Last night’s LAD game does warrant a post of it’s own. However, three of the four affiliates were victorious, while the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes lose for the first time in 2025. Some outstanding hitting by OKC hitters and Great Lakes hitters. Also, some excellent pitching by Tulsa.
MiLB GAME SUMMARIES
I do not have the time to do a detailed review of each affiliate game. So I am going to hit highlights, and things that interest me in the games. I can be more detailed in early games Like today’s OKC game), but sometimes the games are not worthy of that. I also do not plan on being negative on any of the players, even if they deserve it.
I will continue to include the Box Score, so if anyone wants to see inning by inning details, it is available.
OKC Comets 16 – Round Rock Express (Texas) 3
OKC scored 16 runs on 17 hits (9 XBH), with 6 SB
Nick Frasso started the game for OKC and finished 3.0 innings with 50 pitches. This is an increase in both areas over his first two games. He is being slowly ramped up after last year’s surgery. AF/BG is going to be very careful with him. He is 26 years old, and he is a good (not elite) prospect. Probably in the Ross Stripling/Mitch White role. That is a legit MLB role.
His numbers on the game are less relevant than the ramp up. Nevertheless in his 3.0 IP, Nick allowed 1 run on 3 hits (HR), 1 BB, and 2 K.
Sam Carlson returned to his usual quality relief appearance. He completed 2.0 scoreless innings allowing 1 hit and 2 walks, while striking out 4.
Ryan Sublette followed Carlson and completed 1.1 scoreless innings. He left in the 7th with one out and with a runner on 1B (via BB). Overall, 1.1 scoreless IP, 2 hits, 2 BB, and 2 K.
Joe Jacques relieved Sublette and got out of the 7th. Jacques completed 2.0 IP, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. He did have 2 K. Julian Fernandez relieved Jacques with one out in the 9th and one runner on. He escaped the inning without allowing the runner to score. He did have 1 K.
The big offensive star for the day was Alex Freeland. He was 3-5 with a HBP. He scored 1 run and knocked in 6 runs. He hit a double (3), HR (1) and stole 2 bases. For the first 10 games, Alex is hitting .333/.420/.476/.896. In addition to his offense, Freeland has been flawless in the field. He has not committed an error in 33 chances at SS and zero errors in 10 chances at 3B.
Hyeseong Kim was 3-6 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. He had a double (3) and two SB (4). On the year, Kim is batting .308/.386/.487/.873. In 15 chances at SS, he committed 2 errors (.867 fielding %).
But Ryan Ward continues to pound the ball. For this game he was 3-4 with 2 BB, 2 runs, and 1 RBI. He hit a double (4) and HR (1). For the year, he is hitting .421/.477/.605/1.082.
Michael Chavis was 3-6, scoring 2 runs with 2 RBI. Chavis also had a double (3) and HR (3).
Kody Hoese was 2-3 with 3 BB. He scored 2 runs and knocked in 1.
Other Comets with extra base hits: Eddie Rosario – double (4) and James Outman – HR (1).
Tulsa Drillers 1 – Arkansas Travelers (Seattle) 0
This was an outstanding pitcher’s duel. Both teams had 4 singles each. Tulsa received 4 walks, while Arkansas did not receive a free pass. The lone score occurred in the 2nd inning when GLP drew an inning opening BB. José Ramos forced GLP at 2nd but reached 1B. John Rhodes singled putting runners on 1st and 2nd. After the second out, Bubba Alleyne singled home Ramos for what would turn out to be the only run of the game.
Jerming Rosario started for Tulsa and completed 5.0 shutout innings. He allowed 2 hits and struck out 7. He threw 69 pitches (50 strikes).
Rosario was followed by three relievers, Christian Suarez, Jose Rodriguez, and Ronan Kopp finished up for his 1st save of the year. Kopp had a perfect inning with 2 Ks.
The four Drillers pitchers combined for 0 walks and 14 strikeouts.
Great Lakes Loons 10 – Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 5
Every hitter in the Loons lineup had at least 1 hit. Two hitters had 3 hits, while 2 others had 2 hits.
The first four batters for the Loons reached base with three scoring. Kendall George and Josue De Paula both singled to start the game. Zyhir Hope doubled both home, and Logan Wagner followed with a single to score Hope, and the Loons had a 3-0 lead after 4 batters.
Logan Wagner (3B) was the key batter for the evening. He went 3-5, scoring 1 run and knocking in 3. He clubbed his 1st HR of the season.
