Dodgers' Oaks homers, puts up seven zeros

Trevor Oaks' frustration this season on the mound was eased Monday, but his at-bat in the eighth inning had him actually grinning at his manager.
After throwing 85 pitches, Triple-A Oklahoma City skipper Bill Haselman decided to leave the Dodgers' No. 17 prospect in to bat late in the game.
"He was like, 'Well, you're probably going to strike out, but I'm gonna let you hit anyway,'" Oaks said Haselman told him.
Moments later, neither could believe what they'd seen.

"I thought it was a popup, and I thought, 'Oh shoot, I gotta get down the line," Oaks said of his swing on a 1-0 fastball. "And then I saw it landed over the fence. I was stunned."

On the mound, the right-hander held New Orleans to a pair of singles and retired the last 17 batters faced as the Dodgers routed the Baby Cakes, 11-1, on Monday afternoon. He struck out seven and did not issue any walks.,
But a home run? Oaks, who said it was his first since high school and the second he's hit in his life, laughed when he recalled the aftermath with his manager.
"When I was rounding third base, I made sure to look in the dugout at him," Oaks said. "He was like, 'That's unbelievable man, nice job.' It was cool."

A seventh-round pick in 2014 by Los Angeles, Oaks (2-1) hit the long ball off Javy Guerra. He wasn't the only one, though. Third-ranked Alex Verdugo fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a season-high five RBIs and No. 4 Willie Calhoun smacked a two-run shot, his ninth this month and 10th of the season.
Gameday box score
Oaks allowed one-out singles in the first and second frames to Steve Lombardozzi and David Vidal, but that was it. He threw 59 strikes in possibly his most dominant performance since last Aug. 15, when he carried a no-hit bid into the seventh at El Paso.
"The seven innings is really nice, just because I had a hard time in the beginning of this season getting the ground balls and had some bad luck, but I was really happy to finally get that outing in and see that hard work pay off," said Oaks. "I was just using my sinker down -- I haven't really had that consistent movement this year, and my catcher, Kyle Farmer, did a good job staying underneath the ball. He called a great game.

"I got ahead with the sinker, moved the fastball around in and out and when we needed weak contact, we mixed it up with the slider and had that combo working for me."
The Riverside, California native has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of nine starts this season while striking out 52 in 54 2/3 innings. His first few starts, which he called frustrating, weren't bad statistically, but he didn't earn a win until May 14.
On Monday, the home run just made the whole afternoon better for Oaks.
"The homer, that just kinda was the cherry on top, that was just kinda fun," he said. "Cool to celebrate with guys. I only hit one home run in high school, so I don't get a ton of those."
Oaks was 0-for-11 with nine strikeouts entering Monday. The home run bumped his average up to .071. He went 3-for-21 with a walk last season.

"Honestly, I was just trying to make contact, because I strike out all the time," he said. "First pitch was a fastball in, I swung through it, and then he tried to come in again. I don't think he got in as much as he wanted and the ball just hit my bat, I didn't really hit the ball. At first, I didn't see it go up in the air." 
Oaks credited Oklahoma City pitching coach Matt Herges for a pep talk that changed his mind-set this season.
"It's been fun with the guys, we're all working hard and stuff, but at the same time, it's been a little frustrating," Oaks said. "I feel like the first couple outings I didn't have my sink and that's what I rely on. [Herges] had a talk with me, and he was saying, 'Hey, you're putting all this pressure on yourself. I could see confidence last year, but now it's like you're letting the little things affect you.'
"That conversation helped, and now I'm trying to throw everything with conviction. So for me, it's kind of rewarding. The last two outings have been a lot better and I'm hoping to continue the trend and keep attacking."