PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

RedHawks Game Notes: August 8, 2014

Published on August 8, 2014 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City RedHawks (61-59) vs. Iowa Cubs (63-57)

Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs

Game #121 of 145/Home #61 of 72 (31-29)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Nick Tropeano (7-4, 2.97) vs. IOW-RHP Dallas Beeler (7-5, 3.70)

Friday, August 8, 2014 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio - Alex Freedman

Today's Game: The RedHawks aim to build on Thursday's runaway win as they continue their key five-game series against the American Northern Division leading Iowa Cubs at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The RedHawks trail Iowa by two games in the standings and look to extend their winning streak to a season-best six games.

Last Game: The RedHawks built a quick seven-run lead and went on to beat Iowa, 16-4. The RedHawks took a 5-0 lead in the first. Joe Sclafani hit a RBI double and two batters later, Preston Tucker connected on a RBI single for a 2-0 RedHawks lead. Andrew Aplin doubled with the bases loaded to drive in two more runs for OKC before Carlos Perez followed with a sacrifice fly. The RedHawks added two more runs in the second. Tucker picked up his second RBI in as many innings with a one-out single. Duffy followed with a sac fly for a 7-0 OKC advantage. Iowa' s Manny Ramirez belted a two-run homer to center field to cut the RedHawks lead to 7-2 in the fourth. Jonathan Villar got the runs back in the fifth, hitting a two-run single for a 9-2 lead. A RBI single by Max Stassi, a RBI double by Ruben Sosa and a sac fly by Jonathan Villar put OKC ahead, 12-4, in the bottom of the frame. A sac fly by Duffy in the seventh, along with a RBI single by Torreyes and a two-run homer by Tucker put the RedHawks in front, 16-4, in the eighth. Rudy Owens (6-5) earned the win for Oklahoma City.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Nick Tropeano (7-4) seeks to take over the team lead in wins...He earned his fifth win in seven starts in his most recent outing Aug. 2 against Colorado Springs, allowing a five runs on five hits over five-plus innings. He walked three and struck out six...Tropeano ranks fourth in the PCL with a 2.97 ERA, second with a .199 opponent average, and third with a 0.99 WHIP. He was named to the original roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game, but was unable to participate...Tropeano leads full-season Astros minor leaguers in opponent average and WHIP, and ranks fourth in ERA...Tropeano was named RedHawks Pitcher of the Month in June, going 4-0 over five starts with a 2.02 ERA (8 ER/35.2 IP), 34 strikeouts, and a .195 opponent average...He was placed on the DL July 6 (retroactive to July 4) with right arm tightness and has made two starts since returning...He has been spectacular at home, posting a 2.41 ERA and .203 opponent average over 10 outings (nine starts) with a 5/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (55 K/11 BB)...Over his last seven starts, Tropeano is 5-0 and the RedHawks have won six of the seven games...Tonight marks his first career appearance against Iowa.

Against the I-Cubs: 2014: 5-3 2013: 8-8 All-time: 111-118 In OKC: 61-53

The 16 runs scored by the RedHawks Thursday marked their highest run total against Iowa since a 17-6 win July 18, 2010 in OKC...Before last night, no game in the season series had been decided by more than three runs, and five of the first seven games were decided by one run...The teams split their most recent series July 11-13 in Des Moines, with Oklahoma City taking the final two games...The RedHawks won the first series between the teams, winning two of three July 4-6 in Bricktown. All three games were decided by one run...The RedHawks have won 10 of the last 13 games against Iowa, with seven of the last 10 decided by one run.

Winning Ways: With Thursday's win, the RedHawks matched their longest winning streak of the season at five games, previously done April 6-10. The RedHawks are 7-2 over their last nine games and 8-3 over their last 11 games.

Offensive Outburst: The RedHawks set a season high with 16 runs last night and matched their largest margin of victory for the season at 12 runs, previously set in a 12-0 win at New Orleans on May 20. The RedHawks outhit Iowa, 19-5, and posted their highest run total since plating 24 on Aug. 3, 2013 vs. Colorado Springs. Seven players had multi-hit games, and all nine players in the starting lineup scored at least once for the first time since that same game on May 20 in New Orleans...Over the past nine games, the RedHawks are batting .346 (109x315) and have scored 68 runs. During the current homestand they are batting .374 (65x174) and have scored at least seven runs in four of the five games. They are outscoring opponents 49-17 and are hitting .460 (29x63) with runners in scoring position.

Fowler on the Mend: Astros outfielder Dexter Fowler is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment today with the RedHawks. He's been on the DL since June 27 with a right intercostal strain. In 76 games with the Astros this season, Fowler is hitting .270 (77x285) with six home runs, 24 RBI, and 43 runs scored. His .377 on-base percentage leads the team. Fowler was acquired by the Astros from Colorado in a trade on Dec. 3, 2013 in exchange for Brandon Barnes and Jordan Lyles.

Tucker's Tear: Preston Tucker went 3-for-5 and set a season high with four RBI. Tucker is in the midst of a huge homestand, going 10-for-22 (.455) with six extra-base hits (3 HR), 11 RBI, and eight runs scored over five games. He leads the Astros farm system with 23 homers and is tied for second with 76 RBI...In his last two meetings with the I-Cubs, he's 7-for-9 with three homers and six RBI.

Rockin' Ronny: Since moving into the third spot in the lineup, Ronny Torreyes has caught fire. He's hit safely in eight of nine games and is batting .459 (17x37) with seven RBI. Last night he collected his team-leading fifth game of the season with at least four hits. He also tied a career high by scoring four runs, marking the first time he's done that since July 20, 2011 with Low-A Dayton vs. Peoria.

Evening Joe: Joe Sclafani has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, batting .429 (18x42) with eight RBI and 10 runs scored. Since July 24, his .429 average is second-best in the PCL (Rymer Liriano, El Paso - .438).

Duff Man: Matt Duffy picked up two more RBI last night and now has 19 RBI over his last 16 games, including 13 RBI in the past nine games. Since July 22, he is tied for the most RBI in the PCL. He is in a three-way tie for the second-most RBI among Astros minor leaguers this season with 76 total RBI.

Winning Innings: The RedHawks have had six separate innings of four or more runs in their first five games of the homestand, including four rallies with at least five runs. They've had at least one inning of four or more runs in seven of their last nine home games and a total of 10 of those big innings over the same stretch.

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