OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - April 28, 2024
April 28, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Baseball Club (16-10) at Albuquerque Isotopes (7-19)
Game #27 of 150/First Half #27 of 75/Road #15 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Hyun-il Choi (0-1, 5.79) vs. ABQ-LHP Josh Rogers (1-1, 4.86)
Sunday, April 28, 2024 | Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park | Albuquerque, N.M. | 2:35 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 closes out its road series against the Albuquerque Isotopes at 2:35 p.m. CT at Isotopes Park. OKC has clinched a series win and holds a 4-1 series lead entering today's finale...Last night OKC had a five-game win streak and eight-game road win streak come to a close.
Last Game: The Albuquerque Isotopes hit four home runs and scored 10 runs within the first five innings to help claim a 10-7 victory over the Oklahoma City Baseball Club Saturday night at Isotopes Park. Albuquerque jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but Oklahoma City scored the next four runs to take the lead. Trailing, 3-1, in the third inning, Andre Lipcius hit a go-ahead three-run homer. The Isotopes tied the game in the bottom of the inning before plating five runs in the fourth inning and another run in the fifth inning to jump ahead, 10-4. OKC scored twice in the eighth inning with a RBI double by Kody Hoese and a wild pitch. Miguel Vargas homered in the ninth inning to finish the scoring.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Hyun-il Choi makes his second start of the season with Oklahoma City and fourth appearance overall of 2024...Choi most recently pitched April 21 for Double-A Tulsa at Wichita. He allowed three runs on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts and hit three batters. He was charged with the loss in the Drillers' 6-2 road defeat...Choi made his Triple-A debut, and his second career appearance above High-A, April 16 in Oklahoma City against Sacramento. He allowed three runs and five hits, including one home run, with two walks and two strikeouts. After giving up a three-run homer in the first inning, Choi was able to settle in and retire 10 of the final 14 batters he faced but was still handed the loss in a 3-2 defeat...Choi began the season on Tulsa's roster and made his season debut April 10 against Arkansas...The 23-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, spent the entire 2023 season with High-A Great Lakes, making 16 appearances (13 starts) and posting a 4-5 record and 3.75 ERA over 60.0 IP with 46 strikeouts against 12 walks...He was limited to two appearances (one start) during the 2022 season due to injury...Choi was named the 2021 Los Angeles Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year after splitting the 2021 season between Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and High-A Great Lakes and posting a combined 8-6 record and 3.55 ERA in 24 appearances (11 starts). He recorded 106 strikeouts against 18 walks and posted a 0.97 WHIP...Choi signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in August 2018 and today is his first career appearance against the Isotopes.
Against the Isotopes: 2024: 9-2 2023: 10-14 All-time: 147-121 At ABQ: 65-69 OKC and the Isotopes meet for their second of four series in 2024, totaling 24 games, all to be played within the first half of the season...OKC played its first home series of 2024 against the Isotopes, going 5-1, and outscoring Albuquerque, 37-24. Miguel Vargas racked up 11 RBI in six games, while Andy Pages led OKC with eight hits in the first series...Last season, the Isotopes were one of three teams OKC posted a losing head-to-head record against, along with Salt Lake and Tacoma, as Albuquerque won a season series against OKC for the first time since 2017. OKC won the 2018, 2019 and 2022 series, going a combined 18-6, and split the 2021 series, 9-9, before losing last season's series, 14-10...Last season, the Isotopes went 9-3 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark for their most wins in OKC. Previously, the Isotopes' most wins in Bricktown in one season was five in 2009. Albuquerque won five of six games in OKC Aug. 22-27 before OKC finished that August series with a 14-0 win, tying for the team's largest shutout win ever at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and tied for the second-largest shutout win in the Bricktown era overall (also April 25, 1998 vs. Nashville)...The teams also played a six-game series in OKC July 4-9, 2023, which the Isotopes won, 4-2. It was Albuquerque's first series win in Bricktown since 2016 and the Isotopes won four straight games against OKC within the same series since Aug. 8-11, 2008 in Albuquerque...In 2023, the road team went 16-8 in the season series. OKC went 7-5 in Albuquerque and started 7-2 before dropping their final three games.
