Soccerforall24

Done Deal: Dodgers officially announced the signing of Chris Vallimont.

May 30, 2024 Soccerforall24

Right-hander Chris Vallimont, 27, made his Triple-A Oklahoma City debut on Wednesday night after being signed by the Dodgers to a minor league contract.

This season, Vallimont was a starter for the independent York Revolution of the Atlantic League. of 27⅓ innings pitched, he had 33 strikeouts and seven walks with a 3.29 ERA in five starts. The right-hander made his major league debut with the Orioles in July of last year. In his one game with the organization, he struck out two batters in two-thirds of an inning while pitching scoreless.

In 30 games last season in Triple-A, Vallimont posted a 5.53 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 46 walks in 86⅓ innings. He made nine starts in the Orioles and Guardians systems, respectively.

After being selected by the Marlins in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Vallimont has pitched in the minor leagues for the Twins, Orioles, Guardians, Miami, and Baltimore.

Trey Sweeney, the shortstop for Oklahoma City, had the season’s best game on Wednesday at Albuquerque, with four hits, including three home runs. After scoring on a two-run blast over the fence in the fourth and ninth innings, Sweeney first launched an inside-the-park home run to the deepest area of the park in the second inning. In the sixth, he also singled.

Sweeney’s three home runs are a career high and the first for Oklahoma City since a game featuring three home runs, which occurred in July 2021, one week prior to Keibert Ruiz’s trade. On April 25, at Albuquerque, Sweeney also tied his career highs with four hits and five RBI. While in the Yankees system, Sweeney had two more four-hit games: September 8, 2021 for Low-A Tampa, and July 12, 2022 for High-A Hudson Valley.

Sweeney hit two home homers in his first 45 games of the season before last Friday. Since then, though, he has hit five home runs, including three in his previous four games.

Oklahoma City’s pitching was parsimonious in a victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies), even with a game on the moon in Albuquerque. In his Dodgers organization debut, the recently signed Vallimont allowed just four hits and a walk while pitching six scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Vallimont pitched a fastball that averaged 91.5 mph, but he also gave up 12 swinging strikes in his session, nine of which came from his changeup, which accounted for about half (35) of his pitches (73).

For OKC, Kody Hoese had two hits and two runs scored in the contest. In the second inning, Austin Gauthier tripled, but the catcher picked him off at third base. James Outman stole two bases after he singled and was struck by a pitch.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals) were defeated by the Drillers in 10 innings after they battled back to tie the game in the ninth inning.

In the ninth inning, Taylor Young drove the game into extra innings with an RBI single after recording two singles, a walk, and a stolen base. After Austin Beck’s walk-off single in the tenth, Diego Cartaya walked with the bases loaded to tie the game.

Tulsa’s Jared Karros had his second consecutive excellent outing, allowing only one run on two hits while striking out eight and walking just once in five and a half innings.

The West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) shut out the Loons despite the pitchers giving up just two runs and the offense managing just one hit. To be fair, though, the start time was 11 a.m. local time, so perhaps the batters weren’t quite up yet.

On Wednesday, three hitters from the Great Lakes reached base. The only two at-bats the Loons had with a runner in scoring position came when Luis Rodriguez walked to start the third inning and advanced to second base on a ground out. They both ended in flyouts.

After breaking up the joint no-hitter in the fifth inning with a single with one out, three pitches later, Jake Gelof was erased on a double play. After a pitch hit Nick Biddison in the sixth inning, the last 11 Loons were retired in order.

Notable among the pitchers was Lucas Wepf, who in two flawless innings of relief struck out five. In his 21⅔ innings this season, the right-hander has a 2.08 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and a 36.6-percent strikeout rate.

The Quakes were defeated by the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) in 10 innings, despite Jeral Perez’s two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning forcing extra innings.

In relief, Gabe Emmett went four innings, gave up one run, and struck out three.

Triple-A: On Wednesday, broadcaster Alex Freedman pointed out that right-hander Chris Vallimont inked a minor league contract with the Dodgers, marking the team’s 100th agreement of 2024 for Oklahoma City. After playing in Tuesday’s doubleheader in New York as the Dodgers’ 27th player—despite not pitching—he was sent back to Oklahoma City.

Double-A: Hyun-il Choi was sent back to the Drillers following consecutive Oklahoma City one-run starts. This season, the right-hander has made three trips to Tulsa and back to Oklahoma City.

High-A: After making two spot starts for Oklahoma City and one for Tulsa, right-hander Christian Romero was sent back to the Loons. Pitcher Jose Rodriguez was promoted to Great Lakes on Wednesday, according to the Quakes game notes, following a 5.19 ERA and a team-high 59 strikeouts against just 13 walks in 34⅔ innings with Rancho Cucamonga. Before this is official, it might take a day or two as Rodriguez last threw on Sunday.

Low-A: Joe Vetrano, the first baseman for the Quakes, was placed on the injured list on Tuesday with effect from May 24.