OKC Comets Game Notes - May 16, 2026
Published on May 16, 2026 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Comets (22-20) vs. Albuquerque Isotopes (25-18)
Game #43 of 150/First Half #43 of 75/Road #23 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Ryder Ryan (2-0, 5.06) vs. ABQ-RHP Valente Bellozo (0-1, 7.24)
Saturday, May 16, 2026 | Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park | Albuquerque, N.M. | 7:35 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MLB+, Bally Sports Live
Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Comets aim to take the lead in their series against the league-leading Albuquerque Isotopes when the teams meet at 7:35 p.m. CT at Isotopes Park...The Comets have won back-to-back games to even the six-game series at 2-2 and move to two games above .500 to equal their season-high mark.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Comets set season bests in runs, hits and walks and scored nine runs in the fifth inning alone during a 17-1 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes Friday night at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park. Oklahoma City got started early with a two-run first inning, scoring runs on an Alex Freeland RBI groundout followed by a RBI single from Jack Suwinski. The Comets doubled the lead in the second inning with RBI singles by Zach Ehrhard and James Tibbs III. Tyler Fitzgerald went deep in the third inning to extend the lead to 5-0. The Comets added three more runs in the fourth inning with a Suwinski RBI single and two-RBI double from Noah Miller to make it 8-0. Albuquerque scored in the bottom of the fourth, but the Comets responded with a nine-run fifth inning highlighted with longballs by Freeland and Suwinski and a triple by Tibbs. Freeland added a RBI single, giving him two hits and four RBI in the inning and pushing the lead to 17-1.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Ryder Ryan (2-0) makes his first start since April 21 following a stint on the Injured List...Ryan was placed on the seven-day IL April 28 (retroactive to April 26) due to a back injury, and tonight makes his sixth start of the season with the Comets...In his last outing April 21 vs. Tacoma, Ryan earned the win after tossing 5.0 innings with seven hits, three runs, two walks and three strikeouts...Over his last four starts, Ryan has allowed seven runs across 18.1 innings, accumulating a 3.44 ERA...Entering the 2026 season, only six of Ryan's previous 346 career appearances had been starts, but he will match that total with tonight's outing...He spent last season with Triple-A Indianapolis (PIT), going 8-1 with a 4.73 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and .222 BAA in 42 appearances (three starts), setting a new career high in both wins and starts...The righty has MLB experience with Seattle (2023) and Pittsburgh (2024). He made his MLB debut with the Mariners Aug. 11, 2023 vs. Baltimore and previously pitched in the PCL for Round Rock (2021-22) and Tacoma (2023)...He is the older brother of fellow Comets starting pitcher River Ryan and signed with the Dodgers Jan. 28 as a minor league free agent.
Against the Isotopes: 2026: 6-7 2025: 10-8 All-time: 170-142 At ABQ: 78-82
The Comets are playing their third series in eight weeks against the league-leading Isotopes and has won back-to-back games after Albuquerque has won six of the previous seven games between the teams...The teams most recently played April 14-19 at Isotopes Park with Albuquerque winning the series, 4-2. The series loss was OKC's first at Isotopes Park since May 20-25, 2021, ending a streak of six straight series without a loss in the Duke City (5-0-1)...The Comets won the season-opening series March 27-29 in OKC, 3-2...Through the first nine meetings of 2026, Ryan Fitzgerald racked up 14 hits and 12 RBI against the Isotopes, while James Tibbs III hit three homers and had 12 RBI alongside Zach Ehrhard's 12 RBI...The Comets won the 2025 series, 10-8, with eight of those games decided by one run...The Comets have won back-to-back season series against Albuquerque, as well as five of the last seven, with the Isotopes last winning in 2023...After going 15-4 in Albuquerque from the start of the 2024 season through the first game at RGCU Field this season, OKC is now 3-6 over the last nine games at the venue. Including the recent blip, OKC is 28-16 over the last 44 games at Isotopes Park going back to 2022.
Over the Hump?: At 22-20, the Comets are tied for their season-best mark of two games above .500 (20-18; 19-17; 9-7; 3-1). However, in each of the previous four chances to get to three games over .500, OKC has lost...Including the current series, the Comets and their opponent have played to a 2-2 draw through four games in six of the last seven series. When seeking to take the series lead, the Comets are 2-3 in Game 5.
