Almost four full months since he was placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, Dodgers right-hander B
rusdar Graterol begins rehab assignment in Arizona Complex League.
First game of the season for Graterol, who’s been sidelined since March with shoulder inflammation.
Almost four full months since he was placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol made his season debut on Friday night in the Arizona Complex League.
Graterol pitched a scoreless second inning with one strikeout against the Padres in Peoria. He allowed a one-out single and balked the runner to second base, but escaped with no further damage.
It’s been a long time coming for Graterol, who has been in Arizona for some time. The usual reply this season when Dave Roberts was asked of the high-leverage reliever’s status was some form of “he’s still a ways away,” but starting a minor league rehab assignment at the very least makes Graterol’s eventual return more tangible. So much so that Roberts told reporters in Detroit on Friday afternoon that Graterol might be back off the 60-day injured list by the end of July, per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic and Jack Harris at the Los Angeles Times.
Also in that ACL game, preceding Graterol on the mound was left-hander Jose Hernandez, who pitched a perfect first inning with two strikeouts in his first game since the Dodgers acquired him from the Pirates for cash considerations on June 13.
Player of the day
Drew Avans homered, walked three times, and even stole a base for Oklahoma City.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
A four-run third inning put Oklahoma City up for good in a win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres). Avans’ home run tied the game, then Kody Hoese, Diego Cartaya, and Austin Gauthier followed with RBI hits in the inning.
The first eight hitters in OKC’s lineup each hit exactly one hit. The only player without a hit was Chris Okey, who was the designated hitter on Friday. Baseball.
Double-A Tulsa
The Drillers only had three hits in a shutout loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros), snapping Tulsa’s seven-game win streak.
Jose Ramos had two of the three hits, both singles.
High-A Great Lakes
The good news for Great Lakes is that they were not shut out on Friday. But they failed to get a hit in a blowout loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres).
The Loons’ run came in the seventh when Chris Newell walked to open the frame against starter Henry Baez. Noah Miller reached on a fielder’s choice when Baez threw wildly, putting runners at the corners. A groundball double play brought him the run, but by that point Fort Wayne already has scored seven.
Great Lakes starter Payton Martin allowed six runs on 11 hits in four innings. Loons pitchers allowed 18 hits, nine walks, and nine runs in a long night.
Low-A Rancho Cucamonga
Four runs in the seventh inning turned a Quakes lead into a loss to the Stockton Ports (A’s).
Sean McLain doubled twice, walked, and was hit by pitch, continuing his hot streak. He’s reached base multiple times in each of his last six games, with a .655 on-base percentage during that run (plus a 1.042 slugging percentage).
Luke Fox struck out six in three scoreless innings in his start, working around a single and three walks. It’s been a nice run for a handful of 2023 draftees joining the Quakes pitching staff recently. Fox, the 17th-rounder out of Duke, has a 2.08 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and seven walks in 13 innings. Fourth-rounder Wyatt Crowell out of Florida State has a 0.82 ERA with 16 strikeouts and three walks in 11 innings. Carson Hobbs, the 11th-rounder out of Samford, has a 3.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts and five walks in 12 innings.