Nelson Quiroz (C) also had a 3-5 night. He scored a run and had 2 RBI.
Josue De Paula (LF) went 2-4 with a BB, and scored 3 runs. De Paula hit his 1st triple of the season.
Zyhir Hope (RF) was 2-5 slugging his 1st double. He scored 2 runs with 3 runs batted in.
Starting pitcher for Great Lakes was 22 year old RHP, Christian Romero, from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
26 year old RHRP, Livan Reinoso, was the 4th of 4 Loons relievers. He allowed one single and struck out 3 to end the game.
Stockton Ports (Seattle) 6 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2
The Stockton Ports halted Rancho’s season-opening win streak, as they knocked off the Quakes on Tuesday night 6-2.
In winning their home opener, the Ports handed Rancho their first loss in four games in 2025.
Stockton outfielder Pedro Pineda hit a pair of homers, his second, a tie-breaking two-run shot that gave the Ports the lead for good against Christian Zazueta (0-1).
Rancho’s offense had a tough time getting going on Tuesday, as Stockton starter Jose Dicochea (1-0) was solid through five innings. His lone blemish was a solo shot off the bat of Rancho’s Eduardo Quintero, his first homer of the year, which temporarily tied the game at 1-1 in the third.
2023 9th round RHP, Ryan Brown, was making his professional debut. In 1.2 IP, he did not allow a run or hit. He did walk one, but struck out 4.
The Quakes (3-1) will look to bounce back on Wednesday, sending 19 year old RHP Samuel Sanchez to the mound in his 2025 debut.
To be sure, the Dodger game was forgettable. I turned it off after the third inning and decided to watch 1923. Pitching is supposed to be the strength of this team, hasn’t been the case the last three games. 8 runs, 6 runs, 8 runs. Only walked 3 today, but Wrobo hung 2 pitches, and it cost him 5 runs off the bat of Wood. Need to win tomorrow with Knack on the bump. 15 Ks? Bottom of the lineup had 11 of those. The bench players hitting is pathetic. Kike is at .111, Rojas .125, Barnes .000, Taylor .143. Does not help much that two starters, Muncy and Pages are at .190 and .162 respectively.
Muncy is pressing, uncharacteristically chasing. Kiké is a blind squirrel up there, running into one on occasion. Don’t know what to say about Taylor but I don’t expect anything out of him this year. Will his contract keep him here?
Was surprised to see an .867 fielding % out Kim. Assuming it will get better.
We knew this starting staff would be both talented and fragile. But to see back to back 4A pitchers this early is a surprise to me. Snell could be out for months. Everyone else had better start throwing strikes if they expect to go 6. I don’t see any of them averaging over 5.1.
Obviously the offense misses Freddie. Is this a sign? He is 35, will be 36 by the playoffs.
Did you see the ending of 1923 Bear?
Kim’s fielding stat is based on a small sample. And fielding stats in general kind of suck because the percentage doesn’t account for range. A routine fly ball and a spectacular HR robbery get the same grade. A competent fielder with little range doesn’t make many errors.
As for Freddie…. He seemed very durable for many years, but age may be catching up on him. I hope he has a few good years left, of course. Right now, Rushing would be the heir apparent.
Next season, Kim and Freeland should be ready to replace Taylor and Rojas–and I hope Rushing will be ready to replace Barnes.
Since he has two years left on his deal after this season, we better hope he stays healthy because as of right now, there is no real replacement in the organization for him.
Yes, I did. I watched four episodes.
Muncy needs to go away as in hit it away to left center.
Forgettable?? More like nauseating. This road trip has been very disappointing with the defensive miscues and pitching disasters.
Good description. It was a mess
Jeff,
OKC is looking pretty impressive with statlines from Kim, Ward, Freeland, and Rosario. It would take huge chutzpah from AF to bring up Freeland and Ward, moving Mookie either back to RF or 2B and Ward bumping Kike at 1B. They seem to be playing MLB ball in OKC.
Would it also be too much of a stretch to bring Kim into 2B and Rosario to be our utility guys at least for awhile. I never thought we saw enough of what Rosario is capable of. They can’t be worse than what we’ve got now.
Going back to our starting pitching rotation, what the heck happened to the best staff in baseball? Again? Injuries, meltdowns, walkathons, and that’s after 2 previous seasons of woes. Our vaunted depth seems to have been an illusion, so far. No one, including Yamamoto is looking like an Ace. This is one of the sketchiest starts to a season that I can remember. I’m not ready to chalk it up to weather. It’s cold in Japan and many players have lived and played in cold weather areas. No excuses. Of course, injury is an excuse, and with Freddie sidelined, our vaunted tandem has got a hole in it. Fill it with a viable replacement!
