Winning is Better Than Losing
I am very adept at discerning the obvious immediately. With last night’s win over the Midgets, the Dodgers slipped back into first place in the NL West with the 3rd best record in the National League and the 5th best in all of baseball. However, anything less than 162-0 is…
I am very adept at discerning the obvious immediately. With last night’s win over the Midgets, the Dodgers slipped back into first place in the NL West with the 3rd best record in the National League and the 5th best in all of baseball. However, anything less than 162-0 is considered a failure by some. Oh, well. Tonight, they drive to Anaheim and play the pathetic Angels, who are the worst team in baseball with an 18-28 record. The Dodgers will probably get swept! I am kidding, but this is baseball, where anything can happen.
I bought tickets to the Great Lakes Loons at the Dayton Dragons on May 28th in Dayton, Ohio, which is a two-hour drive from my house. I hope they don’t start call-ups before then. I’m looking forward to seeing Sirota, Wagner, Davalan, Perez, Quintero, and company. My son and son-in-law are going too. My SIL will take lots of photos. I have to get a Frisch’s Big Boy on the way – they don’t have any around Indy.
For the most part, I eat very healthy food, but a guy has to have a Big Boy on occasion. I had planned to see the Loons in Ft. Wayne at the end of July, but I was informed by my wife that I was going to London with her and the family. So, I settled on the Dayton Dragons. They’re a Reds farm team.
At any rate, the Dodgers scored 5 runs last night. Teoscar is off life support. Sheehan improved until one bad or unlucky hit. It was nice to see him go six, and the bullpen was lights out with Scotty getting the save. Onward and upward!
P.S. I edited the Dodger site links on the right side of the Homepage and took off the inactive sites. I have some more to add, but coding is not my thing, although AI did this job OK.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORT by Jeff
OKC Comets 12 – Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 10
OKC raced out to a 12-3 lead until mid-7. OKC had to hang on after 7 Isotope runners crossed the plate the last 2 innings.
RHSP Christian Romero kept Albuquerque off the board for the first four innings. In the 5th, he walked the leadoff hitter, who stole 2nd, and scored on a single. Romero retired the side in order in the 6th, and he was done for the night. In 6.0 innings in Albuquerque, Romero allowed 1 run on 3 hits, 3 BB, and 4 K. That is a good outing.
OKC scored a run in the 1st. 1B Ryan Ward had an infield single and moved to 2nd on the errant throw. Ward scored on LF Ryan Fitzgerald single.
In the 3rd, SS Noah Miller doubled (5) and CF Zach Ehrhard and DH James Tibbs III both walked to load the bases. Miller scored on Ward’s sac fly.
After the Isotopes scored to tighten the score to 2-1, OKC got two more in the 6th. With 2 outs, Miller singled and scored on Ehrhard’s double (8). Ehrhard scored on 3B Alex Freeland’s single.
Going into the 7th, OKC led 4-1. There was a total of 17 runs scored in the last three innings. In the top of the 7th, RF Ryan Fitzgerald hit a one-out double (2). Fitzgerald moved to 3rd on Eliézer Alfonzo’s single. 2B Austin Gauthier (6) hit a ground rule double to score Fitzgerald. Ehrhard hit his 2nd double of the game (9) to score 2 more. Freeland knocked in Ehrhard for the 2nd time for an 8-1 lead.
LHRP Garrett McDaniels came in to relieve in the 7th. A 1-out triple, back to back singles, a WP, a sac fly, and Albuquerque scored 2.
In the 8th, Ryan and Tyler Fitzgerald drew inning opening BB. Alfonzo doubled with Ryan scoring and Tyler moving to 3rd. Tyler scored on a WP and Alfonzo moved to 3rd. Gauthier drew a walk and Alfonzo scored on a Miller sac fly. With two outs, Freeland, Tibbs III, and Ward each walked to allow Gauthier to score for a 12-3 lead.
With LHRP Jake Eder in relief in the 8th, a HBP, back to back doubles, a BB, ground out, and 2 run single and the Isotopes brought in 4 before RHRP Paul Gervase entered to get the final two outs.
With Gervase back on the mound, 2 singles and a 3-run HR brought Albuquerque was within 2 at 12-10. But Gervase got the final 3 outs to secure the win.
For OKC every batter got at least 1 hit, and 7 had 2. Every batter reached 1st at least twice. Hitting star for the night… Eliézer Alfonzo.
