​All four Dodgers affiliates are at home this week. The two in Oklahoma picked up wins on Friday. Ryan Ward homered in his first game back with Oklahoma City on June 30 after being optioned, but he had no extra-base hits in his first seven July games. He made up for that on Friday with a home run and two doubles, and he also singled, tying his season best with four hits.
In the Comets’ game, eight extra-base hits fueled a home romp over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres), with Ward contributing three of those eight. Alek Thomas also homered, his third in three games. Jack Suwinski doubled twice and drove in four runs, while Austin Gauthier and Ryan Fitzgerald also doubled. Christian Romero struck out five while allowing a run in 5 1/3 innings, the lone run coming on a solo homer. Ryder Ryan came within one out of a three-inning save but was pulled after allowing three ninth-inning runs with two outs; Jerming Rosario entered with a five-run lead, bases loaded and the tying run on deck, and struck out Bryce Johnson to earn a save of the more traditional variety.
Josue De Paula had three hits, including an RBI double during the Drillers’ four-run rally that gave them the lead for good in a victory over the Springfield Cardinals. Zyhir Hope delivered the game-tying two-run single in that seventh inning and also walked, stole a base. Kendall George singled twice, walked, stole two bases, and scored twice. After missing a month with a knee injury and five tune-up games with Class-A Ontario, George, in his first four games back with Tulsa, has eight hits in 16 at-bats plus three walks and three stolen bases. Evan Shaw pitched three scoreless, hitless innings in relief with four strikeouts to earn the win.
Two runs in the eighth inning doomed the Loons in a loss to the Dayton Dragons (Reds). Robby Porco pitched a scoreless seventh but walked two with one out in the eighth before exiting; both walks scored on a single off Justin Chambers. One day after his 20th birthday, Chase Harlan hit his third home run and sixth extra-base hit in 13 games since being promoted to Great Lakes. Shortstop Emil Morales, who doesn’t turn 20 until September, doubled, singled, and drove in a pair. Morales, in four games in this series, has 10 hits, including five extra-base hits, and seven RBIs. Brooks Auger yielded a pair of home runs for a second straight start after not allowing any long balls in his first 10 starts, covering 37 innings with 153 batters faced. He gave up four runs on Friday but also struck out eight, giving him 66 strikeouts and 20 walks in 46 1/3 innings this season, a 34.2-percent strikeout rate.
Tower Buzzers’ pitching allowed crooked numbers in four different innings in a blowout loss to Inland Empire (Mariners). The bulk of the scoring came against Marco Estrada.