Sports stats



Oklahoma City Baseball Club

OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - April 18, 2024

April 18, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Baseball Club News Release


Sacramento River Cats (11-6) at Oklahoma City Baseball Club (11-6)

Game #18 of 150/First Half #18 of 75/Home #9 of 75

Pitching Probables: SAC-RHP Daulton Jefferies (1-0, 4.82) vs. OKC-RHP Walker Buehler (0-1, 3.38)

Thursday, April 18, 2024 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv, Bally Live

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club has won five of the last six games and tries for back-to-back wins when the team continues its home series against the Sacramento River Cats at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on 89ers Night...OKC's six-game series against Sacramento is tied, 1-1, and OKC is now 6-2 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark to start the season.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club scored all four of its runs via three home runs in a 4-3 win against the Sacramento River Cats Wednesday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Sacramento took the first lead of the day on a solo home run by Chase Pinder in the second inning. Oklahoma City tied the score in its next at-bat when Jonathan Araúz led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run. In the third inning, Kody Hoese hit a two-run homer out to the Oklahoma City bullpen in left-center field for a 3-1 lead. A solo home run by Chris Owings in the fourth inning then put OKC in front, 4-1. Sacramento scored two runs on two RBI singles in the eighth inning to cut Oklahoma City's lead to one run, but left the tying run at third base.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Two-time MLB All-Star Walker Buehler (0-1) is scheduled to make his fourth total appearance of a Major League Rehab Assignment tonight as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair in his right elbow that has kept him out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup since June 2022...Buehler most recently pitched April 12 with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga against Stockton. He started and completed 2.0 innings, but was held to 27 pitches (18 strikes) and exited the game early after being hit in the right hand by a comebacker. He was hit during the second inning and stayed on the mound to finish the inning and allowed one run and three hits with one walk overall...In his last game with OKC April 6 against Albuquerque at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Buehler pitched 4.2 scoreless innings. He retired 14 of 16 batters overall after retiring the first nine Albuquerque batters to open the game. He allowed two hits and recorded six strikeouts, throwing 65 pitches, including 42 strikes...He opened his rehab assignment with OKC on the road in Tacoma March 31 and completed 3.1 innings while throwing 54 pitches (31 strikes). He allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, including a home run, with two walks and two strikeouts...Buehler made 12 starts for the LA Dodgers in 2022, posting a 6-3 record and 4.02 ERA over 65.0 innings through early June with 17 walks against 58 strikeouts before undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time in August 2022...Buehler was named to the 2021 and 2019 National League All-Star teams and helped the Dodgers to their 2020 World Series Championship...Overall, Buehler has compiled a 46-16 record and 3.02 ERA over 638.1 IP with a 1.04 WHIP and .212 opponent average over six Major League seasons...Buehler was selected by the Dodgers in the first round (24th overall) of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University.

Against the River Cats: 2024: 1-1 2023: 12-3 All-time: 61-56 At OKC: 30-29 Oklahoma City and Sacramento are meeting for their first of two series this season and lone series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...OKC won last season's series, 12-3, and won the final four meetings between the teams, including a three-game series sweep in Sacramento July 14-16...During a May 23-28 series, which OKC won, 4-2, five of the six games in the set were decided in the eighth inning or later, including three wins by a team trailing in the eighth inning...The teams met for a six-game series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Sacramento April 25-30 that included two doubleheaders due to weather-related postponements. OKC won the series, 5-1, winning the first five games before losing the finale, which was Game 2 of a doubleheader...OKC outscored the River Cats, 81-49, last season overall. Devin Mann collected 14 hits, including six doubles, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored against Sacramento in 14 games last season...OKC has now won back-to-back season series against the River Cats for the first time since 2017-18...Since OKC became affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the River Cats with the San Francisco Giants in 2015, OKC has a 29-20 advantage in the Triple-A version of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, including a 16-4 mark over the last 20 games.

Dinger Details: All four of Oklahoma City's runs Wednesday came via three home runs as Oklahoma City homered in each of the second, third and fourth innings. Although Oklahoma City was held without a home run in the series opener Tuesday night, OKC now has hit 12 homers over the last five games, including three games with three or more home runs in the last four games (10 HR). OKC's 12 homers since April 12 are the most in the Pacific Coast League and tied for the most in Triple-A during the span...Wednesday was OKC's fourth game of the season overall with three or more homers and OKC has hit 23 home runs through 17 games this season and 10 different Oklahoma City players have homered so far in 2024 with Andy Pages (now with the Los Angeles Dodgers) leading the team with five homers. Andre Lipcius and Ryan Ward each have four home runs...On Wednesday, Jonathan Araúz, Kody Hoese and Chris Owings all hit their first home runs of the season.

Close Calls: The first two games of the current series have each been decided by one-run margins and eight of OKC's first 17 games of 2024 have been decided by one run. OKC is now 3-5 in those games and five of the team's six losses have come in one-run games...Twelve of OKC's first 17 games have been decided by two runs or less, including each of the team's first eight games of the season, and OKC is 7-5 in those close games...Seven of OKC's first eight home games have been decided by one or two runs and OKC is now 6-2 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, with a 5-2 mark in one- and two-run games...In 2023, OKC went 23-18 in one-run games...Last season, 68 of OKC's 148 games (46 percent) were decided by one or two runs and OKC went 40-28 in those close contests.