Dub Collectors: Oklahoma City's season-best five-game winning streak came to an end last night as OKC lost for the first time since April 20 against Sacramento at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...Oklahoma City started the series in Albuquerque 4-0 for the team's best start to a series this season, and with a win today, OKC could match its best record in a six-game series this season at 5-1 - last accomplished against the Isotopes in OKC April 2-7...Yesterday's loss also snapped a season-best eight-game winning streak in road games - the team's longest stretch of road victories since a team record 12-game streak from June 29-July 28, 2023. The road win streak began with four wins in Round Rock April 11-14 before opening the current series with four wins...Saturday also snapped a stretch of seven straight wins against the Isotopes, as OKC is now 9-2 against Albuquerque this season...Overall, OKC is 10-5 in the last 15 games.
That's Offensive: Oklahoma City scored seven runs in last night's loss, marking the team's highest run total in a defeat so far this season and the team's highest run total in a loss since an 11-10 loss against Tacoma Sept. 16, 2023 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...OKC has now scored at least five runs in six straight games and has scored 61 runs through the first five games of the series in Albuquerque. During the current series, OKC has three games of 11 runs or more and two games of 17 runs or more. On Thursday afternoon, OKC scored at least 21 runs for just the fifth time during the team's Bricktown era, spanning 3,593 games since 1998. It was the team's highest run total in a game since matching a team record with 24 runs June 11, 2023 at El Paso in a 24-5 win...OKC tallied 13 more hits last night and has at least 12 hits in five straight games, racking up 75 hits total so far during the current series in Albuquerque while collectively batting .366 (75x205). OKC last compiled double-digit hit totals in at least five straight games as part of a six-game stretch Sept. 15-21, 2022 with the first four games being played in Albuquerque and the final two in El Paso, with OKC tallying 79 hits over the six games...OKC had four more extra-base hits Saturday and has 38 extra-base hits through five games in Albuquerque (7.6 per game) after averaging 3.7 XBH per game through the first 21 games of the season...Overall this season, OKC's 269 total hits and .293 batting average pace all of Triple-A, while the team's 178 runs scored rank second in Triple-A, trailing Sugar Land's 191 runs...On the other hand, Albuquerque has scored 45 runs through the first five games of the current series, marking the highest run total in a series so far by an OKC opponent this season with one game still remaining today.
Andre the Giant: Last night, Andre Lipcius hit a three-run homer for a second straight game and is now tied for the team lead with eight home runs this season. Over his last five games, Lipcius is 10-for-25 (.400) with three homers and nine RBI. Since April 23, his three homers are tied with teammate Ryan Ward for most in the PCL, while his nine RBI during the span are tied with Round Rock's Blaine Crim for most in the league...He has hit six home runs over his last 13 games - second-most in the league since April 13...He already has eight homers in 23 games this season after hitting a career-high 13 home runs combined last season at three levels over 117 games.
Trey Bien: Trey Sweeney went 2-for-5 Saturday and now has reached base in all 25 games he has played in this season. Sweeney has also collected a hit in eight straight games, going 16-for-35 (.457) with six doubles, a home run, 10 RBI, five walks and nine runs scored and has five multi-hit games during the stretch. The hitting streak is his longest since hitting safely in 11 straight games with Double-A Somerset last season from July 16-28. He also had a 12-game hitting streak with Somerset last season...His on-base streak is the longest on-base streak to start the season in all of Triple-A and is the first OKC player with an on-base streak of at least 24 games since last season's PCL MVP Michael Busch, who reached base in 39 straight games June 30-Aug. 16, 2023. The streak is also a career-high for Sweeney. His previous career high was a 20-game streak June 25-July 26, 2022 with High-A Hudson Valley...His 23 walks in 25 games pace the PCL, his .439 OBP is fourth-highest in the league, his 30 hits are tied for fourth in the league and his 22 runs scored are tied for sixth. Eleven of his first 30 hits this season have gone for extra bases.
