PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - May 26, 2024

Published on May 26, 2024 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Reno Aces (23-27) at Oklahoma City Baseball Club (28-22)

Game #51 of 150/First Half #51 of 75/Home #24 of 75

Pitching Probables: RNO-LHP Blake Walston (3-1, 4.54) vs. OKC-RHP Ben Casparius (2-0, 2.25)

Sunday, May 26, 2024 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 2:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club looks to close out its series against the Reno Aces with a win when the teams meet for the sixth time in their series at 2:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. OKC leads the series, 3-2, and is trying for its first series win since April 30-May 5 against Salt Lake at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark when OKC won four of six games against the Bees. OKC is 0-1-1 in its two series since...OKC has lost two of the last three games but is 5-2 in the team's last seven games.

Last Game: The Reno Aces scored seven straight runs, including five runs in the ninth inning, to close out Saturday night's game and send the Oklahoma City Baseball Club to a 13-7 loss at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Oklahoma City tied the score, 6-6, in the fifth inning on a solo home run by James Outman before Reno went on to build a 13-6 lead. The Aces went ahead with a run in the sixth inning and added another run in the eighth inning as both runs scored on RBI singles by Ronaldo Hernández. Then in the ninth inning, the Aces added five more runs. Trey Sweeney collected a RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning for OKC to make the score 13-7. To start the game, Reno jumped out to a 3-0 lead before OKC scored three runs in the second inning on a RBI triple by Kody Hoese, a wild pitch and a solo home run by Drew Avans. A two-run homer by Kevin Padlo put OKC ahead, 5-3, in the third inning. Reno then answered with three runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-5 lead before James Outman's solo homer tied the score in the fifth inning.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Ben Casparius (2-0) makes his fourth start with OKC tonight and second of the current series...In Tuesday's series opener against the Aces, Casparius pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three runs and four total hits with two walks and three strikeouts and was the winning pitcher in OKC's 12-3 victory. All three runs scored in the fifth inning on a three-run homer by Albert Almora Jr....Over his first two starts with OKC, Casparius allowed just one run and six hits across 11.0 innings, with no extra-base hits...He has not allowed a run in 14 of his first 16 innings with OKC...Earlier this month he joined OKC from Double-A Tulsa where he made five starts this season, posting a 2-1 record and 3.32 ERA over 21.2 innings pitched with 11 walks and 34 strikeouts. At the time of his promotion, he ranked tied for third in the Texas League in strikeouts, seventh in ERA and eighth in BAA (.217)...Between OKC and Tulsa, Casparius has allowed four runs and 13 hits over his last three starts, spanning 21.1 innings. He's held opponents 13-for-75 (.173) with 18 strikeouts...Last season, Casparius split the season between High-A Great Lakes and Tulsa and played with the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League following the season. He earned two weekly honors in 2023, being named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week April 16 and earning AFL Pitcher of the Week Nov. 4...He was selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2021 draft out of UConn after starting his collegiate career with UNC Chapel Hill and played in College World Series with the Tar Heels in 2018.

Against the Aces: 2024: 3-2 2023: 9-3 All-time: 46-33 At OKC: 29-18 Oklahoma City and Reno play their first of two series this season - and lone series of 2024 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The teams will also play June 25-30 at Greater Nevada Field to begin the second half of the season...Oklahoma City won the 2023 season series, 9-3, and took six of the last seven games. OKC outscored the Aces, 108-83, last season and batted .340 in the series as a team with 20 home runs in 12 games...Over a six-game series in Reno July 25-30, 2023, OKC scored 61 runs, including four games with at least 13 runs. However, OKC also allowed at least 11 runs in three games during the series...OKC won the home series, 4-2, and outscored the Aces, 47-30, batting .324 (67x207) with five homers. During the third game of the series June 1, OKC turned its first triple play since 2005 and the first triple play in the PCL since 2018...Devin Mann led OKC with 16 hits and 16 RBI during the 2023 series...Last season's series victory against the Aces was OKC's first since the 2015 season, as OKC went 0-2-4 in season series with Reno from 2016-22...OKC enters today's finale having won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Aces going back to last season, as well as six of the last nine in OKC.

An Ace Up the Sleeve: The Aces scored 13 runs on 16 hits Saturday after OKC had held opponents to four runs or less in six straight games and in 18 of the previous 22 games...Reno scored in six of nine innings Saturday after being held scoreless in 31 of the first 36 innings between the teams. The Aces scored a combined 11 runs on 22 hits through the first four games of the series before breaking out Saturday night...The 13 runs allowed tied OKC's season-high mark set April 23 in Albuquerque. The 16 hits allowed tied for the second-most allowed by OKC in a game this season, as OKC last allowed that many hits in a game April 25 in Albuquerque when the team also allowed 16 hits...The last time OKC allowed at least 13 runs in a home game was June 16, 2023 during a 14-2 loss at the hands of Salt Lake...The five runs scored by the Aces in the ninth inning were the most allowed in an inning by OKC since allowing five runs in the fourth inning April 27 in Albuquerque. It was the seventh time this season an opponent scored five or more runs in a frame...Despite last night's totals, OKC's 3.64 ERA since April 30 is second-lowest in Triple-A while the team's 167 hits are second-fewest and their 92 runs allowed are third-fewest among the 30 Triple-A teams during the 23-game span...Overall this season, OKC's 4.27 ERA through 50 games leads the PCL.

