PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 13, 2022

Published on April 13, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (5-2) at El Paso Chihuahuas (4-3)

Game #8 of 150/Road #2 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Andre Jackson (0-0, 0.00) vs. ELP-LHP Aaron Leasher (0-0, 4.50)

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 | Southwest University Park | El Paso, Texas | 7:35 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers continue their first road series of the season against the El Paso Chihuahuas at 7:35 p.m. Central at Southwest University Park. Tonight is the second meeting of a six-game road series in El Paso and a 12-game road trip for OKC.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers dug out of an eight-run hole to come back and tie the game, but a four-run bottom of the eighth by El Paso Chihuahuas proved to be the difference in a 13-11 defeat Tuesday night at Southwest University Park in Chihuahuas' home opener. El Paso scored seven runs with two outs in the third inning to take a 9-1 lead. The Dodgers responded with six runs in their next at-bat to cut the deficit to 9-7. A Miguel Vargas RBI single in the sixth pulled the Dodgers within one before Jake Lamb tied the game with a home run in the eighth inning. However, El Paso shot back with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, including a three-run homer by Brent Rooker. Ryan Noda connected on a two-run homer in the ninth, but the Dodgers were unable to get any closer.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Andre Jackson (0-0) takes the mound for his second start of 2022...Jackson made his season debut April 7 against Albuquerque at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, pitching 3.0 scoreless and hitless innings. He allowed four walks and recorded one strikeout. The four walks matched his season-high mark from 2021 (Aug. 16 with LAD vs. PIT; Sept. 26 with OKC @ LV)...Jackson entered the season ranked as the Dodgers' No. 9 prospect by Baseball America...Last season, Jackson spent time at three levels of the organization and made his Major League debut Aug. 16 at Dodger Stadium against Pittsburgh with 4.0 scoreless innings...He started the season with Double-A Tulsa and made 15 appearances (13 starts), compiling a 3-2 record with a 3.27 ERA and 75 strikeouts. At the time of his promotion to Triple-A, Jackson led Double-A Central in WHIP (1.04) and BAA (.201)...He went on to earn a win in his Triple-A debut Aug. 3 at Round Rock and went 2-3 with OKC, posting a 5.13 ERA and 23 K's in six games (five starts)...Jackson appeared in a total of three games for LAD, going 0-1 and allowing three runs and 10 hits over 11.2 IP...He was named to the NL roster of the 2021 Futures Game, throwing 1.0 scoreless inning and retiring three of four batters faced...Jackson was selected by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Utah, where he primarily played as an outfielder...Tonight is his first career appearance against the Chihuahuas.

Against the Chihuahuas: 2022: 0-1 2021: 14-9 All-time: 28-20 At ELP: 15-10 The Dodgers and Chihuahuas meet for their first series of 2022 and in El Paso for the first time since July 8-13, 2021...The Dodgers won the 2021 series between the teams, 14-9, winning six of the first eight meetings last season. OKC finished out the season series winning three of the final five meetings between the teams during the Triple-A Final Stretch Sept. 29-Oct. 3...The Dodgers posted an 8-4 record in El Paso in 2021 and has won four of the last five meetings between the teams in Texas...OKC outscored the Chihuahuas, 143-115, and had 37 homers while holding El Paso to 21 home runs over the 23-game season series...Luke Raley led the Dodgers' offense against the Chihuahuas in 2021, batting .333 in the series with 22 hits, including four homers, and 19 RBI...Starting pitcher Yefry Ramírez went 4-0 in five starts against El Paso, recording a team-leading 32 strikeouts against 10 walks and posting a 3.96 ERA over 25.0 IP...Outside of 2018, OKC has won or split each season series against the Chihuahuas since Tucson's franchise relocated to El Paso for the 2014 season.

April Accolades: The Oklahoma City Dodgers swept the first Pacific Coast League weekly awards of the season, with Zach McKinstry being named PCL Player of the Week and Ryan Pepiot being named PCL Pitcher of the Week for the period of April 5-10. McKinstry's 11 hits through six games paced the league, as well as his six extra-base hits, including a league-best three triples. McKinstry also led the PCL with 20 total bases while his eight RBI and .833 SLG were second and his .500 OBP was tied for second. His .458 batting average and 1.333 OPS were both third...Pepiot made two starts during OKC's first series of the season against Albuquerque, not allowing a run over 7.2 innings, with one hit, three walks and seven strikeouts. He held the Isotopes 1-for-25 over the two games.

