PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - April 9, 2024

Published on April 9, 2024 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Baseball Club (6-3) at Round Rock Express (5-4)

Game #10 of 150/First Half #10 of 75/Road #4 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Kyle Hurt (0-0, 4.50) vs. RR-RHP Michael Lorenzen (0-0, 5.40)

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 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 three straight games as the team opens a six-game road series against the Round Rock Express at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond...OKC most recently wrapped up a six-game home series, going 5-1 against the Albuquerque Isotopes at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...OKC is 1-2 on the road after a three-game series in Tacoma to open 2024.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club hit two home runs and scored 10 runs through the first two innings in an 11-3 win against the Albuquerque Isotopes Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Oklahoma City loaded the bases three batters into its first at-bat before Miguel Vargas hit a two-run single into left field. Ryan Ward followed with a three-run home run for a 5-0 advantage. After Albuquerque hit a solo homer in the top of the second inning, Oklahoma City scored five more runs in the bottom of the inning, including a two-run home run by Andy Pages, RBI single by Ward and a RBI double by Jonathan Araúz. The Isotopes scored two runs in the fourth inning and Oklahoma City answered with another run on a RBI single by Kevin Padlo for an 11-3 lead. Both teams were then held without a run over the final five innings.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Kyle Hurt (0-0) makes his second start of the young season with Oklahoma City and first on the road...Hurt made his first start of 2024 with Oklahoma City April 3 against Albuquerque at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. He pitched 2.0 innings, allowing one run and two hits, along with two walks and five strikeouts against the 10 batters he faced. He threw a total of 45 pitches and generated 14 swings and misses...Hurt made his season debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers against San Diego in South Korea March 21, allowing one earned run on three hits with one walk over 2.0 innings of relief. He then pitched 2.2 innings of relief against St. Louis March 30 at Dodger Stadium and was charged with the loss after the placed runner came around to score in the 10th inning during a 6-5 defeat. He allowed one unearned run and two hits with three strikeouts...He was optioned to OKC March 31...Hurt made seven appearances, including one start for OKC last season, going 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA over 27.0 innings in his first Triple-A action. He struck out 42 of the first 109 batters he faced in Triple-A, allowed 11 walks and held opponents to a .198 average...Hurt was named the Dodgers' 2023 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year and between OKC and Double-A Tulsa, made 26 appearances (16 starts) and posted a 3.91 ERA, .205 batting average and a 1.23 WHIP over 92.0 innings. His 152 strikeouts led the minor league system by 26 and among organizational pitchers with at least 90.0 IP, he ranked second in BAA, second in WHIP and fifth in ERA...Hurt made his ML debut Sept. 12 with the Los Angeles Dodgers against San Diego, retiring all six batters he faced in relief, including three strikeouts...Hurt was selected by Miami in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Southern California and was traded to the Dodgers Feb. 12, 2021 with Alex Vesia in exchange for Dylan Floro...Tonight is his third career regular-season appearance against the Express. Last season, Hurt went 0-1 in two relief appearances, allowing a combined five runs and seven hits over 8.0 innings with four walks and nine strikeouts. He also started against the Express in Game 1 of the PCL Championship Series and allowed one run and two hits, along with three walks and eight strikeouts over 4.0 innings during an 8-3 victory.

Against the Express: 2024: 0-0 2023: 14-4 All-time: 176-139 At RR: 93-68 Oklahoma City and the Express meet for the first time since facing one another in the 2023 PCL Championship Series when OKC swept Round Rock, winning, 8-3, in Game 1, and, 5-2, in Game 2 for OKC's first league title since 1996...Oklahoma City won the regular-season series between the teams, 14-4, including wins in nine of the first 10 games and in four of the last five regular-season meetings...OKC swept the Express May 9-14 in the team's lone series in Round Rock. It was OKC's first-ever six-game series sweep since PCL teams started playing primarily six-game series in 2021. OKC trailed in the seventh inning or later in four of the six wins and hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning twice...The last 12 meetings between the teams in the regular season were played in OKC, with OKC winning both series, 4-2. During a 17-7 win Aug. 6, OKC set a new team record for hits in a home game with 22...In their most recent series Aug. 29-Sept. 3, Oklahoma City held the Express to four runs or less in each of the final five games, including allowing one run in each of the final two meetings of the regular season, winning by a combined score of 16-2...During the regular season, Ryan Ward led OKC with 16 hits in 17 games against the Express, including seven doubles and three homers. David Dahl paced OKC with 12 RBI against the Express in nine games. In the postseason, Drew Avans racked up six hits in two games and tied Michael Busch with three RBI against Round Rock.

Run's House: Oklahoma City's 11 runs Sunday marked the team's highest run total in a game since a 13-8 win Sept. 20, 2023 in Albuquerque. It was also the first time this season Oklahoma City's run total reached double digits...The five runs scored by Oklahoma City in the first inning Sunday marked the highest scoring inning for OKC so far this season. The team's previous high mark was a four-run inning during the home opener April 2 against the Isotopes. OKC then followed up with an additional five runs in the second inning Sunday.

