What a Saturday night for the Dodgers’ minor league system! Patrick Copen capped off his regular season with an absolutely dominant performance, throwing six scoreless innings for Double-A Tulsa, and the Drillers backed him up by smashing a franchise home run record.
Copen’s Wild Turnaround Is Must-See Stuff
Copen looked like a totally different pitcher out there. This dude had a rough go earlier in the season, right? We’re talking a brutal 7.45 ERA through July 22, giving up 12 dingers over 73 2/3 innings, with a pretty low 9.5 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate. Things could’ve been so much worse, but then something clearly clicked for him. His final eight appearances were straight fire. Copen put up a ridiculous 3.19 ERA over 42 1/3 innings, only two home runs allowed, and his strikeout-minus-walk rate absolutely jumped to 19.5 percent. Six strikeouts, two singles, two walks in his final regular season start? That’s how you finish strong, leaving his 5.90 season ERA looking way better than it could’ve been.
Tulsa Just Keeps Mashing Dingers and Piling Up Wins
Tulsa wasn’t just winning, they were making history. Elijah Hainline and Joe Vetrano both launched bombs to back Copen against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Hainline’s homer was the record-setter, propelling the Drillers to 197 home runs on the season, leading the entire Texas League! That number absolutely crushed the 2022 team’s record for most homers in Drillers history. Remember that 2022 squad? Ryan Ward led them with 28 dingers, a 21-year-old Andy Pages added 26, and even guys like James Outman hammered 16 in just 68 games, with Michael Busch adding 11 in 31 games. This year’s team is even better at going yard! Hainline reached base three times, which is huge. Tulsa is straight up racking up wins, sitting at 88-49. That’s the most wins for a Tulsa baseball season since the 1968 Oilers, a Cardinals affiliate, snagged 95 wins. They beat Northwest Arkansas 8-4, even after letting them score a couple in the eighth and ninth. Copen left with an 8-0 lead, so that tells you how well they were playing.
Oklahoma City’s Streak Is Unstoppable
Meanwhile, Triple-A Oklahoma City is just absolutely unstoppable. They kept their ridiculous win streak alive, making it 14 straight by beating the Sugar Land Space Cowboys 3-2. Those Comets are legit! Zach Ehrhard singled home a run in the third, then later doubled and scored on a two-run homer from Alek Thomas. Thomas is on fire, already his fourth home run in seven games since getting sent back to Triple-A. Christian Romero fanned seven and didn’t give up a run until two scored in his final inning. And the bullpen? Kyle Hurt, Ronan Kopp, and Jerming Rosario combined for seven strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings, with Garrett McDaniels slamming the door shut for the final two outs. These guys are locked in and getting super close to a postseason berth.
So what’s next? Both teams are back at it on Sunday. Oklahoma City, with Cole Irvin on the mound, faces Sugar Land at 12:05 p.m. PT, and Tulsa, with Roque Gutierrez, goes up against Northwest Arkansas, also at 12:05 p.m. PT. OKC is gunning for that postseason spot, and Tulsa is just flexing their record-setting power. You don’t wanna miss these games!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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