OKC Comets Game Notes - July 19, 2026
Published on July 19, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Comets (10-9/51-42) vs. Tacoma Rainiers (9-11/42-53)
Game #94 of 149/Second Half #20 of 75/Road #45 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Cole Irvin (8-5, 3.50) vs. TAC-RHP Nick Hull (0-1, 4.55)
Sunday, July 19, 2026 | Cheney Stadium | Tacoma, Wash. | 3:35 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MLB+, Bally Sports Live
Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Comets close out their three-game road series against the Tacoma Rainiers at 3:35 p.m. CT at Cheney Stadium trying to prevent a three-game series sweep. This is just the second time this month the Comets have lost consecutive games, and the Comets are looking to avoid being swept in a series of any length for the first time since the 2019 season.
Last Game: The Tacoma Rainiers scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a tie and defeat the Oklahoma City Comets, 9-5, Saturday night at Cheney Stadium. The Comets scored in the first inning for the second straight game on an RBI single from James Tibbs III. OKC extended the lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly by Ryan Fitzgerald. In the bottom of the inning, Tacoma took the lead by scoring three runs, including each of the last two with two outs. Fitzgerald tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning with a RBI single. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Rainiers rallied for six runs, with nine straight batters reaching base at one point. Tacoma finished the inning with four hits and drew five walks, taking a 9-3 lead. Ryan Ward hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to close the gap to 9-5.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Cole Irvin (8-5) is slated to make his team-leading 19th start...In his previous game July 8 vs. El Paso, Irvin earned a win as he allowed two runs (one earned) and seven hits across 6.0 IP with one walk and four strikeouts...Irvin has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, posting a 1.66 ERA (4 ER/21.2 IP) during the span...Entering today, Irvin leads the PCL in ERA (3.50) and wins (tied) while ranking second in starts (tied, 18) and third in innings (87.1)...He paces OKC with seven quality starts this season...Irvin faces Tacoma for the second time this season after putting together a quality start April 25 in OKC, albeit in a 3-2 loss (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K)...Irvin was signed by the Dodgers Feb. 3 as a minor league free agent and spent last season with the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), finishing 8-12 with a 4.48 ERA in 28 starts...Irvin has MLB experience with Philadelphia (2019-20), Oakland (2021-22), Baltimore (2023-24) and Minnesota (2024).
Against the Rainiers: 2026: 2-6 2025: 10-8 All-time: 82-87 At TAC: 30-49
Last night, the Comets lost a sixth straight game against the Rainiers, with four of those losses by one or two runs. OKC is 2-6 against the Rainiers but 49-36 against all other opponents...This is the second of two series between the clubs in 2026, also marking the Comets' lone trip to Tacoma...When the two sides met in OKC April 21-26, the Comets won the first two games before falling in each of the final four contests. Five of the six games were decided by two runs or fewer. James Tibbs III (.333 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and Eliezer Alfonzo (.357 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI) both had four extra-base hits during the 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.
Curse of the Sonics?: With last night's loss, OKC is guaranteed to lose the current series, and OKC still has not won a series of any length at Cheney Stadium since 2018. Since that last series win, OKC is 11-18 in Tacoma and 0-3-3 in series play, including the current series. Going back further, the team is 8-16 in the last 24 games, 9-18 in the last 27 games and 14-28 over the last 42 games at Cheney Stadium. The Comets have lost four straight games at the venue going back to last season.
Post All-Star Stumble: The Comets have lost back-to-back games for the first time since July 1-2 against Sugar Land. Entering this series, the Comets had gone 6-2 in their previous eight games overall leading into the All-Star Break, with wins in four straight...Today, OKC is trying to avoid being swept in a series for the first time since losing a three-game road set at San Antonio Aug. 23-25, 2019. Starting with the 2021 season when PCL teams began playing mostly six-game series, OKC is now 11-4 in three-game series with each of the previous three-game series losses occurring in 2024...Regardless of today's result, the Comets have now lost or split six of their last seven series (1-2-4). Prior to the All-Star Break, OKC had won its previous rain-shortened series against El Paso, 4-1...OKC has started a series down 0-2 for the fifth time this season, but in each of the previous four instances the Comets won Game 3.