Unleashed: The Comets' offense set season-highs with 17 runs, 19 hits and 12 walks in Friday night's victory. The team also notched its highest-scoring inning of the season with nine runs in the fifth inning for the team's highest-scoring inning since posting a nine-spot April 2, 2025 against El Paso...OKC's 16-run margin of victory yesterday was the Comets' highest since a 16-0 win in Sacramento June 25, 2025...After scoring just three runs over the first two games of the series, the Comets have since responded with 29 runs across the last two games - the team's highest two-game run total since also plating 29 runs June 24-25, 2025 at Sacramento. OKC's 37 hits are the most over two games since notching 38 hits May 31-June 1, 2025 at Las Vegas...For the second straight game, all nine hitters in the starting lineup had at least one hit and all nine also scored at least one run...The Comets started this series 13-for-70 (.186) with just two extra-base hits and 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Over Thursday and Friday's games combined, the Comets responded by going 37-for-84 (.440) with 13 extra-base hits and 16-for-40 with RISP (.400)...The Comets have now scored six or more runs in 10 of their first 12 games of May and their 96 total runs this month are third-most in the PCL despite having one game canceled due to inclement weather. OKC has registered at least one inning of four-plus runs in eight of the last 10 games...Last night marked the first time since April 12 vs. Round Rock the Comets swatted at least three home runs in one game.
Freestyle: Last night, Alex Freeland hit his first home run since being optioned to OKC as part of a 3-for-5 outing with five RBI. He picked up two hits and four RBI in the fifth inning alone...Friday was the fourth time in Freeland's career he recorded at least five RBI in a game - all in games with Oklahoma City - and first time since a six-RBI game July 24, 2025 in Reno...He now has five hits and seven RBI over his last two games, going 5-for-10 with two walks and two runs scored.
The Third Degree: James Tibbs III went 3-for-5 with a triple, three RBI and two walks. He became the second Comet to score four times in one game this season, joining Hyeseong Kim March 28 against Albuquerque. The four runs scored matched his career-high mark...Tibbs is tied for the Minor League lead and first in the PCL with 26 extra-base hits, tied for first in the league with 13 doubles and ranks second with 40 runs scored and 100 total bases. His 11 homers are tied for second-most in the league...Going back to Thursday, he has reached base in nine of his last 12 plate appearances with five hits and four walks.
Fitz Blitz: Ryan Fitzgerald picked up a hit last night to extend his hitting streak to 10 games - the longest hitting streak of the season by a Comets player. Fitzgerald is 15-for-48 (.313) with two doubles, two homers and 11 RBI during the stretch. He's one game away from matching his career-best 11 game hit streak from April 8-20, 2019 with High-A Salem (BOS)...Fitzgerald leads all players in the Minors with 37 RBI this season, while his 59 hits are tied for most in MiLB.
Hardcore: Zach Ehrhard reached base in all six of his plate appearances Friday, collecting two hits and drawing a career-high four walks with one RBI and one run scored. He extended his on-base streak to 11 games for the longest active on-base streak for a Comets player...Starting with his home run Wednesday night, Ehrhard is 5-for-9 with three extra-base hits, five RBI and five walks over his last 14 plate appearances.
One and Done: OKC's pitching staff limited the top offense in the Minors to one run Friday night, holding an opponent to one run or less for the third time this season and first time since May 1 in Round Rock...Last night was the second time through the first four games this series that OKC kept Albuquerque to two runs or less...OKC held the Isotopes without an extra-base hit Friday, marking the fourth time this season they have kept an opponent to only singles and the third time in May (12 G).
Around the Horn: Kiké Hernández continued his Major League Rehab Assignment Friday and recorded his first three hits of the series, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and two walks while playing seven innings at third base...Tyler Fitzgerald homered for the third time in his last six games, and during that stretch he is 9-for-21 (.429) with four extra-base hits and 10 RBI...Jack Suwinski recorded a season-high four RBI last night for his highest single-game total since a five-RBI game June 28, 2025 with Indianapolis vs. Omaha. His 10 home runs since April 10 are tied for most in the PCL, and he leads the circuit with a 1.210 OPS and 31 RBI during that span.
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 16, 2026
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