OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - July 19, 2024
July 19, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Baseball Club (7-11/47-46) at Round Rock Express (8-9/45-46)
Game #94 of 150/Second Half #19 of 75/Road #49 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Clayton Kershaw (0-0, 0.00) vs. RR-RHP Owen White (2-5, 5.48)
Friday, July 19, 2024 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 7:15 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 returns from the All-Star Break to open a three-game road series against the Round Rock Express at 7:15 p.m. at Dell Diamond. Three-time Cy Young Award winner, 10-time All-Star and 2014 National League MVP Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch for OKC tonight as part of a Major League Rehab Assignment.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club scored two runs in the 11th inning, capped with a game-winning sacrifice fly by Alan Trejo in a 5-4 win against the El Paso Chihuahuas Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Oklahoma City tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth inning on a RBI single by Kody Hoese, but left the bases loaded to send the game to extra innings. Both teams exchanged runs in the 10th inning with Hunter Feduccia connecting on a RBI single to tie the score, 3-3, but OKC once again left the bases loaded. In the 11th inning, El Paso went back in front, 4-3, on a RBI single by Graham Pauley. In the bottom of the inning, OKC brought in a run when Diego Cartaya hit into a fielder's choice before Trejo hit a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Ryan Ward to score the game-winning run from third base. El Paso took the first lead of the day in the fourth inning on a two-run homer by Pauley. OKC cut the lead in half on a solo home run by Trey Sweeney in the fourth inning.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Ten-time MLB All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award-winner, 2014 National League Most Valuable Player and 2020 World Series champion Clayton Kershaw is slated to start for OKC as he continues a Major League Rehab Assignment tonight in preparation for his 17th season with the Los Angeles Dodgers...He started and pitched 3.0 innings for OKC July 13, facing the minimum and throwing 38 pitches (23 strikes) at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark against El Paso. He retired eight of the nine batters he faced with five strikeouts. He walked the first batter of the third inning, but closed his outing by inducing a double play to conclude the inning...Tonight will be his fifth-ever appearance with OKC after also making rehab starts in 2017, 2019 and 2021...Tonight is also his third overall game of the season as he started a previous MLB rehab assignment June 19 in Rancho Cucamonga, allowing one run and one walk along with two hits over 3.0 innings with five strikeouts. Following the outing he experienced left shoulder soreness and underwent a MRI before resuming a throwing program and joining OKC...Kershaw began the season on the 60-day Injured List while he is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery...Last season he made 24 starts with LAD, going 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 137 strikeouts over 131.2 innings pitched...He recorded the 200th win of his career April 18, 2023 against New York (NL)...Last season, he was selected as a National League All-Star for the 10th time, tying Pee Wee Reese for the most All-Star selections in franchise history, but he did not pitch in the game. Kershaw was named a MLB All-Star each season from 2011-17 and again in 2019 and 2022-23. He won a Rawlings Gold Glove in 2011, was named NL MVP in 2014 and won the Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014...Kershaw has made additional stops in OKC as a four-time winner of the Warren Spahn Award (2011, 2013, 2014, 2017), presented annually to the best left-handed pitcher in MLB...Tonight will be Kershaw's first time pitching on the road in a Minor League game since July 17, 2008 with Double-A Jacksonville at West Tennessee. It was also the last time he appeared in a Minor League game during a non-rehab assignment.
Against the Express: 2024: 7-5 2023: 14-4 All-time: 183-144 At RR: 97-70 OKC and Round Rock play their third of five series this season, meeting for a three-game set following the league All-Star Break...The teams last played a six-game series in OKC June 4-9, which the teams split, 3-3. The series included a doubleheader after the first game of the series was suspended after the top of the first inning due to rain. Three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion Max Scherzer started for Round Rock in the series finale as part of a ML Rehab Assignment, completing 4.0 scoreless innings...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 12 games against the Express, Andre Lipcius led OKC with 16 hits and 15 RBI, including five home runs...Prior to April, the teams last met 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...OKC won the 2023 regular-season series, 14-4, including wins in nine of the first 10 games and in four of the last five meetings...OKC swept the Express in the lone 2023 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.
Tri-Cy's: With Clayton Kershaw scheduled to start for Oklahoma City tonight, this will be OKC's fourth game this season in which a multiple Cy Young Award winner has pitched while on a Major League Rehab Assignment. In addition to Kershaw's last game with OKC July 13 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, OKC previously squared off against Blake Snell in Sacramento May 17 and faced Max Scherzer with Round Rock June 9....Although he has not won a Cy Young Award, Johnny Cueto also pitched at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark June 6 for Round Rock. Between Cueto, Kershaw and Scherzer, the trio represents three of the top four among all active MLB players in career innings and three of the top five in career starts.
