The lineups

Oklahoma City: Zach Ehrhard RF, Josue De Paula LF, James Tibbs III 1B, Mike Sirota DH, Alek Thomas CF, Ryan Fitzgerald 3B, Noah Miller SS, Hyeseong Kim 2B, Ben Rortvedt C.

Rochester: Seaver King SS, Trey Lipscomb LF, Cayden Wallace 3B, Riley Adams DH, Leandro Pineda RF, Andrew Pinckney CF, Maxwell Romero Jr. C, Liover Peguero 1B, Cortland Lawson 2B.

Three top-100 prospects were on the field

Josue De Paula, the No. 6 prospect in baseball, hit .323 in 11 games with the Dodgers this month before being optioned down for the playoffs. The 21-year-old was born in Brooklyn, played one high school game before COVID shut it down, and moved to the Dominican Republic to train before signing as an international free agent. He was the ghost runner who scored the go-ahead run in the tenth. Los Angeles may add him to the NLDS roster.

Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula reacts after hitting a three-run home run against the Marlins.
os Angeles Dodgers' Josue de Paula (95) reacts after hitting a three run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Miami. — (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Mike Sirota, No. 14, was promoted to Triple-A last week after a 72-game on-base streak — the longest in the minors since 2014. He drove in the run that started Oklahoma City's comeback.

Seaver King, No. 68, led off for Rochester. Washington's 2024 first-rounder has a 70-grade run tool and led all full-season Nationals minor leaguers in average and OPS.

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Washington Nationals' Seaver King heads to third during the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the New York Mets Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. — (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

James Tibbs III was the first Pacific Coast League player since 1982 with 100 RBIs, 100 runs and 100 walks. Trey Lipscomb finished top five in Triple-A in home runs, RBIs and slugging.

Liover Peguero, the Dominican infielder who came up with Pittsburgh, hit the home run that put Rochester ahead. Andrés Chaparro, the Venezuelan infielder, was on the roster after time with Washington and Arizona. Hyeseong Kim, the South Korean infielder, started at second for Oklahoma City.

Nationals infielder Andrés Chaparro bats against the Angels.
Washington Nationals' Andres Chaparro in action during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in Washington. — (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The pitchers

Emmet Sheehan made 23 appearances for the Dodgers this year with a 4.57 ERA and had a 1.50 ERA in four Triple-A starts. He gave up the Peguero home run and said afterward he should have gotten him off the fastball.

Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan delivers against the Mets.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan (80) throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in New York. — (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Jack Cebert was called up from Double-A Harrisburg to start for Rochester. The Yankees drafted him out of Texas Tech and traded him to Washington in August in the Luis García Jr. deal. He threw two innings, which was the plan.

Why it was one game

Rochester went 90-58, the best record in the minors, and won its first International League title since 1997. Oklahoma City won the Pacific Coast League for the second time in four years.

They played once, at a neutral site, because a playoff series costs more than it draws.

It was the 20th Triple-A National Championship Game and the fifth at Las Vegas Ballpark, which now ties Oklahoma City's Bricktown Ballpark as the most frequent host.

Leif Skodnick had five things to know before the game.

Results and statistics via MiLB and MLB Pipeline.

ia MiLB and MLB Pipeline.