Stealing eight bases and not getting caught once, the Great Lakes Loons ran all over the Sky Carp in a high-scoring win with both teams combining for 21 runs—meanwhile, the Tulsa Drilers set a new team record.
While a few candidates emerged on the hitting side of things, the clear choice is Patrick Copen, dominating the RoughRiders in a 6-1 win for Tulsa. A first-inning two-out single would be the only hit Copen would allow, masterfully holding on to what was only a one-run lead until an offensive breakthrough in the sixth.
By tossing 6.1 scoreless frames, Copen lowered his season ERA at Double-A to 1.23. The 24-year-old is standing out early on in 2026 as one of the best performers in the Dodgers’ minor league system, now boasting a 3-0 record.
Although it was only one hit, Copen still had to deal with a bit of traffic thanks to his three walks, but stranding them wasn’t a problem, recording nine strikeouts.
The Comets left all the offense they had left for this series on Wednesday’s 9-7 win over Tacoma—at least that’s how it felt while seeing them completely shut down on Thursday, scoring only a run in a 3-1 loss at home, moving to a .500 record on the year.
Logan Allen managed to keep them in it early on by tossing four scoreless frames despite walking more than a batter per inning—the Comets even took the lead in the fifth—but with no extra-base hits in the entire game, it didn’t take much to see this one slip away.
A great opportunity presented itself in the bottom of the eighth, when, down two, the Comets had James Tibbs III up with two on and two outs. One of the outstanding hitters of Triple-A this season, Tibbs III struck out looking, finishing the game 1 for 3 with a walk—the right fielder scored the Comets’ only run back in the fourth.
A unique 6-1 win for the Drillers, in which the best hitters finished it with only one at-bat—Josue De Paula came up to the plate five times and recorded one hit. What did he do the other four times? Walk, walk, walk, and another walk.
De Paula walks and Tulsa goes up by 4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/M8hSR0a6KN
As neither side recorded an extra-base hit, the Drillers took advantage of a three-error inning from their adversaries in the sixth to put up a five-spot, providing Patrick Copen with the run support that his outstanding performance deserved.
Maddux Bruns, who has had his fair share of struggles this season, tried to make it a bit closer than it needed to be in the eighth, but the left-hander got out of his own mess before it could threaten the Drillers’ lead. Tulsa moved to a 14-4 record, their best one ever through a season’s first 18 games.
Trailing 8-4 in the ninth inning, the Loons were up against it away from home, but then a little patience (walks from Charles Davalan and Jose Meza) coupled with a bit of power was the winning recipe for a turnaround. The Loons loaded the bases for Nico Perez, who hit a grand slam to tie the score, only his second homer of 2026. That was only part one of the damage in an inning that ended with the Loons scoring a whopping nine runs, sending 15 hitters to the plate.
Stealing eight bases the entire game without getting caught once, the Loons found a flaw in their opponent’s defense and exploited it to no end. It contributed largely to this 13-run effort that saw them going seven for 19 with runners in scoring position.
Dilan Figueiredo—the only pitcher in this game who completed at least one full inning and finished his performance without allowing a run—was the winning pitcher of record for the Loons, who, apart from the grand slam, really spread out their offense. Every hitter, one through nine, either had at least one RBI or run scored, with seven of them having both.
In an identical fashion to the Drillers’ offensive output, the Tower Buzzers also scored exactly six runs, with one of them in the first and the other five in the top of the sixth inning. The big difference is that, unlike the Drillers, the Tower Buzzers encountered an adversary who was on his game offensively and took this one 9-6.
It was a game of poorly timed errors from Ontario, as each one of their three defensive miscues came in plays where the Giants scored a run; one could argue that was the difference maker in a 9-6 loss.
Joendry Vargas was the standout hitter for the Tower Buzzers, hitting a solo shot in the first and then clearing the bases with a double in the sixth inning.
Vargas wastes ZERO time 🔥 first pitch of the game… sent it OUT 💥 pic.twitter.com/b1EH5mrGne
— Ontario Tower Buzzers (@towerbuzzers) April 24, 2026
The Tulsa Drillers put catcher Nelson Quiroz on the 7-day IL and activated catcher Frank Rodríguez to replace him. The Oklahoma City Comets placed righty Jordan Weems on the Development List and activated righty Paul Gervase. Lastly, the Great Lakes Loons activated righty Brooks Auger.