OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - May 7, 2024
May 7, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Baseball Club (20-13) at Sugar Land Space Cowboys (22-11)
Game #34 of 150/First Half #34 of 75/Road #16 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Dinelson Lamet (2-1, 5.14) vs. SUG-RHP Ryan Gusto (0-1, 8.18)
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 | Constellation Field | Sugar Land, Texas | 6:05 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 opens a 12-game road trip with a 6:05 p.m. game against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at Constellation Field. Oklahoma City has won back-to-back games as well as four of the last five games...OKC and Sugar Land are two of the three teams in the Pacific Coast League to reach 20 wins so far in 2024.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club hit back-to-back home runs and held the Salt Lake Bees to one run in a 4-1 win Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Oklahoma City took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run double by Ryan Ward. The Bees scored their lone run of the afternoon in their next at-bat on a RBI single by Chad Wallach. In the sixth inning, Kevin Padlo hit his fifth home run of the season out to left field and Ward followed with his team-leading 12th home run of the season out to right-center field to put Oklahoma City ahead, 4-1. Oklahoma City held the Bees scoreless and to two hits over the final seven innings in the series finale.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Dinelson Lamet (2-1) makes his fourth start with OKC, including his second on the road...Lamet last started May 1 against Salt Lake at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. He pitched a season-high 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks with a season-high seven strikeouts as he notched his second win of the season in OKC's 9-3 victory...Lamet was on OKC's Opening Day roster but was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers before making an appearance. Over three relief outings April 1, 3 and 5 with the Dodgers, Lamet pitched a combined 4.1 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and two hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He earned his first career ML save April 3 against San Francisco with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to preserve a 5-4 win. He held opponents 2-for-15...He was designated for assignment April 6 and outrighted to OKC April 8...Last season, Lamet made Colorado's Opening Day roster, posting a 1-4 record with an 11.57 ERA and 31 strikeouts across 16 games (four starts) and 25.2 IP. He also made three rehab appearances with Triple-A Albuquerque after sustaining a lower back injury in early May. He signed a minor league contract with Boston after being released by the Rockies in June and made five appearances (four starts) for Triple-A Worcester and one with Boston before being DFA'd...He made his ML debut with San Diego May 25, 2017 at New York (NL), earning the win after allowing one earned run on three hits with eight strikeouts over 5.0 IP...He originally signed with San Diego as a free agent in 2014...Lamet last pitched against the Space Cowboys July 6 while with El Paso. He pitched one inning of relief, allowing one hit with two strikeouts.
Against the Space Cowboys: 2024: 0-0 2023: 18-6 All-time: 46-26 At SUG: 20-13 The top two teams in the PCL East Division meet for their first of three series this season and first of two at Constellation Field during the first half of the season...Sugar Land currently leads the PCL with a 22-11 record while OKC is two games back...Sugar Land's offense leads the PCL with 244 runs scored and 51 home runs so far this season...OKC won the 2023 series, 18-6, and went 9-2 over the final 11 games against the Space Cowboys. OKC won five of six games in two of the four series and at least four games in each series. The team went 9-3 both at home and on the road...OKC outscored Sugar Land, 121-81, last season as OKC held the Space Cowboys to a .200 batting average...Seventy of OKC's 188 total hits against Sugar Land in 2023 went for extra bases, including 44 doubles, and both teams hit 21 home runs over their 24 meetings...Drew Avans collected a team-leading 19 hits in the season series in 2023, while Ryan Ward had 13 RBI and hit four home runs...OKC won the 2022 series, 16-8, and went 11-4 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...OKC has not lost back-to-back games to Sugar Land during the same series since Aug. 23-24, 2021.
