Sports stats



PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - March 29, 2024

March 29, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Baseball Club (0-0) at Tacoma Rainiers (0-0)

Game #1 of 150/First Half #1 of 75/Road #1 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Landon Knack (NR, -.--) vs. TAC-LHP Jhonathan Diaz (NR, -.--)

Friday, March 29, 2024 | Cheney Stadium | Tacoma, Wash. | 9:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The defending Pacific Coast League Champion Oklahoma City Baseball Club opens the 2024 season on the road against the Tacoma Rainiers at 9:05 p.m. CT at Cheney Stadium. The teams meet for a three-game series to begin the 2024 schedule before OKC returns to Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark for the team's home opener April 2 against the Albuquerque Isotopes...This is one of four three-game series on OKC's schedule this season.

Victory Parade: Oklahoma City won the 2023 PCL Championship following a 90-58 regular season, posting the most wins for an Oklahoma City team in a single season during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and the second-most wins in Oklahoma City's Triple-A history behind only the 1965 89ers (91-54). OKC's 90 wins tied for the most wins in the Minors last season and OKC became just the second PCL team since 2006 to notch at least 90 wins. OKC finished in first place in the overall PCL standings in 2023, marking the fourth time that has happened during the team's Bricktown era (also 2005, 2013 and 2015). The team clinched the PCL's first-half championship as well as a playoff berth in June, going 50-23 in the first half. In the PCL Championship Series, OKC defeated Round Rock, 8-3, in Game 1, building an early lead and later using a three-run seventh inning to pull away from the Express at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. In Game 2, Michael Busch and Jonny DeLuca both homered and Gavin Stone recorded 10 strikeouts in Oklahoma City's 5-2 home win to sweep the three-game series for OKC's first league title since 1996. Oklahoma City went on to make its first appearance in a Triple-A National Championship Game and first in postseason interleague competition during the franchise's Bricktown era (since 1998) and PCL history (1963-68; 1998-2023). The Dodgers played International League Champion Norfolk Sept. 30 at Las Vegas Ballpark in the Triple-A National Championship Game. Busch and Miguel Vargas both homered as the Dodgers put together a four-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Norfolk held on to defeat OKC, 7-6.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Landon Knack (0-0) is tabbed as Oklahoma City's Opening Day starter after serving as Double-A Tulsa's Opening Day starter in 2023...Knack split time between Triple-A OKC and Tulsa last season, going a combined 5-1 in 22 starts with a 2.51 ERA over 100.1 innings with 99 strikeouts and 30 walks, setting career highs in starts, innings and strikeouts...He was promoted to OKC in mid-June and made 10 starts in Triple-A, allowing one or no runs in six of his final eight starts. He went 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 38 strikeouts before being placed on the IL Aug. 25 and not playing for the rest of the season...Knack was added to the Los Angeles Dodgers 40-man roster Nov. 13 and made two February appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024 Cactus League play (4.0 IP). Knack was on the active roster for the two games during the Seoul Series against the San Diego Padres but not did not appear in either game. He was optioned to OKC March 22...Last season, Knack ranked among Texas League leaders in ERA (2nd, 2.20), AVG (2nd, .202), WHIP (2nd, 0.94) and innings (5th, 57.1) at the time of his promotion from Tulsa to OKC. He made 12 starts with the Drillers, going 2-0 with 61 strikeouts against 12 walks. He allowed one or no runs in eight of 12 starts...He enters the season as the No. 11 prospect in the Dodgers system by Baseball America and the No. 14 prospect by MLB Pipeline...The Johnson City, Tenn., native was selected in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of East Tennessee State...Tonight is his second career appearance against Tacoma. Last season in Tacoma, he allowed five runs (three earned) and seven hits, including one home run, over 4.0 innings and was charged with the loss - his only losing decision of 2023 at any level.

Good Company: Landon Knack joins a recent impressive run of OKC Opening Day starting pitchers beginning in 2018: Walker Buehler (2018), Clayton Kershaw (2019; ML Rehab), Josiah Gray (2021), Ryan Pepiot (2022) and Gavin Stone (2023). Gray was the Washington Nationals' Opening Day starter yesterday, and Pepiot and Stone will each begin the season in the starting rotations for the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. Buehler and Kershaw are both currently on the Los Angeles Dodgers' Injured List.