- Eliézer Alfonzo – 4-6, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (5)
- Alex Freeland – 2-5, 1 BB, 2 RBI
- James Yibbs III – 2-4, 2 BB
- Ryan Fitzgerald – 2-5, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Tyler Fitzgerald – 2-4, 2 BB, 2 runs, double (2)
- Noah Miller – 2-4, 2 runs, 1 RBO, 1 Sac Fly, double (5)
- Zach Ehrhard – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 2 doubles (9)
Springfield Cardinals 6 – Tulsa Drillers 2
Springfield scored 1 run in each of the 2nd thru 5th innings, all off LHSP Wyatt Crowell. In 4.1 IP, Crowell allowed the 4 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, including 1 HR, 4 BB and 6 K.
Tulsa got one back in the 4th. SS Elijah Hainline hit a one out single and stole 2nd, and proceeded to 3B on the catcher’s throwing error. C Griffin Lockwood-Powell had an RBI single.
Tulsa got one more in the 5th. CF Kendall George hit a leadoff double (8), went to 3rd on RF Josue De Paula’s F7, and scored on 3B Kyle Nevin’s sac fly.
With RHRP Kelvin Ramirez on the hill, Springfield scored 2 more in the 7th. Two BB, a WP, and a 2 run single.
RHRP Nick Robertson was not perfect in this one. He did allow a walk and single, but struck out 3 more. For the season, Nick has appeared in 11 games and has not allowed a run. He has allowed 3 hits, 4 BB, and 20 K. Why is he still in AA
RHRP Christian Ruebeck allowed a run in the 9th.
The last 12 Tulsa batters were retired by Springfield.
Kendall George was the only Tulsa hitter with 2 hits, including a double (8). Josue De Paula also had a double (7).
Great Lakes Loons 3 – West Michigan Whitecaps 2
LHSP Zach Root led three GL pitchers for 7.0 shutout innings. Root allowed 1 hit,1 BB with 4K. He threw 41 pitches, 25 for strikes. LHRP Matt Lanzendorfer followed with 3.1 IP. He allowed one hit, one BB, and registered 1 K. LHRP Justin Chambers retired the side in order in the 7th with 2 K.
GL scored their run in the 5th. With 2 outs, SS Jose Izarra singled. CF Charles Davalan walked. A WP put runners on 2nd and 3rd. RF Mike Sirota singled to score Izarra.
Great Lakes took the 1-0 lead into the 9th. RHRP Nicolas Cruz went to the mound for his 3rd inning. There was a single, a passed ball, and a F8 moved the runner to 3rd. He scored on a second single in the inning for an unearned run to tie the score.
In the 10th, with a runner on 2nd, a ground ball to Cruz who got the out at 1st and the runner moved up to 3rd. He scored the go-ahead run on a sac fly.
But Great Lakes came back to score a pair in the bottom of the 10th for the win. With C Gio Cueto the placed runner at 2nd, SS Jose Izarra hit an infield single with Cueto moving to 3B. Izarra stole 2B, and Sirota drew a BB to load the bases. LF Eduardo Quintero also walked to force in the tying run. On the 2nd pitch to DH Jose Meza, the pitcher unleased a wild pitch, and Izarra came home with the walkoff win.
Izarra had 2 hits and Sirota had a hit and 2 BB.
Ontario Tower Buzzers 8 – San Jose Giants 4
Three multi run innings in this one. Two by Ontario (3 and 5) and one by San Jose (4).
San Jose jumped out to a 4-0 lead off RHSP Brady Smith and RHRP Wuillians Herrera. Smith kept San Jose scoreless for the 1st two innings. In the 3rd, a leadoff double and RBI single scored the first run of the game. Smith retired the next two batters, before Herrera came in with a runner on 1st. The first two batters walked and a run scoring double.
The next batter reached on E6 and a 3rd run scored. The 4th run came home on a WP.
In the 4th, after the first two batters struck out, CF Brendan Tunink was HBP, and 3B Chase Harlan drew a walk. RF Ching-Hsien Ko followed with a 3-run HR (7).
The score remained 4-3 to the 8th. In the 8th, DH Easton Shelton singled to lead off the inning. LF AJ Soldra followed with a single. 1B Mairo Martinus was HBP to load the bases. SS Emil Morales hit a 2-run single to give Ontario a 5-4 lead, with Martinus moving to 3B. With one out, Martinus scored on a Harlan sac fly. 4 BB and 2 additional runs give Ontario an 8-4 lead going into the 9th.
After 5.0 shutout IP by RHRP Luis Carias, on 3 hits, and 6 K, RHRP Robby Porco pitched a scoreless 9th. He did walk one, but struck out 3.
Ontario had a total of 5 hits, and no Ontario hitter had more than 1 hit. Martinus’ 7th double and Ko’s 7th HR were the only XBH.
ACL Guardians 5 – ACL Dodgers 1
The Dodgers scored 1 unearned run on 3 hits, 2 by catcher Abel Lorenzo.
