OKC Comets Game Notes - April 22, 2026
PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Comets Game Notes - April 22, 2026

Published on April 22, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Tacoma Rainiers (10-12) vs. Oklahoma City Comets (11-11)

Game #23 of 150/First Half #23 of 75/Home #11 of 75

Pitching Probables: TAC-RHP Dane Dunning (1-1, 4.24) vs. OKC-RHP Christian Romero (0-1, 5.40)

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 6:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Comets seek to open a series with back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they play the Tacoma Rainiers at 6:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The Comets have now won four straight home games and are 7-2 in the last nine games in Bricktown.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Comets scored four runs in the first inning and used a trio of clutch double plays to hold the Tacoma Rainiers on the way to a 5-4 victory Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Comets began the series with a four-run first inning as all three of its hits in the frame went for extra bases. James Tibbs III and Jack Suwinski hit consecutive RBI doubles while Austin Gauthier pummeled a two-out, two-run homer. Tacoma got a run back in the second inning before Gauthier connected on a RBI single in the third inning that increased the Comets' lead to 5-1. Tacoma added two runs in the fourth inning and plated a run in the eighth inning to trim OKC's lead to one run. The Rainiers went on to load the bases in the eighth inning before the Comets turned an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to preserve the lead. Keynan Middleton retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to secure the win.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Christian Romero (0-1) makes his fifth appearance and fourth start with OKC during his third season with the team...Romero tossed a season-high 5.1 innings in his last start April 16 in Albuquerque, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks. He did not permit a run until his final inning and began his outing by retiring 14 of his first 17 batters faced...Across his last two starts, Romero has allowed two runs over 10.1 innings (9 H, 2 BB, 5 K)...During his last start at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, he tossed 5.0 scoreless frames April 10 against Round Rock...Romero split the 2025 season between Oklahoma City and High-A Great Lakes and went 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and .228 BAA in nine starts with OKC...The Dodgers signed Romero as a minor league free agent Jan. 15, 2021 out of Mexico.

Against the Rainiers: 2026: 1-0 2025: 10-8 All-time: 81-81 At OKC: 51-34

This is the first of two series between the clubs in 2026, also marking the lone six-game series and only series in OKC this season...OKC won four of six games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark last season and split both six-game road series...OKC's 10 wins against Tacoma in 2025 marked its most ever against the Rainiers in a single season as the teams played their most games against one another in a season since they began playing in 1998...Offensively, the Comets hit .295 as a team and were led by Esteury Ruiz (.353 AVG, 24 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI) and Ryan Ward (.328 AVG, 20 H, 4 HR, 13 RBI)...On the mound, Landon Knack made four starts and finished with a 2-0 record and a 3.92 ERA in 20.2 IP...OKC last lost a series against Tacoma in the 2024 season opener Mar. 29-31, 2-1, and last fell in a six-game series after dropping five of six in Tacoma Aug. 8-13, 2023.

Home Cooking: The Comets won a fourth consecutive home game Tuesday night to open the series against Tacoma as Oklahoma City improved to 7-3 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark this season. OKC's seven home wins are tied for the most in the PCL to start the season. In contrast, the Comets own a 4-8 road record to start the season...OKC is batting .305 in Bricktown this season, compared to compiling a .278 AVG on the road. OKC owns a 4.40 ERA at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark compared to a 7.65 ERA on the road.

Austin City Limits: Austin Gauthier hit his second home run and first home run at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark of 2026 last night as he went 2-for-4 with a season-high three RBI - his highest RBI total since July 31, 2024 at El Paso...Gauthier extended his hitting streak to nine games for the longest hitting streak by a Comet this season. During the stretch, Gauthier is 13-for-37 (.351) with three doubles, a homer and eight RBI. Gauthier surpassed his longest hitting streak during his Oklahoma City career, previously hitting in eight straight games Aug. 19-29, 2025. The current streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the league and is the longest by a Comets player since Jose Ramos hit safely in 12 consecutive games to close out last season Sept. 5-21, 2025.