Against the Rainiers: 2024: 0-0 2023: 6-9 All-time: 62-66 At TAC: 23-39 The Rainiers and OKC are opening the season against one another for a second straight year after meeting for a season-opening series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in 2023, which OKC won, 2-1. The Rainiers won the opener, 14-8, before OKC posted back-to-back walk-off wins in the final two games - 6-5, in 10 innings and, 10-9, in nine innings with Jahmai Jones providing walk-off hits in both games...Tacoma went on to win the season series against OKC, 9-6, going 5-1 against OKC in Tacoma. The Rainiers were one of three teams OKC posted a losing head-to-head record against last season, along with Albuquerque and Salt Lake. The Rainiers were also one of two teams to win five out of six games in the same series against OKC last season Aug. 8-13 at Cheney Stadium. It was the first time OKC lost five games within a series since Aug. 26-31, 2021 at home against Las Vegas, going 40 six-game series between 1-5 results, and OKC had not opened a series with three straight losses since losing four in a row to begin a home series against Round Rock Aug. 9-12, 2022, going 26 series between 0-3 starts...The teams meet 15 times in 2024, including 12 games in OKC...In 15 meetings last season, Tacoma outscored OKC, 99-86, and hit 24 homers compared to OKC's 22. Tacoma drew 85 walks in the season series - 29 more than OKC...Going back to 2022, the Dodgers are now 9-16 in their last 25 games against the Rainiers...OKC has lost back-to-back season series against the Rainiers for the first time since 2006 and 2007...OKC is just 1-7 in the last eight games at Cheney Stadium, as the Pacific Northwest has been less than hospitable in recent times. Going back to 2012, the team is 9-18 in Tacoma and has won just one of six series in that timeframe, taking two of three games in 2018.

You Can Find Us in the Club: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club is taking the field in 2024 while the franchise undergoes a brand identity transition and develops a fresh and local team name to be unveiled following the conclusion of the season. The organization proudly remains the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate under the current Professional Development League license and will spend the 2024 season celebrating OKC's franchise history, which has been continuous since 1962. During every Thursday home game, the team will wear refreshed Oklahoma City 89ers jerseys and hats. During every Sunday home game, the team will wear its City Celebration jerseys and hats, which were introduced in 2023 in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

At First Sight: OKC is 11-14 in season openers during the Bricktown era (since 1998), including 7-5 on the road in the first game of a season. OKC is 1-3 in its last four season-opening games overall and is starting a season on the road for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2021 season when the team opened the schedule with a 6-0 loss in Round Rock May 6, 2021...This is the second time OKC and Tacoma have opened the season against each other. Last season, OKC lost to Tacoma, 14-8, March 31, 2023, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, then rebounded with six straight wins to open the season 6-1. Tacoma and OKC were also scheduled to start the 2020 season in Tacoma prior to the cancelation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic...OKC is 15-10 in road openers during the Bricktown era and won last season's first road contest in Las Vegas, 7-6.

Roster Roundup: OKC's Opening Day roster features two of the Los Angeles Dodgers' top 11 prospects, per Baseball America: Outfielder Andy Pages (No. 3) and starting pitcher Landon Knack (No. 11). Others ranked among Baseball America's top Dodgers prospects are shortstop Trey Sweeney (No. 16) and relief pitchers Gus Varland (No. 22) and John Rooney (No. 29)...The roster features seven total members of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 40-man roster. In addition to Knack, Pages and Varland, the list includes relief pitchers J.P. Feyereisen and Ricky Vanasco, catcher Hunter Feduccia and infielder Miguel Vargas...A total of 10 players were part of OKC's 2023 championship season, including pitchers Tanner Dodson and Alec Gamboa and outfielders Drew Avans and Ryan Ward...Of the 27 players on the roster, 14 have previous Major League experience, with two appearing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023 (Vargas and Varland) while nine others appeared in the Major Leagues last season with a different organization.

Field Authority: Travis Barbary enters his fifth season managing Oklahoma City in 2024, as well as his 30th season in the Dodgers organization as a player, staff member or coach. Last season Barbary helped lead OKC to its first league championship since 1996. During the regular season, the team went 90-58, marking the second-most wins in franchise history and tied for most among all teams in Minor League Baseball in 2023. Along with 84 wins in 2022, the team has finished with two of the three-highest win totals during the Bricktown era (since 1998) in each of the last two seasons. Barbary becomes just the second manager in Oklahoma City's Triple-A history to serve as manager for five consecutive seasons and will also be tied for the second-most seasons managed with OKC overall...Hitting coach Manny Burriss (fourth season), pitching coaches Doug Mathis (second season) and Justin DeFratus (fourth season) and bench coach Chris Gutierrez (second season) also return.

Road Dogs: Oklahoma City 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.

Split Decision: The Triple-A seasons in both the Pacific Coast League and International League will again be split into halves for a second straight season, with the first half ending June 23. The second half will begin June 25 and the regular season will conclude Sept. 22. The first-half winners will host the second-half winners in a best-of-three LCS slated to begin Sept. 24 in both the PCL and IL. The two LCS winners will advance to Las Vegas for the Triple-A National Championship Game Sept. 28 at Las Vegas Ballpark.

Don't Rule it Out: In 2024, the pitch clock will continue to be utilized to improve pace of play at the Triple-A level. Pitchers must begin the natural movement associated with the delivery of the ball to the batter within 15 seconds when the bases are empty and within 18 seconds if there is a runner on base. Batters will be required to be in the batter's box and alert to the pitcher with eight or more seconds remaining and catcher's must be in the catcher's box with nine or more seconds remaining...The automated strike zone, also known as ABS, returns to Triple-A in 2024. In games Tuesday-Thursday, balls and strikes will exclusively be called by ABS. For games Friday-Sunday, teams will use the challenge system. During these games, umpires will call balls and strikes, but players can challenge the result of the pitch. Each team has three challenges per game, but challenges are only taken away when a call is upheld.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from March 29, 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 Comets Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central