PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - August 28, 2024

Published on August 28, 2024 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Baseball Club (27-25/67-60)

at Round Rock Express (25-26/62-63)

Game #128 of 150/Second Half #53 of 75/Road #65 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (NR, -.--) vs. RR-RHP Kumar Rocker (NR, -.--)

Wednesday, August 28, 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 seeks a fourth straight win when the team's road series against the Round Rock Express continues at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. OKC has won three consecutive games as well as nine of the last 10 games and 12 of the last 14 games...Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to open a Major League Rehab Assignment with OKC and make his first Triple-A appearance during his first season pitching in the United States.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club scored 11 runs between the seventh and ninth innings as they ran away with a 13-1 victory over the Round Rock Express Tuesday night at Dell Diamond. Round Rock took 1-0 lead without a hit in the third inning, but Oklahoma City evened the score with a solo homer by Dalton Rushing in the top of the fourth inning. Andy Pages opened the sixth inning with a double and advanced to third base on an error, and Rushing brought him in to score with a groundout to give OKC a 2-1 lead. OKC put up seven two-out runs in the seventh inning. Pages hit a two-run single before Rushing made it 5-1 with a RBI single. Andre Lipcius sent a three-run homer down the left field line, and Kody Hoese finished the rally with a RBI double to extend the lead to 9-1. Rushing hit his second homer of the night in the ninth inning with a two-run blast off the batter's eye. Hoese punctuated the offensive barrage with a two-run home run to left field later in the ninth inning.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to open a Major League Rehab Assignment tonight with OKC and make his first-ever Triple-A appearance...Yamamoto last pitched in a game June 15 with the Dodgers against the Kansas City Royals, tossing 2.0 innings before exiting the game due to injury. He was placed on the Dodgers' Injured List June 16 with a strained rotator cuff and was transferred to the 60-day IL July 13...In his first Major League season, Yamamoto has made 14 starts with the Dodgers, going 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA. He has racked up 84 strikeouts against 17 walks over 74.0 innings pitched. He owns a 2.08 ERA at Dodger Stadium where he has made six starts this season...Yamamoto signed a 12-year contract with the Dodgers Dec. 27, 2023 after spending seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, posting a 70-29 record, 1.82 ERA and 922 strikeouts in 172 games...In 2023, he helped guide the Buffaloes to the Nippon Pacific League pennant and to the Japan Series Championship. He was named the Nippon Pacific League Most Valuable Player for a third straight season, winning the Japanese Pitching Triple Crown by leading the league in wins (16), strikeouts (169) and ERA (1.21) over 164 innings in 23 games...He helped lead Japan to its third World Baseball Classic Championship in 2023 and won a gold medal with Japan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Additionally, he was a five-time Nippon Professional Baseball League All-Star from 2018-19 and 2021-23.

Landon Knack (4-3) is scheduled to follow Yamamoto and make his 14th appearance of the season with OKC...Knack last pitched and started Aug. 22 against El Paso in OKC, holding the Chihuahuas to one run and two hits over five innings with five strikeouts and three walks, but did not factor into the decision of OKC's 2-1 win...In 10 appearances (eight starts) with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, Knack is 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA over 48.0 IP with 44 K's against 12 walks, holding opponents to a .201 average with a 1.00 WHIP...Overall with OKC this season, Knack has made 13 appearances (12 starts), going 4-3 with a 3.80 ERA over 64.0 IP. He has compiled 72 strikeouts and issued 29 walks...Knack made his ML debut with the Dodgers April 17 against Washington and earned his first career win in his next start April 24 at Washington...Knack was OKC's Opening Night starter in Tacoma March 29 after he split time between OKC and Double-A Tulsa last season...The Johnson City, Tenn., native was selected in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of East Tennessee State...Knack last faced Round Rock Aug. 6 in OKC and earned the win, allowing three runs (one earned) and six hits over 5.2 innings with eight K's against three walks.

Against the Express: 2024: 12-10 2023: 14-4 All-time: 188-149 At RR: 99-72 OKC and Round Rock meet for their fifth and final series this season and their third at Dell Diamond...The teams split their most recent series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark earlier this month, Aug. 6-11. OKC won the first two games before the Express won three straight and OKC won the series finale, 3-0...Round Rock won a three-game series between the teams July 19-21 following the All-Star Break at Dell Diamond. OKC won the series opener, 10-6, but was held to one run over the final two games as the Express won, 2-1, in 10 innings July 20 and then won 4-0 July 21...The teams played a six-game series in OKC June 4-9, which the teams split, 3-3...OKC won the first series of the season, 4-2, at Dell Diamond April 9-14. After the first game was postponed due to inclement weather, Round Rock won both games of a doubleheader the following day. OKC then closed the series with four straight wins, including 12-3 and 14-5 victories in the final two games...Through the first 21 games against the Express this season, Andre Lipcius led OKC with 24 hits and tied Ryan Ward with a team-best 17 RBI against the Express. Lipcius also had six homers against the Express entering this series...The teams met in the 2023 PCL Championship Series as OKC swept Round Rock in two games for OKC's first league title since 1996...OKC won the 2023 regular-season series, 14-4...OKC has won three straight season series against the Express and Round Rock last won a season series between the teams in 2019 (6-10).