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Discussion (65)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Not even close. This is much ado about nothing….
I did not get the SNLA feed up here in Northern California. MLB TV blocks out all Giants and A’s games, home and away. So I turned on the Giants TV station, muted the sound, and listened to Tim Neverett and Rick Monday. It was not as drawn out, but Monday did say that the ball takes funny bounces off those side walls, so it is important for the LF to play deep enough do be able to come up on the crazy bounces and keep it in front. Also if it does go by, the run to the wall isn’t nearly as long. It looked like Teo tried to attack it from the side gather it in to make a throw to 2nd. As Monday said, it is better to just accept the double rather than try to gather it in to make a play at 2nd. There isn’t a dead horse that Stephen Nelson has not kicked, and Orel has never played LF at Dodger Stadium or anywhere else. Monday acknowledged that it was a mistake byTeo , learn from it, and move on.
Interesting article in the The Athletic today about JT. He’s playing in the Mexican League because no MLB team would even offer him a non-roster invite to ST. Granted, the competition isn’t quite up to MLB standards but he’s OPSing over 1.000 after a month. Here’s the link for those of you who subscribe: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7280830/2026/05/15/justin-turner-mexican-league-tijuana-toros/
Historically, the Mexican League is a very hitter-friendly environment, sort of baseball’s version of pinball with altitude, smaller parks, thin air, and uneven pitching depth all stirring the soup. So a 1.000 OPS there does not translate to a 1.000 MLB OPS. For a veteran like Justin Turner, scouts and projection systems would probably haircut it pretty aggressively. Mexican League pitching is generally below MLB and Triple-A overall, and many parks are extreme hitter environments. It’s not surprising that an older former MLB hitter would put up inflated offensive numbers there, because breaking ball quality and velocity depth are much lower than MLB. Robinson Canó, at age 42 hit .372/.426/.573 with a .999 OPS for the Diablos Rojos del México. JT must really love to play.
Listen to his Wifes Podcast they talk about it, he is on it. Easy commute from SD….good for him,. Would love to see him back in LA in some capacity.
This is nothing compared to Bauer. You cannot hit women. It’s barely analogous to Mike Vick, people love dogs, people kill chickens. More important, by magnitudes is this draft piece by Longenhagen: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48771509/2026-mlb-draft-buzz-scouting-reports-intel-analysis
Sorry to post my lousy joke twice. Lately it’s not unusual for my computer to act oddly when I attempt to post. Occasionally it goes to a screen that tells me i’m not connected to the internet. When I log back in, sometimes the post made it through and other times it doesn’t. If I repost it, like this time, it can show up twice. Much ado for a poor attempt at humor.
He’s the one who put himself in that position.
Same, here, I don’t believe anything they say.
About the size of Grogu, I would guess.
Alfonso. Age 26, only 155 lbs. Seems to be doing okay. Fitzgerald must be really fast he was covering both RF and LF yesterday and got 4 hits. I still prefer Freeland over Kim but that is a moot point when Edman gets off the limp list. I root for the Giants whenever Dodgers are eliminated. I’m not a Giant hater.
Dodgers could void his ugly contract. Beauty being in the eyes of the beholder.
Another reason why I really like Sheehan.
No comments on Rojas’ throw to home?
Even for chickens? does anyone find a chicken beautiful?
Phil, I agree on Rushing. The catcher should be calming the pitcher and not the other way around.
It figures our humor would get posted twice. I was thinking about how big the chickens had to be.
Grilled maybe.
My statement of “competition isn’t quite up to MLB standards” was said tongue in cheek. Just glad that at his age he’s able to hit off of any competition whatsoever. I wish for him a place to play as long as he wants to, but then, it’s back to the Dodger organization. He would be a very valuable asset, same as Jason Heyward whom we brought back this week.
no, that’s the kind of chicken I’m talking about! Ray’s howling! The Costco roasted chicken! Zankou!
Not according to the reports, I have read. It is a big deal in Puerto Rico, and it is against the law.
Diaz story is now in the New York Post, so someone thinks it is news.
After an ice-cold start, Jack Suwinski, is doing almost as well as Tibbs III at OKC. He is hitting .292 with 9 homers, 29 driven in. His OBP and OPS are both higher than Tibbs. He also has fewer Ks, and 2 more RBIs than Tibbs III. Angel pitcher tonight against Snell is Kochanowicz. Huh? We’ll just call him, Alphabet. Rushing, Miggy, Tucker, Teo and Espinal have never faced him before. Call has 4 Abs against him, Freddie and Pages 3 each.
Don’t forget Beltran
Do they play trumpets when his chickens come out to fight?