One thing the Dodgers aren’t going to do is blow up a $400m juggernaut because of an early season road trip.
But they are taking notes and making contingency plans.
Agree wholeheartedly and augment:
One thing the Dodgers aren’t going to do is blow up a juggernaut because of a 9~4 season start.
The Rosario in OKC, Eddie, is strictly an outfielder, while UT man Amed Rosario is now playing for another major league team. And Jerming Rosario is a pitcher.
And Rosario Dawson is an actress.
Amed is with DC.
Thanks. My mistake on Rosario. Does Dawson play in the outfield?
A lot of dead bats at the moment. Kike, Pages, Barnes, CT3, Muncy, Rojas. That is the entire bench BTW plus 2 starters. Almost half of our hitters appear to be still in hibernation.
Started pitching not as good as advertised too. Still 9-4 and a 112-win pace. Not worried yet.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rec
We were the greatest team in baseball history just 5 games ago.
I’ll never forget 4/4/25
I didn’t see you at my birthday party
We might be seeing the downside of a “six man rotation”. Normally a team wouldn’t need 2 replacements from AAA in a row. Plus if the starters pitched every 5th day they might have more of a rhythm.
If a decision was made to bring up Freeland to play ss would that move Mookie to 2nd and Edman to cf or could he replace or platoon w Max? But what if they brought up both Freeland and Kim?
Nothing that drastic is bound to happen.
Really? You think Pages is going to play cf all season? I don’t. If Freeland and or Kim keep hitting one or both will be brought up. Drastic? A billion dollars of payroll is drastic,and now they won’t waste it.
Any video of Quintero’s HR?
Well, the last three games have not been very entertaining. The poor offense from the bottom of the order and pitching injuries is the same scenario at the start of last season. It’s been said that a valid evaluation of a player after 100 ABs to start the season. So, by the end of April that might be a good time to see where things stand for the position players. And, to see which pitchers can avoid the IL. One down already.
I noticed that Ohtani has 4 HR and only 5 RBI. This reflects the poor and almost nonexistent offense from the 6-9 hitters. Kiki is never on base because he only hits HRs. He has become the first “true two outcome hitter” with strikeouts or HRs.
Let’s see how the rest of the month goes. Freddie’s return can’t happen soon enough. The awesome “depth” that the Dodgers apparently have has, so far, been an illusion.
Carry on
I am still of the mind that Ohtani should be hitting 3rd or second. Let Betts leadoff. His best numbers come in that slot.
I agree.
Especially now with the 6-9 slots in the order not producing squat.
4 HRs and only 5 RBI for Shohei?
That’s a crazy stat. Yeah, the bottom of the order needs to get on base.
The other day Kim was getting hugs in the dugout and rumors were flying that he was being called up…
Well, it would be nice to have some clarification. Did Kim’s wife give birth to twins or something?
I am not very concerned about Mookie’s defense at SS. Not yet, at least.
But if the decision is made to move Mookie to 2B, I’d love to see what Alex Freeland could do. Edman and Rojas can also play SS, of course…but maybe Freeland is ready. It would be nice is the Dodgers could get younger.
My expectation, though, is that we’ll see Kim before we see Freeland. Kim seems to be adjusting.
And even if his defense at SS is subpar, Mookie could be stubborn…
I
Kim has a three year 12-million-dollar deal. He is supposed to be some sort of a defensive whiz. But his bat is suspect at the MLB level. But there is a good chance he gets the first call.
It’s my opinion he needs to face ML pitching to learn how to hit ML pitching.
Best path for Kim to get that major league experience is to hit minor league pitching.
Now my head hurts
Short spring training for Betts due to illness and it’s cold. I’m good with him at short.
I’m eager for Freeland to be a Dodger.
Taylor qualifies for a full pension in July. Just saying…
It is a good bet Chris will be with the Dodgers until at least July.
Right now he is as good or better option than Pages and Kike. Which is alarming.
Right now, I would rather see Taylor in CF instead of Pages.
We probably should just trade for a CF. Pages, Miller & a prospect should fetch a major leaguer.
I did that already. Robert Jr is hitting 6th behind Muncy in the lineup. Loves playing for the Dodgers. OPSn .780 in his new circumstances. Had nothing to play for in Chicago. Has everything to play for here.