Ebb and Flow: OKC scored seven runs last night, equaling the season-high mark for runs scored in a loss, also done April 27 and April 28 in defeats at Albuquerque. Prior to Saturday, OKC had scored two runs on less in each of the team's previous six losses and had not exceeded four runs in a loss since April 28...So far in May, OKC is 12-10. In the team's wins, OKC has scored at least five runs 10 times (92 total runs), but has been held to four runs or less in nine of its 10 losses (19 total runs) and has been held to two runs or less in eight of those losses...Last night was the third straight game OKC tallied seven hits or less after racking up 38 hits over the previous three games with at least 10 hits per game. Seven different players recorded a hit as last night was the 10th time in the last 13 games OKC was held to seven hits or less. OKC had been held to seven hits or less in seven straight games May 10-17 with 38 total hits over the seven games combined, batting a collective .174 (38x219). OKC then batted .352 (38x108) over the next three games May 18-21. Now the last three games, OKC is 17-for-91 (.187)

Dinger Details: Oklahoma City hit three home runs Saturday for the team's most homers since May 9 in Sugar Land. OKC entered Saturday having been held to nine total home runs over the previous 13 games...Saturday was the ninth time this season OKC hit three or more homers in a game, but was just the second time at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and first since April 17 against Sacramento. OKC's seven other games with three-plus homers came on the road, including three times at hitter-friendly Albuquerque...OKC has hit 20 home runs through 22 May games - fewest in the PCL this month - after OKC hit a league-leading 39 homers over 25 games in April...On the other hand, OKC allowed a home run last night to snap a three-game stretch of not allowing a homer. It was the second home run allowed by OKC in the last six games and third allowed by OKC in the last eight games. OKC's 11 homers allowed in May are fewest in Triple-A this month. OKC has now limited opponents to one or no home runs in 23 of the last 24 games (12 HR total), and OKC's 37 homers allowed overall this season are fewest in Triple-A.

Andre the Giant: Andre Lipcius' season-best eight-game hitting streak came to an end Saturday as he went 0-for-4, but he drew a walk to boost his season-best on-base streak to 15 games. During the hitting streak, Lipcius went 14-for-32 (.438) with three doubles, three homers, four walks, six RBI, five runs scored and five multi-hit games. It was his longest hitting streak since also hitting safely in eight straight games with Triple-A Toledo Sept. 14-22, 2022...He has hit safely in 13 of the 15 games during his on-base streak, batting .373 (22x59) with six doubles, four homers, 13 RBI and 13 runs scored since May 8...In Tuesday's series opener against the Aces in his 42nd game of the season, Lipcius hit his 13th home run of the season to move into a tie for the PCL lead while also tying his career-high mark for homers set at three levels over 117 games last season. In 2023, Lipcius didn't hit his 13th home run until his 106th game of the season on Sept. 2 with the Detroit Tigers at the Chicago White Sox in what was also his second career Major League game...Lipcius ranks second among all players in the Minors with 112 total bases while also ranking third overall with 60 hits and tied for seventh with 24 extra-base hits...Among PCL leaders, he is tied for first with 13 homers, ranks second with 60 hits and a .612 SLG, tied for fourth with 24 extra-base hits and fifth with a 1.006 OPS.

Trey Bien: Trey Sweeney went 1-for-3 with two walks and a RBI last night as he extended his hitting streak to five games - the longest active hitting streak by an OKC player. During the stretch, he is 6-for-20 (.300) with a double, home run, three RBI and five runs scored. This is his third hitting streak of the season of at least five games...On Friday, he hit his third home run of the season and first since April 25 in Albuquerque...Sweeney also walked twice Saturday after drawing just two walks over his previous 16 games combined. After collecting 24 walks in 27 games through March/April, he has taken just five walks over 20 games in May.

Drew Up: Drew Avans reached base four times last night, going 1-for-2 with a home run, three walks, a stolen base and scored two runs. The homer was his third of the season and second in the last eight games...Avans leads OKC with 43 runs scored, five triples and 16 stolen bases while he ranks second with 54 hits. His run total leads the PCL while his five triples are tied for second and his 16 stolen bases are third...Throughout this season, Avans has established new OKC Bricktown era (since 1998) career records with 208 walks and 23 triples. He ranks second all-time with 382 games played and 98 stolen bases, while he ranks fourth with 369 career hits and tied for sixth with 69 doubles.

Back at the Brick: Oklahoma City is 14-9 at home and has now won five of the last seven games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, seven of its last 10 games in OKC and is 8-4 in the last 12 home games...OKC has 3.44 ERA at home this season and is holding opponents to a .236 batting average with nine home runs over 23 games. Over the 10 home games before Saturday, they had allowed 28 runs while opponents batted .193 (62x322) with 16 extra-base hits and one home run. Last night the Aces scored 13 runs while batting .390 (16x41).

Around the Horn: James Outman went 1-for-3 with a home run, two walks, two runs scored and a stolen base. He has reached base safely in each of his first five games since being optioned and has a .522 OBP with eight walks...OKC is 6-2 in series finales this season, including 3-0 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and has won three straight series finales overall...Reliever Michael Petersen has not allowed a run in 17 of his 19 appearances this season, giving up a total of four runs (three earned) and nine hits over 18.1 innings with 25 strikeouts....Last night Reno went 8-for-18 with two outs while scoring seven runs. Over the first four games of the series combined, the Aces were 4-for-36 with one run with two outs.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 26, 2024


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