PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 16, 2023

Published on April 16, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Sugar Land Space Cowboys (4-9) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (11-3)

Game #15 of 150/First Half #15 of 75/Home #9 of 75

Pitching Probables: SUG-RHP J.P. France (0-1, 7.71) vs. OKC-RHP Gavin Stone (1-1, 7.71)

Sunday, April 16, 2023 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 2:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers have won three straight games and own the best record in the Pacific Coast League - as well as the best record in all of Triple-A - as they conclude their series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at 2:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...Kids can take the field to run the bases following today's game.

Last Game: Luke Williams recorded four hits and Ben DeLuzio collected three RBI as the Oklahoma City Dodgers defeated the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, 5-2, Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead in the third inning and led the rest of the game as they picked up a third straight win. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the third inning and DeLuzio grounded a two-run single into right field for OKC's first runs of the night. Hunter Feduccia followed and hit into a double play, bringing in another OKC run. Sugar Land cut into OKC's lead via a RBI single by Joe Perez in the fourth inning before Michael Busch answered with a RBI single in the bottom of the inning for a 4-1 Dodgers advantage. DeLuzio's sacrifice squeeze bunt in the seventh inning put the Dodgers ahead, 5-1, before the Space Cowboys' Grae Kessinger knocked a RBI single to trim OKC's lead to three runs in the ninth inning.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Gavin Stone (1-1) makes his team-leading fourth start of the season...He most recently started the current series opener April 11 against the Space Cowboys. Stone allowed three runs and three hits over four-plus innings with four walks and two strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of OKC's 4-3 win in 10 innings...Stone allowed two home runs Tuesday, marking just the third time in his career he's allowed two homers in a game. He's now allowed three home runs over his first 11.2 innings, matching his season total across 121.2 IP in 2022...Last season Stone was named the Los Angeles Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He compiled a 1.48 ERA and 9-6 record across 26 games (25 starts) at three levels, starting the season with High-A Great Lakes (six games) before moving up to Double-A Tulsa (14 games) and making his Triple-A debut with OKC Aug. 18. He posted a combined 1.12 WHIP and .206 BAA with 168 strikeouts against 44 walks in 121.2 IP across the three levels...Stone led all pitchers in the Minors in ERA and tied for ninth overall in strikeouts. He also ranked second among Dodgers minor leaguers in strikeouts, WHIP and BAA...With OKC last season, Stone went 2-1 with a 1.16 ERA in six starts with 33 K's...Now in his third professional season, Stone was tabbed as the Los Angeles Dodgers' No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 6 prospect by Baseball America. He's ranked as the No. 56 overall prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline...The Dodgers selected Stone in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Central Arkansas...Tonight is his third career appearance against Sugar Land. In addition to this past Tuesday, Stone's Triple-A debut came against the Space Cowboys last season on Aug. 19, 2022 in Sugar Land. In that game he pitched 4.0 scoreless and hitless innings, hit two batters and issued two walks with four strikeouts.

Against the Space Cowboys: 2023: 4-1 2022: 16-8 All-time: 32-21 At OKC: 21-11

The Dodgers and Space Cowboys meet for their first of four series this season and first of two at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark within a span of six weeks...The Dodgers won the 2022 series, 16-8, and went 11-4 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers did not lose back-to-back games to Sugar Land at any point last season...The teams split their most recent series Aug. 16-21, 2022 in Sugar Land in a series that included two games that extended to the 10th inning and were won on walk-off hits by the Space Cowboys. The series also included a doubleheader with Sugar Land winning the second game, 21-4, in seven innings, featuring a 17-run inning...The teams last met in OKC July 26-31, 2022 with OKC winning the set, 4-2, including two walk-off wins in 10 innings...Miguel Vargas led the Dodgers with 33 hits, 18 RBI, 23 runs scored and five homers against Sugar Land last season...Pitchers Ryan Pepiot and Carson Fulmer each had four wins in the season series, while Pepiot posted a 1.82 ERA in five games (three starts) with 29 strikeouts...Of last season's 24 total meetings, nine were one-run games.

Strong Start: With Saturday's win, the Dodgers improved to 11-3, tying for the second-best start for an OKC team during the Bricktown era (since 1998). Only the 2018 Dodgers had a better record through 14 games at 12-2. The 2015 team also started 11-3...The Dodgers have now won three straight games as well as five of their last six games and 11 of the last 13 games. They've also been victorious in six of their last seven home games...The Dodgers own the best record in all of Triple-A and the only team with at least 10 wins. In fact, Norfolk (9-4), Syracuse (9-4), Memphis (9-5) and Toledo (9-5) of the International League are the only other teams to have more than eight wins...The current hot start included a six-game winning streak April 1-7, which was the first six-game winning streak for OKC at any point of a season since a six-game streak July 18-24, 2019...The Dodgers won their first road series of the season in Las Vegas, 5-1. It marked the fifth time out of 45 six-games series since the start of the 2021 season that the Dodgers have won five of six games during the same set. The previous time was April 5-10, 2022 in the season-opening series at home against Albuquerque...Only two OKC teams through the last 24 seasons have had three or fewer losses through 15 games: 2018 (12-3) and 2015 (12-3).