In Conclusion: Sunday's win was OKC's fourth walk-off victory of the season and first since June 19 against Albuquerque. Sunday's game was won on a sacrifice fly by Alan Trejo and all four of OKC's walk-off wins in 2024 have ended without a hit, also including two wild pitches and a fielder's choice...With Sunday's win in 11 innings, OKC improved to 3-2 in extra-inning games. It was OKC's first extra-inning game since a 5-4 win in 11 innings against Albuquerque June 19 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The 11 innings tied the team's longest game of the season in innings and was the third extra-inning game played at home this season...Overall, Sunday marked OKC's sixth last at-bat win of 2024 and the first time the team won a game when trailing after eight innings (1-39). It's also the third time OKC at least tied a game when trailing in the ninth inning.
On the Hunt: Hunter Feduccia finished Sunday's series finale against El Paso with a game-high three hits, going 3-for-5 with a RBI. He extended his career-best on-base streak to 23 games - the third-longest on-base streak of the season for an OKC player and the third-longest active on-base streak in the league. During the streak that started June 6, he has 22 hits, including three doubles and three homers, along with 15 RBI and 20 walks while posting a .448 OBP...Sunday was Feduccia's sixth game of the season with three or more hits...Over his last six games, Feduccia is 8-for-19 (.421) with five walks...He ranks seventh overall in the PCL this season with a .409 OBP.
The Warden: Ryan Ward drew a game-high three walks and scored a run Sunday. He has now reached base safely in 11 straight games, batting 13-for-44 (.295) with eight extra-base hits including four home runs, along with nine RBI and 10 runs scored and has hit safely in nine of the 11 games. This is his second on-base streak of the season of at least 11 games...His six-game hitting streak, which was the longest active hitting streak for an OKC player and tied for his second-longest hitting streak of the season, came to an end Sunday (9x25)...With his league-leading 24 home runs so far this season, he has eclipsed his 2023 total of 21 homers in 139 games with OKC. His season-high mark for home runs in a season is 28 with Double-A Tulsa in 2022 over 116 games...In addition to leading the league in home runs, Ward also leads the PCL in SLG (.640), is third in OPS (.981) and 45 extra-base hits, and ranks seventh with 67 RBI and tied for seventh with 174 total bases although he has played in just 68 games, having missed more than three weeks of the season while on the Injured List in May...He also hit a home run while on a rehab assignment with the ACL Dodgers in May and his 25 total home runs rank tied for second-most in the Minors...Ward has hit at least 21 homers in each of first four full seasons of his pro career and is now up to 105 HR since his career began in 2019.
Stranded: OKC left 16 runners on base in Sunday's game including leaving the bases loaded in fourth, ninth and 10th innings. The team had five plate appearances between the ninth and 10th innings with the winning run at third base but was unable to score. OKC's 16 runners left on base Sunday matched the team's season-high mark set May 31 in Albuquerque and April 24 in Albuquerque...OKC's 738 LOB this season are the most in Triple-A and second-most in the Minors behind Single-A Modesto's 741 LOB...So far in July, OKC has left a league-leading 101 runners on base through 12 games.
Up and Down on the Mound: After Oklahoma City held El Paso to four runs and seven hits over 11 innings Sunday, with two of those runs being unearned as a result of a placed runner in extra innings coming around to score. The previous series started with El Paso piling up 19 runs and 26 hits across the first two games before being limited to four runs and 10 hits over the next two games. Then on Saturday the Chihuahuas broke out for nine runs on 11 hits...OKC is now 5-5 over the last 10 games. In the five wins, they've allowed a total of 11 runs. But in the five losses, they've surrendered 43 runs, with at least seven runs in the four of the five defeats and at least nine runs in three of the five losses.
Summer Blues: Oklahoma City has wins in three of the last four games and returns from the All-Star break with a 47-46 record. However, following an 11-2 win in Sugar Land June 11, OKC's record was 37-27 - tied for the team's best record of the season at 10 games above .500. Since then, OKC is 10-19 over the last 29 games and has the second-worst record in the PCL during that time...Before Sunday's win, OKC's record sat at .500 (46-46) for the fourth time this month and it was the latest into a season OKC held a .500 record since Sept. 6, 2021 when OKC was 53-53...Since June 12, OKC's .245 batting average is tied for lowest in the league, while the team's 137 runs scored and 244 hits are second-to-last. On the pitching side, the team's 5.58 ERA is ranked seventh while the team's 172 runs and 268 hits allowed are ranked sixth out of 10 teams...OKC has lost at least four straight games three times over that period and the team has avoided to lose at least consecutive games just twice...OKC split its series against El Paso, but has lost four of the last six series, and with seven series losses this season, OKC has already surpassed its 2023 total of six.
Around the Horn: Drew Avans has 410 hits during his OKC career and is four hits away from surpassing Esteban Germán for second place all-time during the Bricktown era (since 1998)...OKC drew 10 walks Sunday, reaching double-digit walks for the fourth time this season. OKC's 10 walks were the most for the team since May 9 in Sugar Land when the team recorded a season-high 14 walks...On Sunday, OKC turned four double plays to tie the team's season-high mark. OKC also turned four double plays June 9 against Round Rock and March 29 in Tacoma...OKC went 16-for-23 (.696) in the team's ABS challenges last series against El Paso.
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