PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 12, 2015

Published on April 12, 2015 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (2-1) vs. Round Rock Express (1-2)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Texas Rangers

Game #4 of 144/Home #4 of 72 (2-1)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Mike Bolsinger vs. RR-RHP Alex Gonzalez

Sunday, April 12, 2015 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 2:05 p.m. CT Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, IHeartRadio - Alex Freedman

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers conclude their season-opening series against the Round Rock Express at 2:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. OKC leads the four-game series, 2-1, after winning the last two games between the teams.

Last Game: Chris Heisey belted two home runs and the OKC Dodgers scored five unanswered runs late in the game to break things open in an 8-2 victory over Round Rock Saturday night. Heisey recorded the first multi-homer game in the Pacific Coast League this season with homers in the fourth and sixth innings. The Express took a 1-0 lead in the first and the Dodgers were held without a hit until Heisey blasted a solo homer into the alley beyond the LED board in left field to tie the score in the fourth. Heisey connected on his second homer in as many at-bats when he hit a two-run shot that landed in the Oklahoma City bullpen for a 3-1 advantage in the sixth inning. The Express cut the lead to one run in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI single by Hanser Alberto. Oklahoma City went on to score five unanswered runs, including four in the eighth inning. OKC Dodgers starting pitcher Zach Lee (1-0) earned the win, holding the Express to one run on two hits, issuing two walks and striking out six over 6.0 innings. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. Express reliever Cody Kendall (0-1) was charged with the loss, allowing three runs and three hits over 1.1 innings.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Mike Bolsinger takes the mound for Oklahoma City in his organizational debut...Bolsinger made his MLB debut last season with Arizona and went 1-6 with a 5.50 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) for the Diamondbacks during two stints. He struck out nearly three times as many as he walked with 48 K's and only 17 walks in the Majors...He appeared in 17 games (16 starts) with Triple-A Reno as well, posting an 8-3 record and 3.83 ERA. He went 5-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his first seven starts with the Aces and had a 19.1 scoreless inning streak from May 16-31. He recorded a pair of double-digit strikeout games and set a career high with 12 strikeouts at Nashville on June 11 and struck out 11 at New Orleans on Aug. 16...In five minor league seasons, Bolsinger has gone 33-21 with a 3.49 ERA in 104 games (74 starts)...He was acquired by the Dodgers from Arizona in exchange for cash considerations on Nov. 22, 2014...Today marks his first appearance against the Express.

Against the Express: 2015: 2-1 2014: 7-9 All-time: 85-77 In OKC: 42-41

Today OKC will attempt to win a home series against Round Rock for the first time since Aug. 31-Sept. 3, 2012...In 2014, these teams opened the season against each other at Dell Diamond in Round Rock and ended up splitting the series. Prior to last year, they had never opened a season against each other...Round Rock and OKC most recently played July 29-Aug. 1 in Texas. OKC won the first two games of the series, before the Express won the final two games of the series...The Express swept their lone series against Albuquerque last season, June 9-12 at Isotopes Park.

A New Era of Baseball in OKC: In September 2014, Mandalay Baseball Properties, LLC, announced the sale of Oklahoma City's Triple-A team. The franchise's new ownership group - Mandalay Baseball, LLC - is a joint venture between ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers and an investor group led by Mandalay Entertainment Chairman and CEO Peter Guber. As a result of the ownership change, Oklahoma City became the Triple-A affiliate of the Dodgers...The franchise officially changed its name to the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Dec. 3, 2014. The team's new look, developed by the Los Angeles Dodgers' graphic design team, incorporates several elements of the Dodgers' history, as well as the culture of Oklahoma City and Bricktown.

Heisey's Homers: Last night Chris Heisey recorded the first multi-homer game in the PCL this season with a solo home run in the fourth inning and two-run homer in the sixth inning. He and Memphis' Xavier Scruggs are the only two players in the PCL to hit more than one homer through the first three games. It was Heisey's eighth career multi-homer game between the Majors and Minors. He previously went yard twice on Aug. 31, 2014 at Pittsburgh while playing for Cincinnati...The last Oklahoma City player with a multi-homer game was Preston Tucker, who hit two homers against Colorado Springs on Aug. 3, 2014.

Sweeney Swipes: Darnell Sweeney jumped to the top of the PCL leaderboard and tied a career high with three stolen bases last night. He stole second base in the sixth inning, then stole second and third base in the eighth inning. It's the third time in Sweeney's career he stole three bases in one game, last achieved on July 7, 2013 for High-A Rancho Cucamonga at Inland Empire...Coincidentally, the last time an OKC player stole three bases in one game was also against Round Rock, when Jonathan Villar swiped three bags on July 23, 2014.

Buck Wild: Buck Britton is off to a hot start, going 5-for-10 through his first three games. Last night he registered the first three-hit game of the season by an OKC Dodger.

RISPy Business: After starting the season by going 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position over the first two games, the OKC Dodgers went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position Saturday.

In the Zone: Through the first three games, the OKC Dodgers pitching staff has notched a 6/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (30 K/5 BB). It's the second-best mark in the league, only behind Salt Lake at 6.7 (40 K/6 BB).

Bullish 'Pen: Eight of the nine OKC Dodgers relievers who have appeared have retired the first batter they have faced. The bullpen has also stranded both of its inherited runners.

Lions Pride: For the second straight game, the OKC Dodgers' starting pitcher is a product of McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. Although Mike Bolsinger (class of 2006) and Zach Lee (class of 2010) attended the same school, they did not attend at the same time. McKinney is located approximately 200 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Closing Bell: Last season OKC went 18-18 in series finales, including a 9-9 mark at home.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHERS OPP. PITCHER

Monday, April 13 7:05 p.m. Nashville RHP Joe Wieland LHP Brad Mills

Tuesday, April 14 7:05 p.m. Nashville RHP Scott Baker (0-1, 1.80) RHP Chris Bassitt (0-1, 7.20)

Wednesday, April 15 7:05 p.m. Nashville RHP Carlos Frias (1-0, 5.06) LHP Barry Zito (0-0, 5.79)

Thursday, April 16 7:05 p.m. Nashville RHP Zach Lee (1-0, 1.50) RHP Angel Castro (0-0, 5.40)

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics

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