The Braves are Better Than the dodgers... at least right now!

Spin it however you want it, but the better team won the last two games! Now, I fully understand that the Dodgers are without Andy Pages, Will Smith and Dalton Rushing... and that makes a big difference. Also, the Dodgers have Teoscar Hernandez in LF, and he can no longer even catch a cold! An argument could be made that Teoscar cost the Dodgers the game. Smith will be back soon, and so will Rushing (maybe), but Teoscar and Tucker are liabilities... at least right now.

Andy Pages will likely be back for the playoffs - the Dodgers need him.

Things can change... and they usually will... for better or for worse.

Tanner Scott has no mojo. I don't know how else to say it, but the other guys seem to know what is coming. Evan Phillips is getting his mojo back... little by little, but Diaz cannot be counted on this year... if ever. Sasaki has a blister that could lead to the IL, and afterward, he could be the closer.

As it stands... right here... right now, the Brewers and the Braves are better than the Dodgers. Cold, hard TRUTH! Things can change, and the Dodgers have the horses. They will win their division, but this will have to change by the playoffs if the Dodgers have a chance in the playoffs.

Emmet Sheehan will soon return, and so will Shohei Ohtani... as a pitcher.

With a full lineup, I believe the Dodgers are the best team in baseball... can they get there... that is the question.

El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego) 5 – OKC Comets 4 – 8 innings – Game 1 

RHSP Gavin Stone has joined RHSP Emmet Sheehan letting LAD management know that they are ready to help when needed.  Gavin threw 4.0 innings, allowing only one baserunner, on a single.  He also recorded 5 K.  He threw 58 pitches, 41 for strikes.  

In the 2nd inning, SS Hyeseong Kim singled and moved to 2nd on a flyout.  Kim scored on a 2-out single from RF Ryan Fitzgerald. 

RHRP Blake Treinen relieved Stone in the 5th.  He retired all three batters he faced with a K.  When will Blake get a back-to-back appearance? 

In the bottom of the 5th, with one out, Fitzgerald tripled (5) and scored on a 2-out single from 3B Noah Miller. 

RHRP Nick Robertson, who was quietly having a good year at AAA relieved Treinen.  Things did not go as smoothly for him.  A leadoff BB and 4 straight singles scored 3.  The only out he recorded was when a batter singled and was thrown out at 2nd.  RHRP José Rodríguez relieved Robertson and got out of the inning. 

OKC tied it up in the 6th.  LF James Tibbs III doubled (28), moved to 2nd on a flyout, and scored when Kim hit a SF. 

The game went into extra innings.  LHRP Ronan Kopp relieved Rodríguez.  With the placed runner at 2nd, Kopp allowed a run scoring double.  The runner moved to 3rd on a sac bunt and scored on a WP. 

In the bottom of the 8th, DH Alex Freeland was the placed runner at 2nd.  He moved to 3rd on a groundout and scored on a second groundout.  But the Comets fell a run short. 

·      Alex Freeland – 2-4, 1 run, double (4)

·      Ryan Fitzgerald – 2-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, triple (5)

·      Noah Miller – 2-3, 1 RBI

·      Double – James Tibbs III (28) 

Box Score 

OKC Comets 6 – El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego) 0 – 7 innings – Game 2 

OKC jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd.  LF Ryan Fitzgerald and CF Hyeseong Kim both singled.  1B Matt Gorski reached 2nd on a throwing error with both Fitzgerald and Kim scoring.  Gorski moved to 3rd on a groundout and scored on SS Alex Freeland’s double (5). 

In the 3rd inning, RF Zach Ehrhard led off with a BB and scored on a 1-out 2-run HR from Fitzgerald (12).  

OKC picked up another in the 4th.  2B Austin Gauthier doubled (5) and scored on C Chadwick Tromp’s RBI single, giving OKC a 6-0 lead.  

RHSP Christian Romero was not pretty, but he did complete 4.0 scoreless innings, with 5 hits and a BB.  RHRP Bobby Miller relieved Romero and pitched a scoreless 5th and 6th inning. 

Miller retired the side in order in the 7th, with the final 2 outs recorded by a K.  In 3.0 innings, Miller allowed 1 single and struck out 5 and got the win. 

·      Ryan Fitzgerald – 2-3, 2 runs, 2 RBI

·      Hyeseong Kim – 2-3, 1 run, triple (3)

·      Doubles – Alex Freeland (5), Austin Gauthier (9) 

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 8 – Midland RockHounds (As) 4 

The Drillers scored 6 runs in the first five innings on four HRs.  However, in the 2nd, Tulsa got a pair of walks to DH Chris Newell and 3B Logan Wagner, and Newell scored on C Frank Rodriguez’s RBI single.     

In the 3rd, 1B Joe Vetrano led off and hit a solo HR (10).  RF Kole Myers drew a BB, and LF Josue De Paula slugged a 2-run HR (26).  This was his 5th HR in last 9 games. 

In the 4th, Wagner hit a solo HR (2).  In the 5th, 2B Jake Gelof hit a no doubter solo HR (27), and Tulsa had a 6-0 lead. 

RHSP Aidan Foeller completed 4.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed 1 hit, walked 4, and struck out 3. 

LHRP Christian Suarez relieved Foeller in the 5th.  He promptly walked the first two batters. A force out put runners on the corners.  Suarez unleashed a WP for the first RockHound run to score.  A double scored the 2nd run.  A ground ball moved the runner to 3rd, and a 2nd WP scored the third run.  Common story line: Relief pitching is a problem for the affiliates. 

