PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

Banuelos Boosts Dodgers to 5-1 Win

Published on May 4, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City Dodgers starting pitcher Manny Bañuelos threw five scoreless innings and drove in three runs to lead the Dodgers to a 5-1 win Friday night against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 13-0 at home this season for their best-ever start at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark since the stadium opened in 1998.

The Dodgers also improved to 20-6 overall, marking the first time an Oklahoma City squad won 20 of its first 26 games since the team rejoined the PCL in 1998.

Friday's game featured the top two teams in the PCL American Northern Division as they opened a four-game series in front of a crowd of 7,480.

The Dodgers took the lead early.

Second baseman Jake Peter led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Rob Segedin for a 1-0 Dodgers lead.

The Dodgers went on to load the bases in the second inning and pitcher Bañuelos cleared them all with a double into the gap in left-center field to boost OKC to a 4-0 advantage.

The hit marked the third in Bañuelos' professional career and first since 2015 with Triple-A Gwinnett. He also collected his first three career RBI Friday.

The Sky Sox put runners at the corners with one out in the third inning, but Bañuelos got Jacob Nottingham to hit into an inning-ending double play to keep Colorado Springs off the board.

A RBI single by Henry Ramos in the seventh inning extended the Dodgers' lead to 5-0. Ramos went 2-for-3 with a walk and double as he and Peter finished with two hits apiece.

Colorado Springs (18-9) broke through the shutout in the top of the eighth inning.

With runners at second and third base, a wild pitch by C.C. Lee allowed the Sky Sox to score their lone run of the night and cut OKC's lead to 5-1.

Dodgers reliever Joe Broussard struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning to seal the victory.

Bañuelos (4-0) allowed four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 5.0 shutout innings as he earned his fourth win of the season. He has now held opponents to just six earned runs over his first six starts (30.0 IP) and his ERA dropped to 1.80 on the season with Friday's outing.

Colorado Springs starting pitcher Bubba Derby (1-1) was charged with the loss, allowing five runs (four unearned) and six hits over 6.1 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.

OKC's four-game series against Colorado Springs continues at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Live coverage begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com, or through the free iHeartRadio mobile app.

Tickets are available through the OKC Dodgers ticket office located on South Mickey Mantle Drive, by phone at (405) 218-2182, or by visiting okcdodgers.com.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 4, 2018


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