James Tibbs III hits a pair of homers in win

It was a day of high-scoring wins across the three highest levels of the Dodgers minor league system and a blowout loss for the Tower Buzzers.

Player of the Day

It had been a while since the name of James Tibbs III was mentioned in the running for Player of the Day. Yet here he is once again, the standout player in the Comets’ blowout win at home, hitting two home runs.

Tibbs hadn’t hit multiple long shots in the same game since the end of May, and with his four RBI, the corner outfielder moved to a team-leading 88 on the season.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

In one game, James Tibbs III hit more home runs (2) than he had since the start of July, commanding a great Comets effort in a 9-to-3 win over the Isotopes. Also pitching in on the power department, Zach Ehrhard and Ryan Ward both left the yard in this win.

Settling in nicely after nearly two years away from the mound, Gavin Stone was terrific, with a solo homer being the only hit he allowed in three innings of work, punching out five. Kyle Hurt and Ben Casparius also had scoreless appearances, with the former earning the win.

Double-A Tulsa

Capitalizing on big rallies of seven and four runs in the third and sixth innings, respectively, the Drillers beat the Travelers 11 to 8 despite getting out-homered two to nothing. Elijah Hainline was a key factor in both of those innings, driving in three runs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth.

Tulsa starter Zach Root’s six earned runs allowed were the most he has had all season long, coughing up a 7-1 lead alongside reliever Myles Caba. However, Carson Hobbs, Kelvin Ramirez, and Lucas Wepf were able to shut things down in the backend of the bullpen with a combined 5.1 scoreless innings to give the offense enough time to retake the lead.

High-A Great Lakes

Scoring seven of their eight runs in the first two innings, the Loons built enough of a cushion early on to earn the win over the Cubs. Leadoff hitter Charles Davalan started things off with a solo shot and added another one in the fourth, the only two homers that the Loons hit.

Adjusting well to his time in High-A, Mairo Martinus was another key performer offensively with a pair of doubles—the only Loons player with multiple RBI besides Davalan. Across two levels this season, Martinus has a .890 OPS in 102 games.

The Cubs slowly but surely built a comeback effort against Sterling Patick and Justin Chambers, but Davis Chastain got the job done in the ninth to earn the save, his fifth of the season.

Single-A Ontario

When your leadoff hitter strikes out three times in just four at-bats, that’s probably a sign of a struggling offensive effort, such as it was in the Tower Buzzers’ 10-2 loss against the Quakes. Ontario’s offense was dominated by starter Derek Clark, who struck out 12 through seven innings of two-run ball.

Take the contributions of Brayan Vergara to close the game as well, and the Tower Buzzers struck out 17 times. On a positive note, though, Joendry Vargas left the yard for his 10th homer of the season; no surprise it was a solo shot given the Tower Buzzers’ offensive struggles in this one.

Transactions

The Loons activated catcher Anson Aroz off the injured list and placed right-hander Hyun-Seok Jang on the IL. The Tower Buzzers activated right-hander Mason Estrada off the IL. The Dodgers sent righties Jonathan Hernández and Landon Knack to Triple-A, and the Comets were also assigned catcher Chadwick Tromp.

Thursday’s scores

• Oklahoma City 9, Albuquerque 3
• Tulsa 11, Arkansas 8
• Great Lakes 8, South Bend 6
• Rancho Cucamonga 10, Ontario 2

Friday’s schedule

• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Isaac Ayon) vs. South Bend (Alfredo Romero)
• 5:00 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Luke Fox) vs. Arkansas (Kade Anderson)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Tyler Glasnow) vs. Albuquerque (Mason Adams)
• 6:30 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at Rancho Cucamonga (Mikey Cascino)