History in the Making: Ryan Ward hit the 100th home run of his Oklahoma City career with a two-run blast in the eighth inning Saturday night. He has now homered in three of the last four games and has 10 homers in 59 games with the Comets this season...Ward went 2-for-4 Saturday, and since rejoining OKC June 30 from the Los Angeles Dodgers, is 15-for-47 (.319) with two doubles, four homers and 12 RBI in 12 games...At 91 career doubles, Ward is one double shy of tying for second place all-time in the Bricktown era and two doubles shy of tying the record of 93 held by Kelly Dransfeldt (1999-2002). Ward owns OKC's Bricktown-era career records for hits (472), homers (100) and RBI (361).
Comet's Tales: Hyeseong Kim went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored Saturday night. He has started the current series 5-for-8 with two extra-base hits, and over his last six games, Kim is 10-for-21 (.476) with four multi-hit games...Kim has hit safely in six of his last seven games (11-for-25), and since June 25 (14 G), Kim is batting .340 (16-for-47) with six RBI and 11 runs scored.
On the Mend: Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell began a Major League Rehab Assignment Saturday night, appearing in his first game since May 9. Snell faced six batters across 1.1 innings, with no runs, one hit, one walk and four strikeouts. He struck out each of his final three batters and threw a total of 32 pitches, with 19 strikes...Kiké Hernández did not play Saturday after beginning his rehab assignment Friday night, going 1-for-3 with a double while playing five innings at third base. He is expected to rejoin the lineup today...The Comets have had at least one player on their roster as part of a ML Rehab Assignment for 70 of OKC's 72 games since April 21.
Jack Attack: Jack Suwinski hit a triple in the sixth inning last night as part of a 1-for-4 game with a run scored, giving him an extra-base hit in each of the last four games, going 7-for-14 with four doubles and a triple along with six RBI...Going back further, Suwinski has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, batting .417 (20-for-48) with nine extra-base hits and 14 RBI since June 27...Suwinski leads the PCL with a .579 SLG this season and ranks second with 45 extra-base hits. He is also tied for second with 24 doubles.
Road Detour: The Comets fell to 4-8 in their last 12 road games with losses each of the last two nights in Tacoma. Prior to this recent 12-game stretch that began June 11 in Charlotte, the Comets had won six consecutive road games as well as 11 of their previous 12 road games...Overall this season, OKC is 24-20 in away games and is one of three PCL teams with a winning road record...The Comets lead the PCL this season in road AVG (.288), OBP (.377), SLG (.474), OPS (.851) as well as triples (16), while ranking second with 63 road homers...Going back to last season, the Comets have started 11 of their last 12 road series in a 1-1 tie or down 0-2, including seven of eight road series this season.
Balls and Strikes: Comets pitchers struck out 11 Tacoma batters Saturday and have struck out at least 10 batters in 10 of the last 15 games, including in each of the first two games of the current series. OKC's 155 K since June 27 (15 G) are tops in Triple-A despite playing one fewer game than most teams...One the other hand, Comets pitchers issued 12 walks last night, including five during the fateful seventh inning, and the Comets reached a dozen or more walks for the fifth time this season. At 501 walks through 93 games, the Comets lead all Triple-A teams. Last season, the Comets issued a Minors-leading 782 walks and are now on pace for 803 walks this season.
Around the Horn: The Comets enter today having won 10 straight day games and have nine of the last 11 series finales...James Tibbs III has hit safely in five consecutive games, going 8-for-17 (.471). He has reached base at least twice in three straight games...The Comets have hit seven home runs over the last four games and have 15 homers through the first 12 games of the month. The Comets and Rainiers are tied with a league-leading 116 homers although OKC has played two fewer games than Tacoma.
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