Pitching Prowess: Wednesday was the ninth time this season Oklahoma City pitchers have held their opponent to three runs or less. It was also the second straight game and fifth time in the last six games that an OKC opponent scored three runs or less. Through the first two games of the current series, OKC pitchers have held Sacramento scoreless in 15 of 18 total innings...Sacramento went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position yesterday and over the last six games combined, OKC opponents have been held 4-for-36 (.111) with RISP...Through 17 games, OKC's pitching staff's 119 hits allowed are fewest in the PCL, while their 69 runs allowed are second-fewest in the league. OKC's 168 strikeouts are second-most in the PCL, although they have only notched 12 K over the first two games of the current series...Sacramento hit a home run Wednesday and OKC has allowed six home runs over the last four games after giving up just three in the previous seven games. However, OKC's 12 home runs allowed overall this season are still fewest in the PCL.

Drew Up: Yesterday Drew Avans extended his team-leading hitting streak to nine games - the longest hitting streak of the season for an Oklahoma City player and the longest current active streak in the PCL. During the streak, Avans is 15-for-39 (.385) with four doubles, two triples and 12 runs scored...With his hit Wednesday, Avans moved into a tie for seventh place on Oklahoma City's all-time career list during the Bricktown era (since 1998), tying Jeff Pickler with 336 career hits. He ranks among the team's all-time career leaders in several other categories as well. He is one triple shy of tying OKC's Bricktown-era career record of 22 triples set by Joaquin Arias (2006-09). Avans ranks third with 85 stolen bases, 187 walks and 352 games played. He is one walk, two stolen bases and seven games shy of tying for second place in those career categories. He is now six hits shy of sixth place on OKC's all-time career list.

Ho Ho Hoese: Kody Hoese hit his first Triple-A home run Wednesday, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, marking his first multi-RBI game of the season. He has now hit safely in four straight games (6-for-14) and in nine of his first 10 Triple-A games, going 13-for-35 (.371) with four multi-hit outings overall...He batted sixth in the lineup yesterday for his highest spot in the order this season.

Miggy Mash: Miguel Vargas did not play Wednesday but has reached base in each of his first 16 games this season - tied with teammate Trey Sweeney for the longest on-base streak in the league. The on-base streak is Vargas' longest since his 2023 season-best 19-game on-base streak July 14-Aug. 4, 2023...Although he was held without a hit in his last game on Tuesday, Vargas has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games, going 16-for-53 (.302) with five doubles, three homers and 17 RBI...His 17 RBI overall this season lead OKC and rank fifth-most in the PCL. He already has two four-RBI games this month...Vargas played in 60 games for OKC last season and compiled two lengthy on-base streaks. In addition to the 19-game on-base streak, Vargas also reached base in 15 consecutive games Aug. 13-31, 2023.

The Warden: Although he was held without a RBI yesterday, Ryan Ward has eight RBI over his last five games and 14 RBI over his last eight games. Since April 7, his 14 RBI are tied for most in the PCL with Andy Pages, who is currently with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and during the eight-game stretch, Ward is 8-for-30 (.267) with seven extra-base hits, 14 RBI and six runs scored...Eight of his 11 total hits this season have gone for extra bases...Last season, Ward ranked fourth in the PCL with 95 RBI, making him the ninth player in OKC's Bricktown era (since 1998) with at least 95 RBI in a single season. He also led the PCL with 139 games played - the most by an OKC player in a single season since at least 2005.

Road to the Show: In each of the last three days, an Oklahoma City player made his Major League debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Monday night, reliever Ricky Vanasco retired all six batters he faced over two innings. Outfielder Andy Pages has started each of the last two games for LAD, and yesterday starting pitcher Landon Knack delivered five solid innings but took the loss in a 2-0 defeat against the Washington Nationals. After a bumpy first inning which saw him yield two runs, he retired 11 of 12 batters over his final four frames. The trio are the first Los Angeles Dodgers to make their Major League debuts over three straight days since Greg Hansell, Todd Williams and Noe Muñoz from April 28-30, 1995 (note provided by Eric Stephen/True Blue LA).

Around the Horn: Andre Lipcius went 2-for-4 with a double yesterday and now has three multi-hit games in the last four games overall, going 8-for-18 with five-extra-base hits...Trey Sweeney picked up a hit yesterday and has now reached base safely in each of his first 16 career Triple-A games. He is tied with teammate Miguel Vargas for the longest on-base streak in the PCL to start the season. Sweeney's 17 walks in 16 games pace the PCL...Jonathan Araúz hit his first home run of the season and added a double Wednesday, as he extended his current hitting streak to eight games. He is 9-for-32 during the stretch with four doubles, a home run, five RBI and five runs scored. He was 1-for-18 through his first five games of 2024....OKC has not committed an error in seven of the last nine games, with just two errors total during that span...The OKC offense struck out 11 more times yesterday and has whiffed at least 10 times in five of the last six games, totaling 65 strikeouts in that span. The team's 174 strikeouts over 17 games are second-most in the PCL.

Check out the Oklahoma City Baseball Club Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from April 18, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Oklahoma City Baseball Club Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central