Sales Pitch: Five OKC pitchers combined to hold the Salt Lake Bees to one run Sunday. The one run allowed tied for the fewest runs allowed in a game by Oklahoma City this season (four times) and Sunday was the first time OKC allowed just one run since a 7-1 win April 12 in Round Rock...OKC allowed a total of 17 runs over the six-game series against Salt Lake for the lowest run total allowed by OKC in a six-game series since June 29-July 3, 2023 at Sugar Land when OKC allowed 14 total runs, holding the Space Cowboys to two runs in five consecutive games and marking the first time since June 23-27, 2017 that OKC held an opponent to two runs or less in five consecutive games...The Bees were held scoreless in 45 of 56 innings during the series, including 44 of 54 non-extra innings...OKC also held Salt Lake to 40 total hits in the series, allowing an average of 6.67 per game, and allowed eight total extra-base hits in the series - all doubles. Although Salt Lake tallied 11 hits in the series opener, they were limited to 29 hits over the final five games...On Saturday, Oklahoma City pitchers did not allow a hit through eight innings before Salt Lake broke through with two hits in the ninth inning. It was the first time since 2016 that Oklahoma City carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning, occurring exactly eight years ago to the day during a 5-0 win over New Orleans on May 4. OKC allowed two total hits through 11 innings Saturday - the fewest hits allowed by OKC since May 30, 2023 when the team limited Reno to two hits at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in a nine-inning game. The two hits allowed over 11 innings Saturday were also the fewest allowed by OKC in an extra-inning game since at least 2005...Oklahoma City pitchers recorded a season-best 17 strikeouts Sunday for the team's highest strikeout total since Aug. 19, 2023 in Salt Lake when OKC also tallied 17 K's. OKC has 324 K's so far this season - third-most in the PCL.
Starting Line: Starting/primary pitchers combined to allow six earned runs, 25 hits and 10 walks over 31.1 innings while recording 33 strikeouts over the six games against Salt Lake. During the previous series in Albuquerque, starting pitchers allowed 32 runs, 44 hits and 15 walks over just 20.1 innings across six games...On Sunday, starting pitcher Landon Knack allowed one run and four hits over five innings while notching eight strikeouts - the most by an individual OKC pitcher this season.
Dinger Details: Kevin Padlo and Ryan Ward hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning Sunday for the second back-to-back homers hit by Oklahoma City this season and first at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Ward and Padlo also went back-to-back April 12 in Round Rock, but with Ward hitting the first homer in that game...OKC now has hit 22 homers over the last 12 games and 38 home runs over the last 21 games...Since April 12 (21 games), OKC's 38 home runs are the most in the Minors, and OKC's 49 total home runs this season are second-most in the PCL behind Sugar Land's 51 home runs...OKC also did not allow a home run Sunday and has kept the opponent inside the park in seven of the last nine games, including a season-high six straight, and last allowed a home run April 28 in Albuquerque...OKC has allowed 26 total homers this season - fewest in the league along with Sacramento. And in 18 home games, OKC has allowed a league-low seven home runs.
Light Switch Offense: OKC was held to five hits Sunday, marking the fourth time in the six-game series against Salt Lake that OKC recorded five hits or less. OKC was able to collect three extra-base hits Sunday after accumulating one extra-base hit over the previous three games combined...Over the final four games of the set, OKC went 22-for-102 (.216) after batting .331 over the previous eight games. Thursday and Friday, OKC was held without an extra-base hit in consecutive games for the first time since July 24-25, 2014, when the team went a combined 8-for-58 between games at home against Round Rock and at Nashville. The team had piled up 54 XBH in the previous eight games leading into Thursday...Oklahoma City scored four runs Sunday, but has scored at least five runs in 11 of the last 13 games and the team's 98 runs scored since April 21 are the most in Triple-A. The team's 132 hits in the last 13 games are third-most in Triple-A behind Reno (144) and Albuquerque (141)...Overall this season, OKC's .492 SLG leads the PCL, while the team's .855 OPS, 49 home runs and 74 doubles are second and OKC's .278 AVG, , 210 runs and 318 hits are all third in the league.
