances. Tulsa got the win, Aidan Foeller turned in the best outing of his Double-A career so far, and Tyler Glasnow kept edging toward a big league return in Oklahoma City. But overall, the affiliates dropped three of four.
Foeller was the day’s standout after being thrust into action earlier than expected and stepping in for an injured Luke Fox. The 2024 11th-round pick handled the moment well, striking out six over five scoreless innings in Tulsa’s win over Arkansas.
He escaped a first-inning jam by stranding an inherited runner, then kept rolling while leaving three hits and two walks on base. Across High-A and Double-A this year, Foeller has a 3.09 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 26 walks in 67 innings, along with a 19.9-percent strikeout-minus-walk-rate.
Tulsa’s offense backed him with power. Jake Gelof, Nelson Quiroz, and Joe Vetrano all homered in the Drillers’ victory over the Travelers.
The game turned early for Fox, who had returned last Saturday after nearly four months on the injured list. He lasted only nine pitches, allowing a double and a single to the first two batters he faced before leaving in the first inning, apparently after re-injuring his hamstring, per Barry Lewis of Tulsa World, who was on-site in Tulsa.
Mike Sirota was hit by a pitch and scored in the sixth inning, then came out of the game on defense in center field in the eighth.
In Oklahoma City, Glasnow threw 3 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings with eight strikeouts before Christian Romero finished the fourth inning in relief. Romero then gave up three runs in the fifth, and the Comets fell to Albuquerque.
Oklahoma City managed just five hits, with Chadwick Tromp accounting for two of them on singles in his first games as the club’s new catcher. Ryan Ward also made a bit of history, hitting his 94th double for Oklahoma City to break the team record for the current “Bricktown Era,” which dates back to 1998.
Great Lakes couldn’t recover from a rough third inning in a loss to South Bend. Will Gagnon made his High-A debut and struck out seven in four innings, but he also allowed five runs on two hits and three walks.
Two of those runs were unearned after catcher’s interference and a throwing error by shortstop Emil Morales helped fuel the inning. Gagnon had posted a 34 percent strikeout rate and a 17 percent walk rate in 55 2/3 innings with Class-A Ontario before the promotion.
The Eduardos kept the Loons in the box score, with Quintero and Guerrero each collecting two singles and a walk among the team’s six hits.
Ontario had its own power display but not enough to get over the top against Rancho Cucamonga. Ching-Hsien Ko launched a two-run homer, Kellon Lindsey added a solo shot and finished with two hits, and the Tower Buzzers put together a four-run inning.
Still, the Quakes left with the win. Joel Cruz did his part in relief, striking out six over four innings and allowing only an unearned run.
There were also roster moves at Class-A. Camden Wimbish, the Dodgers’ 17th-round pick last month out of Campbell, joined Ontario’s roster along with catcher Eduardo Rojas and non-drafted free agent pitcher Brady Wembley. Right-hander Josehp Marte was sent back to the Arizona Complex League after five games with Ontario, and Angel Cruz was also moved back after posting a 7.57 ERA with 40 walks and 42 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings for the Tower Buzzers.
Friday’s final scores: Albuquerque 4, Oklahoma City 2; Tulsa 4, Arkansas 1; South Bend 6, Great Lakes 2; Rancho Cucamonga 9, Ontario 6.
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