The Amazing Jonathan: Jonathan Araúz went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk last night, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games. He is 20-for-66 (.303) during the stretch with eight doubles, one triple and a home run. His hitting streak is the longest in the PCL to start the season and longest active hitting streak in Triple-A...His previous career-high 14-game hitting streak came with High-A Fayetteville May 17-31, 2019 - the longest hitting streak in the Carolina League that season.
Dinger Details: Oklahoma City hit two more home runs Saturday and has hit 12 home runs so far in the series in Albuquerque - the team's most in a series so far this season with one game to go. OKC's previous high mark in a series this season was 10 homers over a six-game road series in Round Rock April 10-14...Oklahoma City's 28 home runs since April 12 (14 games) are the most in the Minors during the span and OKC has hit at least two home runs in 10 of the last 14 games, including five games with three or more homers...OKC's 39 total home runs this season lead the PCL and are second-most in Triple-A (Norfolk - 49)...Seven of the team's last eight homers have been hit with at least one runner on base...Oklahoma City allowed a season-high four homers to the Isotopes last night, accounting for seven runs. OKC had not allowed more than two home runs in a game this season prior to Saturday. The Isotopes' 10 homers so far in the series are the most allowed by OKC in a series this season...Entering Saturday, OKC had allowed the fewest home runs in the PCL this season, but dropped into a tie for second and has allowed 25 total homers so far this season.
The Big Ones: Albuquerque scored five runs in the fourth inning last night, marking the fifth time this series OKC surrendered an inning of four-plus runs. Of the 136 total runs allowed so far this season, 51 of them have scored during 11 big innings (four or more runs). That's 37.5 percent of runs allowed in 4.8 percent of the innings pitched (228).
Around the Horn: Miguel Vargas went 2-for-5 with a home run Saturday and extended his hitting streak to six games. During the stretch, he is now 11-for-26 (.423) with six extra-base hits, six RBI and 10 runs scored. He has reached base in 20 of his 21 games this season and his 20 walks are tied for fifth in the league while his .434 OBP is sixth in the PCL...Kody Hoese doubled twice Saturday and is 7-for-18 during the current series. He has picked up an extra-base hit in three straight games and has hit five of his six doubles so far this season over the last three games...Drew Avans extended his hitting streak to six games, collecting a single and scoring a run Saturday. He is 10-for-27 (.370) with 12 runs scored during the stretch. He leads OKC in hits (31), runs (27), triples (3) and stolen bases (7) this season. He ranks second in the PCL in runs scored, tied for second in the league in hits and tied for third in triples...Ryan Ward went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored two runs Saturday. He is 7-for-15 with a double, three home runs, eight RBI and six runs scored during the current series...Entering today, OKC has won three straight series finales.
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 28, 2024
- Rainiers Win Rain-Shortened Game - Tacoma Rainiers
- Reno Aces Welcome over 7,000 Fans to Greater Nevada Field, Highest Mark in April Since 2015 Season - Reno Aces
- Chihuahuas No Match for Tacoma, Rain Sunday - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Aces Outmatched by Space Cowboys in 10-5 Series Finale Defeat - Reno Aces
- OKC Tripped up in Narrow Loss - Oklahoma City Comets
- Albuquerque Pushes Past Oklahoma City, 9-7 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Sunday's Round Rock Versus Salt Lake Game Cancelled - Round Rock Express
- April 28 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers vs. El Paso Chihuahuas - Tacoma Rainiers
- OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - April 28, 2024 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Solak Powers Rainiers to Series Lead - Tacoma Rainiers
- Sugar Land Runs Their Way To 8-3 Win Over Reno - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Humphreys' Blast Lifts Bees To Wild Extra-Inning Win Over Express - Salt Lake Bees
- Tacoma Wins Over El Paso, 9-2 - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Salt Lake Outlasts Round Rock for 6-5 Win in 12 Innings - Round Rock Express
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