Playing the Hits: Oklahoma City finished Sunday's game with 16 hits for the team's highest hit total since Aug. 27, 2023 against Albuquerque when OKC had 17 hits in a 14-0 win...OKC is now 5-3 in games this season when outhitting its opponent so far this season. In games in which OKC outhit its opponent last season, Oklahoma City went 67-14...OKC has been outhit in just one game this season - an 8-7 win against Albuquerque Wednesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Last season, OKC finished 15-41 in games in which the opponent totaled more hits.

The Warden: Ryan Ward went 3-for-5 with a double, home run, four RBI, and scored three runs Sunday afternoon. It was Ward's first multi-RBI game of the season and highest RBI total in a game since Aug. 25, 2023 against Albuquerque in OKC when he also had four RBI. He entered Sunday having started 3-for-28 this season...Ward led OKC with 95 RBI last season and his total ranked fourth in the PCL, making him the ninth player in OKC's Bricktown era (since 1998) with at least 95 RBI in a single season. Ward also led the PCL with 139 games played- the most by an OKC player in a single season since at least 2005.

Close Calls: Sunday marked the first time this season the final score was decided by more than two runs. The eight-run margin was the largest in a game for OKC since a 9-1 win against Round Rock Sept. 3, 2023...Oklahoma City's first eight games of 2024 season had been decided by a total of 11 runs and all eight games were decided by margins of two runs or less. The last time OKC had a stretch of eight straight games decided by two runs or less in the same season was June 21-29, 2021 when OKC went 6-2...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...Going back to last season's Triple-A National Championship game, which OKC lost, 7-6, OKC had played nine straight games decided by two runs or less. To close out the 2023 regular season, OKC's final two games were also decided by two runs or less...Saturday night's 4-3 victory marked the team's second last at-bat win of the season after capturing 24 last at-bat wins in 2023. Three of the team's first nine games have been decided in a final at-bat after 36 of 148 games were decided in a final at-bat in 2023 (24.3 percent).

Trey Bien: Trey Sweeney extended his team-leading hit streak to six games with two hits, including a double, Sunday. During the streak, he is 8-for-18 with a double, triple, home run, five RBI, 10 walks and seven runs scored...He is also in the midst of eight-game on-base and walk streaks...Sweeney's 12 walks and .538 on-base percentage to start the season both lead the Pacific Coast League...Sweeney was traded to the Dodgers Dec. 11 , 2023 from the New York Yankees in exchange for Victor González and Jorbit Vivas. He spent the entire 2023 season with Double-A Somerset and enters 2024 ranked as the No. 16 Los Angeles Dodgers prospect by Baseball America and No. 22 by MLB Pipeline.

Miggy Mash: Miguel Vargas added two RBI Sunday and leads OKC with 15 RBI through nine games this season...His nine-game on-base streak is tied for longest in the PCL to start the season, while his 15 RBI are third-most in the league...Last Tuesday marked his first game with four-plus RBI since driving in eight for Double-A Tulsa July 25, 2021 against Northwest Arkansas. Prior to Tuesday, he had not recorded a game of at least four RBI at Triple-A or in the Majors in his career (275 games)...He homered in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday and recorded four RBI both nights. His grand slam Tuesday was his first career grand slam (573rd career game)...Five of his first 10 hits of 2024 have gone for extra bases.

Sales Pitch: OKC allowed three or fewer runs in each of the final three games of the previous series, limiting Albuquerque to seven runs and 18 hits combined during a trio of wins. At one point between Friday and Saturday's games, the pitching staff fired 15 straight scoreless innings...The pitching staff racked up 28 strikeouts over the last two games and reached at least a dozen strikeouts in four of the six games against the Isotopes. Their 98 strikeouts through nine game pace the PCL...Through nine games, opponents are batting just .207.

Road Dogs: Although Oklahoma City is 1-2 on the road so far, the team finished with a 48-27 record on the road last season, setting a single-season Bricktown-era record for road wins as well as notching the most road wins across the Minors in 2023. The team's 48 road wins are the most by any PCL team since 2005 and the 2023 OKC team was the first in all of the Minors to win 48 road games in one season since High-A Lake Elsinore in 2010 (48-22)...OKC has posted winning records on the road each of the last three seasons, going a combined 124-91 (.577) in away games.

Around the Horn: Kevin Padlo finished Sunday's game with three hits, including a double and two RBI, and now has four multi-hit games to begin the season...Drew Avans went 2-for-5 with a double Sunday and scored two runs as he collected his team-leading fifth multi-hit game of the season. His four doubles lead the team. During the team's Bricktown era (since 1998), Avans ranks third with 184 career walks and 84 stolen bases and is eighth with 325 career hits....Andy Pages went 3-for-5 and hit his first Triple-A home run in the second inning Sunday - a two-run shot that sailed over the video board in left field and exited the stadium. He also scored two runs in the game. Pages is now 5-for-10 over his last two games...OKC held Albuquerque 9-for-58 (.155) with runners in scoring position throughout the previous series. OKC opponents overall are just 16-for-92 (.174) with RISP...Kody Hoese has hit safely in each of his last five games, going 7-for-18.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 9, 2024


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