Thursday brought a little bit of everything across the Dodgers’ minor league chain: a pair of late rallies that came up short in the upper levels, and a couple of convincing wins down below. The clearest individual bright spot belonged to Charles Davalan, who kept making his case in High-A.
Davalan, a 22-year-old outfielder who may not carry the same name recognition as some of the system’s other top prospects, homered in the Loons’ win over the Lugnuts. He continues to pair patience with damage at the plate, walking 59 times against 51 strikeouts and pushing his slugging percentage to .538.
The High-A result was one-sided on the scoreboard, even if the pitching staff had to work through some traffic. Great Lakes scored in five different innings and finished with seven runs, while Lansing managed just two runs, one hit and two errors.
Brooks Auger and the Loons’ bullpen kept the Lugnuts from ever finding much rhythm at the plate. Mairo Martinus was the only Great Lakes hitter with a multi-hit day, finishing with three hits without scoring or driving in a run.
In Triple-A, Oklahoma City didn’t get going until the game was slipping away. Zach Ehrhard’s three-run homer sparked a comeback push, but the Comets still ended up on the wrong side of a 5-4 final, matching the score from one of the games in the previous day’s doubleheader.
Will Smith caught the first seven innings before coming out in the top of the eighth, then went 0 for 3 at the plate. Alex Freeland was one of the few bright spots in the lineup, going two for four out of the leadoff spot.
Cole Irvin took the loss.
Tulsa followed a similar script in Double-A, waiting until the ninth inning before finally threatening. Griffin Lockwood-Powell delivered a two-run knock with two outs to pull the Drillers within striking distance and bring Chris Newell to the plate as the potential tying run, but Newell struck out for the third time and the rally stopped there in a 4-2 loss.
Wyatt Crowell, back from injury, wasn’t able to settle in and was pulled before finishing the first inning after issuing three walks. The Drillers matched their seven walks with seven strikeouts, while Midland’s offense stayed far more efficient with a 12-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
At Class-A Ontario, Aidan West turned in his best outing since arriving from Rookie Ball and drove in four runs in an 8-2 win over Stockton. The teenager accounted for one of only two extra-base hits for the Tower Buzzers, with Ching-Hsien Ko supplying the other despite striking out four times. Kellon Lindsey set the tone at the top of the order, reaching base via walks three times in six plate appearances and scoring twice, the only Ontario player to cross the plate more than once.
The day also brought a handful of roster moves. Tulsa activated Wyatt Crowell from the injured list. Oklahoma City placed Landon Knack on the IL, and reliever Seth Halvorsen was called up to the big league squad.
Thursday’s scores: Oklahoma City 4, El Paso 5
Midland 4, Tulsa 2
Great Lakes 7, Lansing 2
Stockton 2, Ontario 8
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