PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 15, 2019

April 15, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Game #11 of 140/Road #6 of 70 (2-3)

Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Rob Zastryzny (0-0, 0.00) vs. IOW-RHP Duncan Robinson (0-0, 2.53)

Monday, April 15, 2019 | Principal Park | Des Moines, Iowa | 12:08 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio - Alex Freedman

Today's Game: The OKC Dodgers wrap up their first road trip of the season with a 12:08 p.m. game against the Iowa Cubs and try for a series split at Principal Park. Iowa leads the current series, 2-1, and the Dodgers are 2-3 on their road trip overall.

Last Game: The OKC Dodgers were held to a season-low four hits while Iowa consistently capitalized on scoring opportunities, as the I-Cubs bested the Dodgers, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at Principal Park. Iowa took the game's first lead in the bottom of the third inning. Wynton Bernard led off with a triple and Francisco Arcia followed with a RBI single. Kyle Garlick pulled the Dodgers into a tie when he connected on an opposite field home run leading off the fourth inning. But the I-Cubs answered with a home run of their own in the bottom of the frame. On the first pitch of the inning, Trent Giambrone hit his second home run in as many games, putting Iowa ahead, 2-1. Iowa added to the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, with a RBI double by Jim Adduci. The Dodgers got back within one when Garlick picked up a RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning. Iowa responded in the bottom of the frame with a RBI single with two outs by Phillip Evans, putting the Dodgers down by a pair of runs. The Dodgers rallied and put the pressure on in the top of the ninth inning. After a double by Errol Robinson, the Dodgers had the tying runs both in scoring position with one out. Drew Jackson came up next and narrowed the gap to one run on a RBI groundout, also advancing the tying run to third base. Representing the Dodgers' last chance, Daniel Castro hit a high pop up in between the pitching mound and the third base line. Evans made the catch and collided with Arcia, but Evans was able to hang on to the ball to secure the final out. Alberto Baldonado (1-0) was the first of four relievers used by the I-Cubs and took the win. Dakota Mekkes recorded the final four outs to earn his second save of the season. Dodgers starting pitcher Ben Holmes (0-1) bounced back from a bumpy Triple-A debut with five solid innings, although he ended up with the loss.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Rob Zastryzny (0-0) makes his second start of the season for OKC as he takes the mound against his former team for the first time...In his OKC debut Tuesday in Omaha, he pitched five scoreless innings, holding the Storm Chasers to two hits with two walks and six strikeouts and did not factor into the decision...Zastryzny spent the first six seasons of his professional career in the Chicago Cubs organization before being released near the end of Spring Training and signing with the Dodgers in late March...Zastryzny has made 62 appearances over the last three seasons with Iowa, including 22 starts, going 12-8 with a 4.60 ERA...He spent the majority of the 2018 season with the I-Cubs (33 games) and also made six appearances with Chicago. Working almost exclusively out of the bullpen, Zastryzny went 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA for Iowa. He logged 56.0 innings with 50 strikeouts and 28 walks. With the Chicago Cubs, he went 1-0 over six relief outings (5.2 IP), allowing a combined six hits and three runs with three K's and four walks...Zastryzny was selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of the University of Missouri...During his career at Principal Park, Zastryzny owns a 4-2 record and 3.49 ERA over 27 games (eight starts).

Against the I-Cubs: 2019: 1-2 2018: 11-5 All-time: 152-152 At IOW: 71-83

The Dodgers and Cubs meet for their first series of 2019 in Des Moines...The Dodgers won the 2018 series, 11-5, winning 10 of the first 12 meetings before Iowa took three of four during the final series of the season Aug. 28-30 at Iowa...OKC outscored the Cubs, 64-43, last season...Tim Locastro paced the Dodgers with 14 hits in 14 games, while Andrew Toles picked up 11 RBI in 10 games...Dodgers pitchers recorded a combined 2.26 ERA and held Iowa to less than three runs in half of their meetings...The Dodgers have won the last two season series against Iowa, as well as three of the last four with the I-Cubs...OKC split eight games with Iowa in Des Moines last season while going 7-1 at home.

Stuck in Idle: Yesterday the Dodgers' offense was held to a season-low four hits, went 2-for-16 with runners on base and 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. OKC ranks 16th in the PCL in total runs (31) and total hits (70) so far this season, averaging 3.1 runs and seven hits per game...OKC is 16-for-79 (.202) with runners in scoring position this season, but if you take out Wednesday's 6-for-15 performance in Omaha, the Dodgers are a combined 10-for-64 (.156) with RISP in their other nine games. During the current series, the team is 3-for-27 with RISP...The Dodgers loaded the bases in the second inning Sunday with none out, but each of the next three batters struck out, marking already the third time in 10 games this season the team did not score after loading the bases with none out. The Dodgers are now 0-for-12 with no RBI with the bases full this season...In each of the past two games, the contest has ended with the Dodgers leaving the tying run at third base.

On Strike: The Dodgers pitching staff added six strikeouts Sunday to push OKC's PCL American Conference-leading total to 109 K's through 10 games (81.0 IP). Tacoma paces the PCL overall with 113 K's, while Sacramento has 111, but each has pitched at least 17.0 more innings than OKC...Sunday's six strikeout total marked a season-low for the Dodgers pitching staff, which has already recorded six games with double-digit strikeout totals...OKC established the PCL single-season record for strikeouts in both 2016 and 2017, with 1,245 and 1,277 K's, respectively. However, Fresno bested both of those totals last season with 1,330 punchouts.

Home Sweet Home: Dodgers infielder Jake Peter drew three walks Sunday - the most by a Dodger in a single game this season. The three free passes also tied his career high and was the fifth time he walked thrice in a game, but the first time since May 28, 2015 while playing for High-A Winston-Salem in the White Sox organization. In the current series, Peter has reached base in five of eight plate appearances (H, 4 BB) and scored two runs...Peter grew up in Mason City, Iowa and played baseball at Mason City High School, located about 120 miles north of Des Moines.

Sophomore Surge: Will Smith was held without a hit Sunday, but drew two walks and scored a run for the Dodgers. He paces OKC with six walks through eight games and is batting .333 (8x24) with five extra-base hits. His six RBI and five runs scored lead OKC, while his two home runs are tied for the team lead...His .750 slugging percentage currently ranks tied for seventh in the PCL...Smith struggled at the Triple-A level at the end of the 2018 season, going just 12-for-87 (.138). He totaled only five extra-base hits and had seven walks against 37 strikeouts.

Steely Dan: Daniel Castro went 1-for-5 Sunday and has collected a hit in four straight games. He paces the Dodgers with 12 hits through 10 games, including three doubles...Castro has tallied at least one hit in eight of his nine games with an at-bat to start the season.

Around the Horn: For the first time since 2011, OKC is 4-6 through the first 10 games of the season. The team did not pick up its sixth loss of 2018 until Game #24...When Trent Giambrone was caught stealing in the sixth inning Sunday, it snapped a streak of 10 straight successful stolen base attempts by OKC opponents. The Dodgers have now caught just two of 17 attempted base stealers this season....Yesterday the I-Cubs went 4-for-10 with runners on base and 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Entering the game, the Dodgers were allowing just a .165 opponent average with runners on and a .197 batting average against with runners in scoring position...Last season when the Dodgers needed a win for a four-game series split, the team went 3-3...On Sunday, the Dodgers scored in three separate innings in one game for just the second time this season and first time in eight games.

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