OKC Comets Game Notes - September 4, 4025
Published on September 4, 2025 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Comets (30-29/76-58)
at Sugar Land Space Cowboys (27-29/66-65)
Game #135 of 150/Second Half #60 of 75/Road #66 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Kyle Funkhouser (2-3, 6.80) vs. SUG-RHP Tyler Ivey (4-9, 5.86)
Thursday, September 4, 2025 | Constellation Field | Sugar Land, Texas | 7:05 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 have opened their road series with back-to-back losses and will look for their first win of the series at 7:05 p.m. against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at Constellation Field...The Comets have fallen to 1-3 in the last four games and 2-6 in their last eight games...The Comets have 16 games remaining in 2025.
Last Game: The Sugar Land Space Cowboys raced out to a 9-0 lead and then endured a significant comeback by the Oklahoma City Comets before prevailing, 9-7, Wednesday night at Constellation Field. The Space Cowboys plated nine runs on nine hits through three innings, including seven extra-base hits and three home runs. Leading, 3-0, in the third inning, Sugar Land scored six runs, featuring a three-run homer by Shay Whitcomb and two-run homer by Collin Price. Sugar Land still led by nine runs in the sixth inning when the Comets opened the inning with back-to-back homers by Jose Ramos and Ryan Ward. Noah Miller added a RBI single later in the inning to make it 9-3. CJ Alexander delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning and later scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 9-6, but the Comets left the bases loaded to end the inning. With the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, Esteury Ruiz drew a walk to bring OKC within two runs, but Ramos followed with a strikeout to end the game.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Kyle Funkhouser (2-3) looks to rebound from a loss in his last start...He most recently pitched Aug 28 against Memphis, allowing five runs on four hits, one hit by pitch, three walks and two strikeouts over 3.1 innings. Four of the five runs scored in the first inning...Funkhouser was placed on the Injured List Aug. 12-20 and tonight will be his third start since his return...Between June 26-July 29, Funkhouser posted a 1.96 ERA over six outings (23.0 IP), allowing six runs (five earned) and 19 hits, holding opponents 19-for-84 (.226) with 25 strikeouts...He signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in late May after spending time with the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League where he made seven appearances...Funkhouser missed the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and played five games with Double-A Frisco in the Texas Rangers organization in June 2023 between stints on the Injured List...Funkhouser was drafted by Detroit in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of Louisville and made 70 appearances with Detroit from 2020-21.
Against the Space Cowboys: 2025: 4-7 2024: 6-12 All-time: 56-45 At SUG: 27-23
The Comets and Space Cowboys meet for the third and final time this season and second at Constellation Field...The teams last met July 8-13 in Oklahoma City. The Comets won the first two games before closing the series with four straight losses for OKC's longest losing streak of the season. It was also the first time since switching to the six-game series format in 2021 that OKC won the first two games of a series only to lose the next four...The teams opened the season in Sugar Land March 28-30, with the Comets winning the final two games after Sugar Land rallied in the ninth inning of the season opener to come back and defeat OKC...Through the first nine meetings this season, the Space Cowboys edged the Comets in runs (43-40), hits (71-67), and home runs (10-7). Ryan Ward entered this series with 13 hits in nine games against Sugar Land this season, with eight RBI...The Space Cowboys are defending Triple-A National Champions, going 93-56 overall last season. Despite going 6-12 against the Space Cowboys last season, OKC outscored Sugar Land, 91-89, and hit 19 homers compared to Sugar Land's 15. However, in the final series between the teams Sept. 3-8, 2024, OKC scored 10 total runs...Sugar Land is now 16-6 over the last 22 meetings between the teams and has won six straight games against the Comets.
Summertime Struggle: The Comets have started a second straight series in an 0-2 deficit and have dropped the first two games of a series for the fourth time in the last six series. Oklahoma City has gone on to finish 0-2-3 in the last five series...OKC is 2-6 in the last eight games, 3-8 in the last 11 games and 4-9 in the last 13 games, falling to 30-29 during the second half. After starting the half 10-4, OKC is 20-25 since...The Comets now sit in a three-way tie for the best record in the PCL at 76-58 overall, but after tying their season high at 25 games above .500 (63-38) following a win in Reno July 26, the Comets are 13-20 since. This is just the second time since July 21 that the Comets have not held sole possession of the best record in the league...This is also the first time since July 1 the team is down to 18 games above .500 overall (50-32).