Back to School Bump: Since Aug. 4, OKC leads all of Triple-A with a 15-5 record, which is also tied for the best record among all teams in the Minors during the stretch. OKC entered its Aug. 4 game in El Paso with a 52-55 record overall. Now 20 games later, OKC's overall record sits at seven games above .500 at 67-60 and OKC has won 12 of its last 14 games as well as nine of the last 10 games. Before the recent turnaround, OKC went 15-28 from June 12-Aug. 3....OKC held a 12-20 second half record and sat in last place entering Aug. 4. OKC now is 27-25 during the second half and has moved up to fifth place overall as the team is two games above .500 for the first time during the second half. The team is now just 3.5 games out of a playoff berth...OKC has won five games in each of its last two series against El Paso and in Las Vegas as the team won back-to-back six-game series for the third time this season and first time since April 23-29 in Albuquerque (4-2) and April 30-May 5 against Salt Lake (4-2)...OKC's overall record was last eight games above .500 following a win June 13 loss in Sugar Land (37-29).

Rush Hour: Dalton Rushing hit two home runs Tuesday for his first multi-homer game in Triple-A as he went 3-for-5 with five RBI. His two-homer night was his second multi-homer game of the season as he also hit two homers Aug. 4 with Double-A Tulsa against Springfield. His five RBI matched his season and career high set earlier this year with Tulsa May 27 versus Northwest Arkansas...Rushing has hit three home runs over his last two games, including his first home run at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Sunday. He has five homers over his last 12 games and is up to 22 home runs overall between OKC and Tulsa...Rushing has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, batting .391 (18x46) with eight extra-base hits, six multi-hit games, 14 RBI and 14 runs scored...Rushing has now reached base in each of his first 19 Triple-A games since joining OKC Aug. 6 and his 19-game on-base streak is the longest active streak in the PCL. It is the longest on-base streak by an OKC player since Drew Avans reached base in 24 straight games July 4-Aug. 6 and is the second-longest on-base streak in Rushing's professional career as he compiled a 29-game on-base streak with High-A Great Lakes last season from April 7-May 14, 2023. Going back to his time with Tulsa, he has reached base in 21 consecutive games...The catcher/outfielder is slashing .343/.458/.627 since joining OKC Aug. 6. His 13 walks and five homers are tied for second in the league during that span, while his 18 runs scored are third and his .458 OBP ranks fifth...Rushing is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Dodgers organization by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline while being ranked No. 36 overall by the former and No. 39 by the latter.

Dinger Details: Last night, OKC hit four or more homers for the seventh time this season. The team has now hit 26 homers over the last 14 games and has hit at least one homer in 13 of the 14 games during the stretch that started Aug. 11. OKC's 26 homers since Aug. 11 are most in Triple-A...Overall in August, OKC has hit 34 home runs in 23 games with four games remaining this month. This is the third time this season OKC has hit at least 30 homers in a month and is the team's highest monthly total since April (39)...On the other hand, OKC held the Express without a homer last night and has allowed just five homers over the last nine games and has allowed 20 homers through 23 games of August - tied for second-fewest in the PCL. OKC has allowed a Triple-A-low 115 home runs overall this season.

Mound Matters: OKC held Round Rock to one run and just four hits while striking out 10 throughout yesterday's game. Tuesday night was a bullpen game, with five relievers covering the nine innings...The pitching staff has now allowed three or fewer runs in seven of the last eight games, totaling 20 runs allowed. OKC has also held opponents to three runs or less in 11 of the last 19 games. Since Aug. 6, OKC's 3.44 ERA and 65 earned runs are lowest in the PCL, while the team's 73 total runs are second-fewest (Sugar Land - 72)...During the team's current three-game win streak, OKC has yielded a total of four runs while keeping opponents scoreless in 24 of 27 innings and to a 1-for-20 clip with runners in scoring position.

Up to Kode: Kody Hoese went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI Tuesday night...Hoese has now hit a team-leading six home runs in the month of August while collecting a team-high 19 RBI. He is also tied with Dalton Rushing with a team-leading 23 hits overall this month and 12 of Hoese's hits have gone for extra bases...This month, he paces the PCL with a .762 SLG and 1.221 OPS, while his six homers are tied for second-most in the league, his 19 RBI are tied for third, his .459 OBP is fourth, his .365 AVG is fifth and his 12 extra-base hits are tied for fifth.

Page Turner: Andy Pages went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI Tuesday. Since being optioned by the Los Angeles Dodgers Aug. 19, Pages has hit safely five of six games, batting .333 (8x24) with two home runs, a double and four RBI. During his current four-game hitting streak, he is 6-for-17 with a home run and a double...In seven total games at Dell Diamond this season, Pages is 16-for-30 (.533) with four homers, three doubles, 10 runs and 14 RBI.

Around the Horn: Last night, OKC scored 13 or more runs for the eighth time this season, but just the second time during the second half (13-7 win at Las Vegas Aug. 14). OKC started Tuesday's game 0-for-11 before going 14-for-31 (.452) with four home runs and two doubles. The team's seven-run seventh inning last night was the highest-scoring inning since May 9 at Sugar Land and the seven hits in the seventh inning matched the team's most hits in one inning this year, last accomplished also May 9...Andre Lipcius has reached base in 18 straight games since Aug. 4 for his longest on-base streak of the season. He has 17 hits and 14 RBI during the stretch. This is his longest on-base streak since he reached base in a season-high 23 games with Triple-A Toledo in 2023.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 28, 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.

OurSports Central