Alek Thomas kept raking on Saturday, and Oklahoma City needed every bit of it in a wild one.
Thomas piled up four hits and drove in four runs for the Comets, following up a four-RBI night on Friday with another huge offensive showing against Salt Lake. He tripled, doubled and added two singles, but Oklahoma City still came out on the short end of a 14-13 slugfest with the Salt Lake Bees.
It was the kind of game that never really settled down. Both clubs posted a five-run inning, a three-run inning and two two-run innings, while Salt Lake also managed two one-run frames to Oklahoma City’s one. The 27 combined runs made it the highest-scoring game of the series, which has already produced 82 runs through five games.
Ryan Ward kept the pressure on with three hits and a walk, and Eliezer Alfonzo chipped in with two hits, a walk and three RBIs. On the pitching side, Emmet Sheehan’s return to Triple-A was always going to be brief, with Jerming Rosario already warming up to follow him before Sheehan was pulled after two outs, 22 pitches and two runs allowed. Jackson Ferris then took over in the second inning and was tagged for nine runs over 4 2/3 innings.
The other affiliates couldn’t find a win either, as all four Dodgers farm teams lost Saturday.
Tulsa had the tightest game of the bunch, but the Drillers managed only one run in a loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks. Shortstop Elijah Hainline accounted for two of Tulsa’s four hits, while Josue De Paula singled and walked.
Left-hander Luke Fox was back after nearly 16 weeks on the injured list and struck out two over three innings, giving up one run on a solo homer - the only hit he allowed - and also issuing a walk. Jacob Kmatz, acquired Monday in the trade with the Rays that also brought Hunter Feduccia to Los Angeles, struck out one in a perfect inning of relief.
Kmatz has now thrown two scoreless innings in two appearances with Tulsa.
At High-A, Great Lakes jumped out to the first five runs of the game but still found itself behind by the third inning in a loss to the Dayton Dragons. Isaac Ayon struggled in the start, allowing seven runs in 3 1/3 innings. Emil Morales and Samuel Munoz each went deep for the Loons, and Morales has now homered four times in five games during this series.
Ontario also had its chances, drawing seven walks, but the Tower Buzzers managed only five hits and one run in a loss to the Lake Elsinore Storm. Ching-Hsien Ko collected two of Ontario’s five hits. Devin Bell, the Dodgers’ 10th-round pick out of Oregon in July, made his pro debut with a clean eighth inning and struck out one.
In Other News...
Dodgers Fans Just Sent A Loud Message About SportsNet LA
Tarik Skubals Dodgers debut on Aug. 1 did more than give Los Angeles another night of buzz around the ballpark. It also turned into a notable win for SportsNet LA, whose local telecast drew a 2.97 Nielsen household rating and outperformed TBSs national broadcast of the same game. For a network that has spent years trying to strengthen its place in the Dodgers daily routine, that kind of audience is its own kind of validation.
SportsNet LA has steadily evolved since the channel launched, reshaping its broadcast team along the way and adding fresh elements to its set at Dodger Stadium. The latest ratings bump suggests Dodgers viewers are still willing to stay close to home for their coverage, even when a national outlet is carrying the same game. What makes that even more interesting is how much the networks identity has changed and how much attention this game might bring to the next step in its broadcast push. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have A Bigger Problem Than Their August Skid
The Dodgers seven-game losing streak has not been caused by a lack of pitching. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and others have delivered quality starts during this rough stretch, giving Los Angeles a chance to stay afloat even as the calendar has turned into August and the skid has deepened.
What has made the slump more unsettling is how quietly the offense has slipped since July 1. The Dodgers have landed in the bottom half of the league in several key areas, including home runs and overall batting performance, and they have not been creating enough plate appearances with runners in scoring position to fully cash in when chances do appear. For a club built to overwhelm teams with lineup depth, that is a more troubling development than any one bad week. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Prospect Kendall George Now Faces A Bigger Question After Freak Injury
Kendall Georges season took a strange turn at Double-A Tulsa when the Dodgers prospect collided with the Drillers bat dog, an odd play that wound up sidelining one of the organizations quickest players. George, who has built his reputation in the Dodgers minor league system on speed and base-stealing ability, was briefly able to return before landing back on the injured list, leaving the setback hanging over what had been a promising year.
The bigger issue now is less about the unusual way the injury happened and more about how long it will take George to get right again. He let the news out on Instagram, and for a player whose value is tied so closely to burst and movement, any knee trouble creates real uncertainty about when he can get back to impacting games the way he usually does. [Read more 🡒]