Big Blow: Ryan Ward was placed on the Injured List today. He currently leads OKC with 12 home runs and 33 RBI, and on Sunday, Ward went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBI - his team-leading sixth game this season with three-plus RBI. He also made a sliding catch at the wall in right field on a fly ball hit into foul territory in the eighth inning...Over his last nine games, Ward went 13-for-35 (.371) with seven home runs, 15 RBI and 10 runs scored...Twenty of his 28 total hits this season have gone for extra bases...Ward's 20 extra-base hits this season lead the PCL, while his 12 homers are second-most in the PCL, while his 33 RBI and .670 SLG rank third...Since April 23, his seven home runs, 1.434 OPS and 1.029 SLG pace Triple-A while his nine extra-base hits and 15 RBI are tied for second.
Andre the Giant: Andre Lipcius went 2-for-3 with a walk Sunday for his 13th multi-hit game this season and eighth multi-hit outing in his last 12 games. During the 12-game stretch, Lipcius is 19-for-50 (.380) with five extra-base hits, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored...So far in May, Lipcius is 7-for-17 through five games to start the month, including three multi-hit games...Since April 23, Lipcius ranks second in the PCL with 19 hits, tied for second with four home runs, third with a .380 AVG and tied for fourth with 12 RBI...Overall this season, his nine homers are third-most in the league while his 38 hits are tied with teammate Drew Avans for third.
Drew Up: Drew Avans was held without a hit Sunday but has three multi-hit outings in his last five games and leads OKC with 14 multi-hit games this season. He paces OKC with 30 runs this season and is tied for the team lead with 38 hits overall this season...Since April 21, Avans has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games with an at-bat, going 17-for-53 (.321) with five extra-base hits and 15 runs scored...Avans' four triples this season are tied for second-most in the league and he is now in a tie for first place on OKC's all-time career list for triples in the Bricktown era (since 1998) with Joaquin Arias (2006-09)...Avans also owns sole possession of first place on OKC's all-time career walks list as he has 195 walks with OKC. He also ranks second all-time with 367 games played and 89 stolen bases and ranks fourth with 353 career hits.
RISPy Business: OKC held Salt Lake 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position Sunday and limited the Bees 8-for-54 (.148) with RISP over the six-game set. On the other hand, OKC went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position Sunday, and over the last nine games, the team is 14-for-73 (.192) with RISP.
Around the Horn: OKC recorded a season-high five stolen bases Sunday against the Bees, including two by Miguel Vargas who now leads OKC with eight stolen bases this season...Connor Brogdon opened his Major League Rehab Assignment Sunday and retired all three batters he faced in the sixth inning, including two strikeouts. He threw 11 pitches, including eight strikes...Reliever Michael Petersen recorded his second save of the season Sunday. He has not yielded a run in 13 of his 14 appearances this season, giving up a total of two runs and seven hits over 13.1 innings with 20 strikeouts.
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 7, 2024
- Dozier's Record Night Leads Bees to 15-2 Rout of Sacramento - Salt Lake Bees
- Julks' Sac Fly Wins It in 10 for Space Cowboys - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Albuquerque Falls to El Paso, 15-5 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Chihuahuas Take Down Isotopes, 15-5 - El Paso Chihuahuas
- OKC Edged in 10 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Sugar Land Returns After Two-Week Road Trip to Take on Oklahoma City - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Del Castillo and Chaparro Stay Hot, Aces Top Rainiers in 6-4 Victory - Reno Aces
- Tacoma's Comeback Attempt Falls Short - Tacoma Rainiers
- Round Rock Takes Down Las Vegas 6-4 on Education Day - Round Rock Express
- OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - May 7, 2024 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Savannah Bananas Set for Three Sold-Out Nights at Sutter Health Park - Sacramento River Cats
- May 7 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Reno Aces - Tacoma Rainiers
- Aviators Outfielder Daz Cameron Named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week - Las Vegas Aviators
- Aviators Osvaldo Bido Named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week - Las Vegas Aviators
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