Jacked Up: Jack Suwinski went 1-for-2 with a double, RBI, two walks and scored a run as he has recorded a hit and RBI in each of his last five games, going 7-for-16 with seven RBI. Additionally, he has scored a run in six straight games and carries an 11-game on-base streak into tonight's game...Since April 10 vs. Round Rock, Suwinski is 13-for-33 (.394) with three doubles, four homers, 10 RBI, 15 runs scored and nine walks in 10 games.

Fitz Blitz: Ryan Fitzgerald picked up a hit, walk and scored a run Tuesday night as he leads the Minors with 36 hits and 24 RBI this season. His three triples are tied for most in the PCL and his 53 total bases are second-most in the Minors, trailing only teammate James Tibbs III (62)...He has hit safely in five consecutive games, batting .391 (9-for-23), and in 11 of the last 13 games, going 21-for-58 (.362) with seven extra-base hits and 12 RBI.

The Third Degree: James Tibbs III went 2-for-4 with two doubles, a RBI and scored two runs last night. He has driven in a run in five straight games and has hit safely in four of his last five games, collecting five total hits, including three for extra bases, with five RBI...Tibbs leads the Minors with 17 extra-base hits, 22 runs scored and 62 total bases. His nine homers are tied for most in Minors, while his .697 SLG is third in the PCL and his seven doubles and 19 RBI are both tied for third in the league.

Doubling Down: Oklahoma City turned three double plays Tuesday, including inning-enders in the third and eighth innings. The Comets pace all Triple-A teams with 27 double plays and last night's total matched the team's season-high mark after they also turned three double plays April 18 in Albuquerque...OKC now has seven double plays over the last three games...On the other hand, the Comets hit into a season-high three double plays last night and have hit into at least one double play in 16 of the last 18 games (23 total).

Sales Pitch: After allowing eight or more runs by an opponent in four straight games (46 total runs) and in six of the previous eight games (76 total runs), the Comets limited the Rainiers to four runs Tuesday night...After allowing 38 runs and 35 hits over 21.2 innings during the previous series in Albuquerque, the Comets bullpen held Tacoma to one run and one hit with one walk and five strikeouts over the final four innings of Tuesday's game. Keynan Middleton earned his first save in nearly three years, last doing so May 3, 2023 with Chicago (AL) vs. Minnesota...The Comets' 151 runs and 227 hits allowed are both second-most in the Minors this season, while the team's 6.11 ERA is second-highest among Triple-A teams...OKC allowed just three walks last night, but the team's 132 walks in 190.0 IP are most in the Minors, while the team's 162 strikeouts are second-fewest in Triple-A.

On the Mend: Brock Stewart continued his Major League Rehab Assignment Tuesday, as he retired all three batters he faced in the sixth inning with two strikeouts. He threw 13 pitches (eight strikes). Stewart is recovering from right shoulder surgery. This marks the sixth season he has appeared with Oklahoma City and he ranks among OKC's career leaders during the Bricktown era (since 1998) in starts (3rd, 49) and innings pitched (10th, 241.0).

Can They Go 2 and 0?: The Comets have now won four straight series openers, but in each of the past three weeks, OKC has lost Game 2. Going back to last season, each of the last six times the Comets have won a series opener, they have lost the next game. The Comets have not started any series 2-0 since July 22-23, 2025 at Reno and 2-0 in a home series since July 8-9, 2025 against Sugar Land.

Around the Horn: The Comets' offense leads all Triple-A teams with 141 runs and 220 hits, while the team's .290 AVG ranks second and OKC's 28 homers are second-most in the PCL. However, the Comets are just 4-for-25 with runners in scoring position over the last two games after batting .367 (29-for-79) with RISP over the previous seven games...OKC leads the PCL with 25 errors this season. The Comets have seven errors over the last four games and 18 over the last 10 games, with at least one error in nine of those 10 games.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics

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



Pacific Coast League Stories from April 22, 2026


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