First Offense: OKC has now scored at least 11 runs in three straight games (35 runs total) and at least eight runs in four straight games (43 runs total). It's just the second time ever during the team's Bricktown era (since 1998) OKC has scored at least 11 runs in three straight games. The other instance was July 9-11, 2004, with all three games played in Colorado Springs (14, 12, 12). The team has also tallied at least 11 hits in four straight games, totaling 55 hits during the stretch, with 25 extra-base hits...The Dodgers' 54 total runs and 73 total hits through the season's first seven games pace all of Triple-A...Over the last four games, the Dodgers have batted .342 (52x152), including .357 (41x115) in the last three games...OKC went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position last night and are 20-for-57 with RISP (.351) in the last four games after going 6-for-30 over the first three games of 2022.

Extra Credit: Six of OKC's 11 hits Tuesday night went for extra bases, including three homers and two triples. The Dodgers' 32 extra-base hits so far this season lead all Triple-A teams...The Dodgers have now hit seven triples over the last four games and their seven triples have been hit by five different players. Last season, OKC hit a league-low 23 triples in 129 games and didn't record its seventh triple until July 18 - 64 games into the season.

Zach Attack: Reigning PCL Player of the Week Zach McKinstry hit his first home run of the season Tuesday, knocking the first pitch of the second inning out of Southwest University Park. He finished the night 1-for-4 with a walk, extending his hitting streak and RBI streak to six games, during which he is 12-for-26 with nine RBI...He has collected at least one extra-base hit in each of his last six games, including three doubles, a league-leading three triples and a home run. His seven total extra-base hits also pace the PCL. So far this season, he is batting .429 (12x28) with four walks and seven runs scored. His 12 hits and 24 total bases are second-most in the league, while his .485 OBP is third, his .429 AVG is tied for third, his .857 SLG is fourth, his nine RBI are tied for fourth and his 1.342 OPS is fifth...This week marked his first weekly honor since beginning his career in 2016.

On the Lamb: Jake Lamb homered in a third straight game Tuesday and finished the game 2-for-5 with two RBI. After a 1-for-15 start, Lamb is 5-for-12 with three homers and three walks over the last three games. He is tied for the team lead in homers with three, while his six RBI are tied for second-most among Dodgers players so far this season...This marks the first time Lamb has gone deep in three straight games since May 15-19, 2017 with Arizona, when he hit a total of four homers over three games.

No Diggity, Noda: Ryan Noda hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning in Tuesday's series opener and has now hit three homers in his last two games. In El Paso last night, he went 2-for-4 with a walk and has now reached base in 14 of his last 19 plate appearances. On Sunday, he connected on two home runs for the first multi-homer game of 2022 for a Dodgers player and his first two career Triple-A homers. It was also his first multi-homer game since May 26, 2021 with Double-A Tulsa at Arkansas and his fifth career multi-homer game. Noda led the Drillers and Double-A Central with 29 homers in 2021...The Triple-A rookie is off to an 8-for-19 start with seven walks and one HBP over his first 27 plate appearances.

Mighty Miguel: Miguel Vargas tallied his second consecutive three-hit game last night, going 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and a walk. In his first six Triple-A games, Vargas is 9-for-26 (.346) with three extra-base hits and six RBI. Over the last two games he's gone 6-for-9 with four RBI.

Pillar of Strength: Kevin Pillar notched a season-high three hits, falling a home run shy of the cycle Tuesday. He reached base in each of his first four plate appearances, including a two-run double during the team's fourth-inning rally...He has hit safely in five straight games, going 8-for-20 with two homers, six RBI and six runs scored.

In the Dog House: The Chihuahuas scored nine runs within the first three innings last night, including seven runs with two outs in the third inning. The Dodgers did not yield more than six runs in each of their first six games of the season against Albuquerque in OKC. El Paso's seven-run third inning matched the highest-scoring inning by an opponent against OKC in 2021 was the highest scoring inning by an opponent since July 25, 2021 versus Sugar Land. The seven hits also matched the most by an opponent in one inning last season. It was the highest scoring inning by an opponent on the road since July 3, 2019 when Nashville exploded for a 12-run second inning...OKC had not allowed a homer with a runner on base to start the season until the Chihuahuas hit two three-run homers Tuesday...After holding Albuquerque 7-for-57 with runners in scoring position in the previous six-game series, El Paso went 6-for-17 Tuesday.

Around the Horn: Last night's defeat snapped OKC's four-game winning streak and the Dodgers fell to 14-10 in road openers during the team's Bricktown era. They have now lost three straight and four of the last five...Even with last night's loss, the Dodgers are now 5-2 through seven games. OKC did not pick up its fifth win until the 18th game of the season in 2021 and didn't reach five wins in 2019 until the 11th game of the season...With 11 more strikeouts last night, the OKC pitching staff has struck out at least 10 batters in five of the last six games. Last season, the Dodgers racked up 68 double-digit strikeout games in their 129 games overall.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 13, 2022


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