RHRP Cam Day relieved Suarez.  After he struck out the first batter, 2 walks and 2 singles scored a run.  He got a force out at the plate and struck out the next batter for the 3rd out.  But Midland did get a run closer.

In the 8th, Newell led off with a double (6) and moved to 3rd on F9.  Wagner drew a BB, and with 2 outs, Vetrano hit a 2-run double (9).  

Tulsa got some excellent relief work over the last three innings.  RHRP Kelvin Ramirez pitched 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit, and 1 walk, but struck out 4.  RHRP Jacob Kmatz struck out the side on 13 pitches to end the game. 

·      Chris Newell – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, double (6)

·      Logan Wagner – 2-2, 2 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, HR (2)

·      Frank Rodriguez – 2-4, 1 RBI

·      Joe Vetrano – 2-4, 1 run, 3 RBI, double (9), HR (10)

·      Josue De Paula – 1-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (26)

·      Jake Gelof – 1-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (27) 

Box Score 

Great Lakes Loons 2 – Lansing Lugnuts (As) 0 

This was a delayed start due to rain.  The Loons scored a run in the 1st.  RF Eduardo Quintero led off with a single and moved to 2nd when SS Emil Morales followed with a single.  Both runners pulled off a double steal.  This was Quintero’s 43rd SB.  Quintero scored on a groundout for a 1-0 lead. 

RHSP Will Gagnon started and completed 4.2 IP.  He got the 1st two batters in the 5th but reached his magic pitch count number of 65 and was lifted for RHRP Seamus Barrett, who entered and struck out the final batter of the inning. 

In the bottom of the frame, Quintero led off with a BB and moved to 2nd on Morales’ single.  Quintero moved to 3rd on a GIDP and scored on a WP. 

Barrett got the first two batters he faced in the 6th, and LHRP Maddux Bruns relieved him.  Bruns struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning.  Bruns gave up a pair of singles in the 7th inning, but no runs. 

RHRP Nicolas Cruz pitched a clean 8th inning.  In the 9th inning, Cruz got two quick strikeouts and then allowed a single.  The runner was promptly erased on a caught stealing, and Cruz preserved the shutout for his 2nd save.  

Morales was the only Loons player to get 2 hits, and 1B Eduardo Guerrero’s double (12) was the only XBH.  

Box Score 

Ontario Tower Buzzers 13 – Stockton Ports (As) 9 

Ontario put three on the board in the 1st inning.  SS Kellon Lindsey drew a BB.  With 1 out, Lindsey stole 2B.  2B Joendry Vargas walked.  With 2 outs, 3B Caleb Johnson hit a 3-run HR (3). 

Ontario increased the lead in the 3rd.  Vargas reached base on a fielding error.  LF Ching-Hsien Ko singled.  Johnson hit a RBI single to score Vargas, and Ko moved to 2nd.  C Francisco Espinoza walked to load the bases.  DH Bryan Gonzalez Garcia (BGG) doubled to score Ko and Johnson.  CF Abel Lorenzo hit a 2-run single for an 8-0 lead. 

RHSP Jack O’Connor pitched the first two scoreless frames, striking out the side in the 1st. O’Connor then struck out the 1st two in the 2nd before giving up a double.  He got the final out and entered the 3rd with a 8-0 lead. 

In the 3rd, O’Connor walked 2 and struck out 2 of the first 4 batters.  He then surrendered a 2-run double, that was followed by another run scoring double. 

In the 5th, BGG walked followed by a single from Lorenzo, with BGG moving to 3rd.  With one out, Lorenzo stole 2nd and BGG scored on a C throwing error.  RF Javier Herrera singled to score Lorenzo. 

After O’Connor pitched a clean 4th inning.  RHRP Dailoui Abad relieved O’Connor in the 5th.  He gave up a single but got 2 quick outs.  That was followed by a single and a 2-run double. 

In the Ontario 6th, 1B Oswaldo Osorio hit a solo HR (11). 

RHRP Jose Vasquez relieved Abad in the 6th.  He gave up a single and a 1-out BB.  The runners pulled off a double steal before Vasquez got the 2nd out.  He then gave up a 2-run single and a BB before being relieved by RHRP Jholbran Herder, who got the final out.  

The scoring continued into the 7th.  Lindsey drew a 1-out BB and moved to 2nd on Herrera’s single.  The duo pulled off a double steal on a K.  With 2 outs, Ko tripled (5) scoring both Lindsey and Herrera. 

Herder trotted back out to the mound in the 7th.  He opened with a walk and single.  A forceout put runners on the corner, and a SF brought a run home.  Herder gave up a walk and SB before recording the final out. 

RHRP Brady Pendley entered to pitch the 8th. He was the 4th reliever, and just like the other three he had to give up a run.  He walked the first batter he faced, and after a force out, the next batter singled putting runners on the corners.  A SF brought 1 home. 

Ontario failed to score in the 9th.  RHRP Jecsua Liborius was ushered in to close out the game.  He loaded the bases with 2 outs, but struck out the final batter on the 7th pitch to close out the win.  

·      Javier Herrera – 2-6, 1 run, 1 RBI

·      Ching-Hsien Ko – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI

·      Caleb Johnson – 2-5, 2 runs, 4 RBI, HR (3)

·      Abel Lorenzo – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run,2 RBI

·      Oswaldo Osorio – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (11)

·      Doubles – Francisco Espinoza (4), Bryan Gonzalez Garcia (6) 

https://x.com/dodgerslite/status/2092816389790896501?s=2 

Box Score