More Than Lukewarm: Luke Williams went 4-for-4 Saturday with two doubles and scored two runs. He collected four hits in a game for the first time since a five-hit outing July 18, 2019 when he went 5-for-5 with three doubles for Double-A Reading against New Hampshire...He also finished with the first four-hit game of the season for a Dodgers player and the first since Kevin Pillar collected four hits Sept. 25, 2022 in El Paso, going 4-for-6, during a 16-3 win...Williams now leads the Dodgers with 21 hits in 13 games this season and has eight doubles, two triples and two home runs. He also has a team-high 13 RBI...Williams' eight doubles lead all players in the Minors, while his two triples are tied for most in the PCL. His 21 hits are second-most in the league, his 39 total bases are third and his five stolen bases are tied for third...He collected his team-leading seventh multi-hit game of the season Saturday. No other OKC batter has more than four multi-hit games.

Steadfast: Michael Busch drew a walk and had an RBI single Saturday night. He has now reached base in each of OKC's first 14 games, tying Salt Lake's Jo Adell for the longest on-base streak to start 2023. He has now hit safely in 12 of his first 14 games of the season and posted a .463 OBP. His 19 hits, 12 RBI, 11 walks and 11 runs scored all rank second among Dodgers players and his 19 hits are tied for third-most in the PCL...Busch has collected at least one hit in nine of the last 10 games, batting .368 (14x38) with five extra-base hits and eight RBI...Busch was named a 2022 MiLB.com Organization All-Star after slashing a combined .274/.365/.516 with 32 home runs, 108 RBI and a Minor League-leading 118 runs between Double-A Tulsa and OKC...On the defensive side, Busch played his fourth career game at third base yesterday. He has also played seven games at second base and three games at first base this season.

Front of the Line: Saturday marked just the fourth time this season (through 14 games) the Dodgers have scored first in a game and they improved to 4-0 in those games...It was also just the fourth time this season that the Dodgers kept their opponent scoreless through a game's first two innings, although they've now done it on back-to-back nights...Opponents have scored 28 of 78 total runs (35.9 percent) within the first two innings this season, and the Dodgers have been outscored, 28-15, over the first two frames this season. Following the second inning, the Dodgers have outscored opponents, 76-50...Last night also marked only the third time among OKC's 11 wins in which the Dodgers never trailed.

Yardwork: The Dodgers were held without a home run Saturday night after hitting three home runs in each of the previous two games. It was the third time in the current series the Dodgers did not go deep. The Dodgers have hit 19 home runs through 13 games, including 11 homers in eight games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...On the other hand, OKC did not allow a home run Saturday, snapping a stretch of eight straight games in which they allowed at least one homer (17 HR), accounting for 26 of the 37 total runs over the eight-game stretch (70.3 percent). Entering Saturday, the Dodgers had given up at least two home runs in six of the last seven games (16 HR)...OKC's 25 home runs allowed are the second-most in Triple-A behind Toledo's 26 homers...Last night was the second time this season neither team hit a home run, joining April 5 at Las Vegas.

Down to Earth: The Dodgers pitching staff allowed two runs and five hits for a second straight game against the Space Cowboys Saturday. They have kept Sugar Land to three runs or less in three of five games this series after they held opponents to no more than three runs just once over the season's first nine games...The Dodgers bullpen allowed one run and two hits over the final 4.1 innings. Over the last 10 games, the bullpen has allowed 12 runs (11 ER) and 22 hits across 46.2 innings, with 60 strikeouts against 18 walks...Five Dodgers pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts last night, marking the third game of at least a baker's dozen punchouts. The 139 K's by Dodgers pitchers this season are second-most in the PCL behind Las Vegas' 142 strikeouts.

Six-Part Series: For the second consecutive series, the Dodgers have taken four of the first five games. Since the start of the 2021 and a shift to primarily six-game series, the Dodgers have started 4-1 now nine times in 46 series. Including last Sunday in Las Vegas, they have ended up winning five of the six games during the set five times within the first eight chances.

Walking Tall: The Dodgers walked seven times last night, marking the fourth time in the last five games they had seven or more walks, bringing their total to 41 walks during the current series. OKC drew a season-high 14 walks Tuesday night - the most by the team since July 14, 2017 when OKC also drew 14 walks against New Orleans at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...Last season OKC led all teams in the Minors with 731 walks, setting a team record and posting the most walks by any Triple-A team since 2004.

Around the Horn: Ben DeLuzio racked up three RBI last night as he extended his hitting streak to four games, going 5-for-17 with a triple and four RBI during the stretch, following an 0-for-12 start. His three RBI Saturday were his most in a game since May 27, 2022 with Triple-A Memphis against Iowa when he hit a grand slam. He owns the longest active hitting streak for an OKC player...Victor González struck out all four batters he faced last night. Through four outings he's held opponents 2-for-21 with three walks and 10 strikeouts...Drew Avans went 1-for-5 yesterday and has now reached base in 10 of his first 21 plate appearances this series (4 H, 6 BB)...Hunter Feduccia has reached base in 19 of his first 36 plate appearances this season (.528 OBP). He has nine walks over his last four games and a team-high 13 walks to start 2023 - tied for fourth in the PCL despite playing in only nine of 14 games.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 16, 2023


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