Road Maps: Although they have lost four of the last five road games as well as five of the last seven road games, the Comets are still a league-best 41-24 on the road and have reached the 40-win mark on the road for a third straight season and fifth time during the team's affiliation with the Dodgers (since 2015)...Oklahoma City is undefeated in road series in 2025, going 9-0-3 through its first 12 road series of 2025 with two remaining. Going back to last season, OKC has not lost 15 straight road series (12-0-3) with their last road series loss coming in El Paso July 30-Aug. 4, 2024...The Comets bat at a league-leading .297 clip in road games, while their 101 home runs, 477 runs (7.3 RPG) and 708 hits are tops in the league on the road, and the Comets have a +117 run differential in road games.
The Warden of Bricktown: Ryan Ward went 2-for-5 with a home run and a double Wednesday, hitting his league-leading 32nd homer of the season. He now has a Minor League-leading 115 RBI this season - the most by a PCL player since Reno's Kyle Jensen had 120 RBI in 2016...Ward has set OKC's single-season record for RBI during the Bricktown era (since 1998), surpassing Jason Martin's 107 RBI in 2022...In addition to RBI, Ward leads the Minors with 68 extra-base hits and 288 total bases, is tied for first with 32 homers, tied for second with 151 hits and fourth with 105 runs...His 105 runs are tied with Drew Avans (2024) for the most runs in a season by an OKC player during the Bricktown era.
Running with Ruiz: Esteury Ruiz drew a career-high four walks last night to extend his on-base streak to 31 games - tied for the longest active on-base streak in the PCL with El Paso's Luis Campusano and tied for the third-longest on-base streak in the league this season...Ruiz also stole two bases, running his league-leading total to 56 this season. A total of 55 of those stolen bases have come with Oklahoma City, putting him one shy of tying the Bricktown-era (since 1998) single-season record held by Freddy Guzman, who stole 56 bases in 2007...The last OKC player with a longer on-base streak was Michael Busch, who reached base in 39 straight games June 30-Aug. 16, 2023...The longest on-base streak in the league this season is held by Round Rock's Trevor Hauver and Reno's Jorge Barrosa who both had 32-game on-base streaks that ended in July.
Shake 'N' Bake: Luken Baker extended his hitting streak to 11 games last night with a single in the ninth inning and finished 1-for-4 with a walk. Baker is 11-for-38 (.289) with seven RBI and 11 walks during the hit streak. He has also hit safely in 18 of his first 19 games with the Comets since joining the team in early August, batting .343 (24x70) with 12 RBI and 16 walks...Baker's hitting streak is the third-longest by a Comets player this season and the longest is held by Ryan Ward at 17 games (July 6-29).
Austin City Limits: Austin Gauthier reached base four times Wednesday, going 2-for-3 with a double and two walks. He has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, batting .462 (18x39) with 11 walks and nine RBI. He also extended his current on-base streak to a season-high 14 games, during which he has a .552 on-base percentage...Since Aug. 5 (24 G), Gauthier paces the PCL with a .545 OBP and 27 walks...He leads the Comets with 80 walks this season (2nd in PCL).
Mound Mishaps: The Comets gave up nine more runs last night, including a six-spot in the third inning - the fifth time to allow six or more runs in one inning this season. The Comets allowed a season-high eight extra-base hits last night, marking the most extra-base hits OKC has allowed in a game since July 1, 2024 at Las Vegas. Including three home runs last night, OKC has now served up nine homers over the last four games...With five walks last night, the Comets have 700 walks this season, tying the team's single-season record during the Bricktown era, previously set in 2022...The Comets have allowed at least one run in the first inning in nine of the last 10 games (16 runs total).
Around the Horn: The Comets' seven runs last night matched the team's total runs from the previous three games...Two Los Angeles Dodgers appeared with OKC on Major League Rehab Assignments last night. Tommy Edman went 0-for-2 and played four innings in center field. Alex Vesia made his first appearance, pitching a perfect fifth inning, including one strikeout....The Comets turned another double play last night and have 12 over the last six games - most in Triple-A since Aug. 28.
Pacific Coast League Stories from September 4, 2025
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes - vs. Reno - Tacoma Rainiers
- Salt Lake Bees Visit Primary Children's Hospital - Salt Lake Bees
- OKC Comets Game Notes - September 4, 4025 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Express RHP Trey Supak Named August PCL Pitcher of the Month - Round Rock Express
- Stevens Shines at the Plate, Peralta Anchors on the Mound in 7-3 Win - Salt Lake Bees
- Rainiers Ride Five-Run Sixth Inning to 7-2 Victory over Reno - Tacoma Rainiers
- Chihuahuas Fall 7-3 Wednesday at Salt Lake - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Early-Innings Onslaught Powers Sugar Land to Wednesday Win - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- OKC Comeback Not Quite Enough - Oklahoma City Comets
- Express Shut out Isotopes, 3-0 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Pache Homers, English Collects Three Knocks in Game 2 at Tacoma - Reno Aces
- Express Shutout Isotopes 3-0 Behind Stellar Night from Supak - Round Rock Express
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