I don’t see anything happening until May. Most people believe you need to see 100 ABs before jumping to conclusions on a hitter. However, in Pages’ case, it his defense that is also a concern. He needs to learn CF in OKC.
With Betts at SS, defense has to be prioritized at 2B. Right now Edman is the guy, but it’s possible Kim could be the answer at some point.
Pages & Kim couldn’t be more different so it’s almost impossible to compare them.
Outman, to me, is purely insurance at this point. And I don’t think Ward can play CF so he’s not relevant.
I’m not sure what the answer is but my instinct is to leave Edman at 2B.
I am also not sure what the answer is, but, I know it is not Pages in CF.
Well then you know more than the Dodgers because he’s still playing there.
Today’s lineup = last chance?
I think they are starting to realize it.
I would have given Ward a shot at first base for a couple of weeks over Hernandez.
That’s an interesting thought. Would’ve taken a roster spot but why not.
I like this idea a lot.
Well you are just a fan and couldn’t possibly know the facts or even be allowed to speculate on who should be playing 1B. (Damn I tried to sound like you bear and it totally sucks. I guess that’s where the term “It sucks to be you” came from).
haha
Well my free sample of MLB Extra Innings has lapsed and I’m preparing to head north soon, so I missed the game. Thank God. Even the box score made me sick. 15 K’s?
I am perplexed at this point why Kike has become the everyday 1st sacker? As a utility guy he’s an obvious replacement for a game of 2 w/ Freddie down, but not for 10 games and counting.
Many teams would have a real first basemen in the wings. But with Freddie’s past durability, we don’t. And many franchises have a AAA or AA to bring up. We don’t. Ward? So, if Freddie is destined to be on the IL longer, it’s time for a move. That might be Max to 1st and Ward or Hoese to get a chance. Neither are on the 40 man, however.
Who else can play a decent 1st base and hit better then Kike is as the 1st baseman?
With all our reported organizational depth, it surprises me there isn’t another legit first baseman on the organization.
For my viewing pleasure, not to be confused with my stratigery, maybe bring up Freeland to play 3rd and try Muncy (groan) at first.
Seems they would’ve done that by now. I was in favor of Muncy moving to 1B and patching together a 3B rotation with Keekay, Rojas & Taylor.
Who do you trust more defensively, Muncy at 3b or Mookie at SS?
Mookie
Freddie is supposed to be reactivated this homestand. They are not calling up Freeland.
Knack, 31 pitches to get the first out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Looks like a bullpen game.
If some of the men have to pass out, well then they’ll pass out.
[Bluto–this is a Nick Nolte quote from “The Thin Red Line”]
I worked on that movie!
Were you the guy who drew the red line?
And that sports fans is why I do not trust Landon Knack. Blows a four-run first inning lead and is () this close to giving up two more. Sorry, this guy is not the answer.
If you throw minor league pitchers at Major League hitters you better prepare to score and score a lot.
I know. Once in a while, they come in and surprise you.
Are you not entertained?
No, I’m not. Not yet anyway.
This is definitely not entertaining at all.
Sure would help if the bottom half of the order showed up.
Pages showing life. Muncy not yet.
Chris Taylor-esque six strikeouts in last seven ABs
With 49 PA, Max now at 42.9% K rate.
By the hair of their chiny chin chin.
Whew. I’m breathing again.
Bottom 5 in the order go 1 for 19 with 9 SO’s. Muncy is a hot mess.
Period?
Dodgers fight till the end. 8 out of their 10 wins have been come from behind.
Yeah, so how about we blow a couple out so no one has a heart attack????
Hopefully the next time around a starter is needed Gonsolin gets the call. He went 3.1 innnings gave one hit one unearned run walked one and struck out 7 on 46 pitches 34 were strikes
Gonsolin tonight: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K on 46 pitches.
That being the case, Roberts said Knack will stay up and pitch vs. Rockies.
Very nice. He could end up being a useful piece this season. High pitching IQ.
Pages might have saved himself a trip to AAA with that homer today and his sliding catch.
Nyah. He had plenty more runway, but it’s nice to see his bat coming around.
You are probably right, but the guy is not a center fielder.
Um, he kinda is in that’s he’s playing CF.
He is a corner outfielder. He is not that good in center field. Kike and Taylor are better centerfielders than he is. He runs bad routes, today is one of the few times he has made a decent play when it counted.
Roberts said Freddie will be activated for Friday’s game with the Cubs. Thank goodness for that/