Dodgers' Busch homers in Triple-A debut

If the beginning of Michael Busch's tenure seemed familiar, that's because it mirrored the end of his Double-A stint.

Added to the roster earlier in the day, baseball's No. 64 overall prospect homered in his second at-bat and added a single to help Triple-A Oklahoma City beat El Paso, 13-5, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Busch homered in his final game for Double-A Tulsa on Sunday.

Having flied out in his first plate appearance, the 24-year-old provided an instant jolt in his second at-bat with a towering 101.1 mph two-run shot to left-center field in the third inning.

Busch's 12th of the season came in his 32nd game and 110th at-bat, far ahead of last year's pace when he slugged a career-high 20 roundtrippers. The 31st overall pick in the 2019 Draft didn't register his 12th home run until his 66th contest with the Drillers in 2021.

Busch scalded the ball in his final plate appearance in the eighth as well, lacing a 107.9 mph liner into right field to secure his 12th multihit game of the season.

Following a solid April that included eight home runs and 19 RBIs, the Minnesota native has sacrificed some power for more contact this month. Busch left Double-A with a .306/.445/.667 slash line, including a .357 average and a 1.116 OPS in May. Busch has now hit safely in nine straight overall and is up to 18 extra-base hits and 31 RBIs in 32 games.

Miguel Vargas got the long-ball parade going two batters prior to Busch, connecting on his fifth of the season.

Baseball's 90th overall prospect also singled and is batting .317/.418/.514 with 15 extra-base hits, five homers and 25 RBIs in 36 games.

Padres No. 28 prospect Matthew Batten went deep for a third consecutive game for the Chihuahuas and also doubled.