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Oklahoma City Baseball Club

Cotton at Center of 4-1 Win Over Sacramento

May 29, 2016 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Baseball Club News Release


West Sacramento, Calif. - Oklahoma City Dodgers starting pitcher Jharel Cotton allowed one run over five innings and notched two hits, including a RBI triple, as the Dodgers defeated the Sacramento River Cats, 4-1, Sunday afternoon at Raley Field.

Following a six-game losing streak during which the Dodgers allowed a total of 46 runs, OKC (26-22) has surrendered just two runs over the past two games in Sacramento, with each resulting in victories.

Cotton (4-3) allowed one run and three hits over five innings of work. He struck out five and walked two. At one point between the first and fourth innings, Cotton retired 10 straight batters. In two outings since returning to the starting rotation, Cotton has allowed just two runs and four hits over 10 innings while notching 15 strikeouts.

In addition to his performance on the mound, Cotton went 2-for-2 at the plate with a RBI triple.

Both teams scored a run in the first inning. Micah Johnson led off the game with a triple to deep right-center field. Scott Van Slyke came up next, and his RBI groundout plated Johnson to make it 1-0.

The River Cats (21-30) answered in the bottom of the inning. Sacramento had the bases empty with two outs, but Mitch Delfino and Mac Williamson hit back-to-back doubles to even the score.

The Dodgers regained the lead in the second inning. Cotton lined a RBI triple to left-center field, then scored later on the play when Ramiro Pena committed an error on the relay throw to third base. It was Cotton's third RBI of the season.

In the top of the fourth, Charlie Culberson doubled with one out and then stole third base. Alex Hassan worked a 12-pitch plate appearance, culminating in a sacrifice fly to right field, extending the lead to 4-1.

Miguel Olivo singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Hak-Ju Lee then sent a grounder to first base, but Van Slyke couldn't come up with it cleanly, resulting in two runners on with none out. After a force out and soft lineout, Pena walked to load the bases. Cotton was able to escape the inning by striking out Delfino, keeping the Dodgers ahead by three runs.

Neither team threatened to score until Gorkys Hernandez and Pena started off the bottom of the eighth inning with back-to-back infield singles. Dodgers reliever Joe Thatcher was able to keep the River Cats off the board by retiring each of the next three hitters.

Luis Avilan finished off the game by retiring the River Cats in order in the ninth inning to earn his third save. Avilan was one of four OKC relievers to toss a scoreless inning, joining Logan Bawcom, Jordan Schafer, and Thatcher. Through the first three games of the series, the OKC bullpen has allowed just one earned run over 16.2 innings.

In addition to Cotton, Culberson and Corey Brown led the Dodgers with two hits apiece.

Sacramento starting pitcher Joan Gregorio took the loss. Gregorio (0-2) allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits over five innings. He notched eight strikeouts with one walk.

The Dodgers look to finish their West Coast road trip with three straight wins. They'll face the River Cats in a Memorial Day matinee at 3:05 p.m. Central time Monday afternoon. Live coverage begins 15 minutes before the first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com, or through the free iHeartRadio mobile app.

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