PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 24, 2022

Published on April 24, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (11-6) at Sacramento River Cats (9-8)

Game #18 of 150/Road #12 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Mike Wright Jr. (0-1, 6.75) vs. SAC-RHP Sean Hjelle (1-0, 2.19)

Sunday, April 24, 2022 | Sutter Health Park | West Sacramento, Calif. | 3:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers close out their six-game series against the Sacramento River Cats, as well as their 12-game road trip, at 3:05 p.m. CT at Sutter Health Park. The Dodgers are 6-5 on the road trip, including 3-2 in Sacramento, and have a chance to finish with a winning series and road trip this afternoon.

Last Game: The Sacramento River Cats scored two runs in the first inning and didn't slow down at the plate for the rest of the game, defeating the Oklahoma City Dodgers, 12-1, Saturday night at Sutter Health Park. The Dodgers scored their only run of the night on a RBI groundout by Miguel Vargas in the third inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1, but the River Cats scored 10 unanswered runs thereafter. The game was still within reach at 5-1 in the seventh inning before Sacramento piled on five more runs to make it 10-1. They scored twice more in the eighth inning against Dodgers infielder Ty Kelly. Sacramento outhit the Dodgers, 15-5, as Oklahoma City was held to one run for the second straight game.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Mike Wright Jr. (0-1) is scheduled to make his second start and fourth appearance of the season today...He last pitched 2.0 innings of relief April 17 in El Paso, piggybacking Robbie Erlin in OKC's 10-1 win. Wright entered the game with OKC leading, 3-1, and protected the two-run lead during his outing before the Dodgers added seven more runs. He issued one walk with three strikeouts...His only other start was April 12 against the Chihuahuas, when he pitched 2.0 IP. He allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts...Wright signed with the Dodgers as a free agent March 16 after splitting last season between the Chicago White Sox and Triple-A Charlotte. He spent the first half of 2021 with Charlotte, posting a 7-5 record and 3.40 ERA with 90 strikeouts over 16 starts and was named Triple-A East Pitcher of the Month for June. The 32-year-old right-hander had a 1.05 WHIP and .202 BAA with Charlotte and lasted at least 6.0 innings in 10 of his 16 outings...Wright was promoted to Chicago in August and appeared in 13 games out of the bullpen, posting a 5.50 ERA with 11 walks and 11 strikeouts...He made his ML debut May 17, 2015 with Baltimore against the Angels...Wright was selected by Baltimore in the third round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of East Carolina and was the organization's Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2013...He last faced the River Cats in July 2019 while playing for Tacoma.

Against the River Cats: 2022: 3-2 2021: 2-4 All-time: 45-51 At SAC: 24-24 The Dodgers and River Cats are meeting for their first of two series this season...The teams are playing in Sacramento for the first time since the 2018 season. The teams also played series against one another in 2019 and 2021, but both series took place at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in OKC...Last season, the River Cats won the May 13-18 series, 4-2. They outscored the Dodgers, 40-20, and outhit OKC, 55-38...Zach Reks led OKC with eight hits, including a double and two homers, and recorded four RBI, four walks and scored six runs...In two appearances, reliever Darien Núñez held the River Cats to one hit and tallied 11 strikeouts over 6.0 IP...In the teams' last series in Sacramento, OKC won the set, 2-1...Since OKC became affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the River Cats with the San Francisco Giants in 2015, Sacramento has a 15-13 edge in the Triple-A version of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.

One By One: For the second straight game, the Dodgers' Triple-A-leading offense was held to one run Saturday night. Prior to Friday, the Dodgers had scored at least three runs in each game this season...OKC entered Saturday still leading all 30 Triple-A teams in batting average (.280), runs scored (108) and hits (156), but over the last three games they've scored five runs total and batted .152 (14x92), including 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position. OKC still leads the PCL with 109 runs scored this season while their .274 average and 161 hits are both second in the league...Going back to Wednesday's game when they finished 1-for-11, the Dodgers are 15-for-the-last-103 (.146) overall with 42 strikeouts, including 3-for-38 (.079) with runners on base and 0-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Entering Thursday, the Dodgers had batted .346 (45x130) with runners in scoring position over the previous 11 games...OKC has now been held to one run in back-to-back games for the first time since an 8-1 loss in Sugar Land Aug. 24, 2021 and a 6-1 loss against Las Vegas Aug. 26, 2021 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Opposite Day: One night after pitching their first shutout of the season, the Dodgers allowed 12 runs and 15 hits Saturday. It marked the second-most runs allowed by the team in a game this season and the third time in the last four games the team has allowed at least eight runs. It was also the second time in the last four games OKC allowed 15 hits. The 11-run loss was the team's largest since a 13-1 defeat May 15, 2021, also against Sacramento...On Friday, four OKC pitchers combined to limit Sacramento to five hits and no extra-base hits, marking the third time this season the OKC pitching staff did not yield an extra-base hit. One day later, Sacramento tallied seven extra-base hits, setting a new opponent single-game high this season.

Disco Inferno: Andy Burns extended his hitting streak to six games and is 9-for-23 (.391) during the stretch with five extra-base hits and six RBI. He also has four walks and four runs scored. He owns the longest active hitting streak among OKC players...On Thursday, Burns hit his first two home runs of the season via solo shots in the fourth and eighth innings. He became the third OKC player with a multi-homer game this year, following Ryan Noda (April 10 vs. Albuquerque) and Jason Martin (April 16 at El Paso). It was Burns' fourth multi-homer game of his U.S. career and his first game with two homers since Aug. 17, 2019 with Triple-A Buffalo against Durham.

No Diggity, Noda: Ryan Noda extended his on-base streak to 16 games with a double in the second inning Saturday. The streak is in a three-way tie for longest in the PCL this season with Reno's Stone Garrett and Sugar Land's David Hensley, as Noda has reached base in each of his first 16 games of the season. Noda's .479 on-base percentage paces the PCL while his 13 walks are tied for most in the league. His four homers are tied for fourth in the PCL, while his 1.111 OPS and 36 total bases are fifth and his 20 hits are sixth.

No Doubting Tomás: Tomás Telis reached base three times with a single and two walks Saturday and scored the team's lone run. The catcher is on a five-game hitting streak, going 9-for-20 with three multi-hit games. He also has three RBI and four runs scored during the stretch...He has hit safely in six of his first seven games overall to start 2022, batting .357 (10x28).

Super Utility: Infielder Ty Kelly pitched the eighth inning Saturday and allowed two runs and three hits. He became the first position player to pitch for OKC since Jon Kemmer on Aug. 20, 2019 versus Nashville...Kelly pitched in three other games previously in his career, including two appearances with Salt Lake in 2019 and one with Tacoma in 2014. He had not allowed a hit or run over a combined 3.0 IP prior to Saturday.

Big Flies: The Dodgers have been held without a home run in back-to-back games for the second time this season and for the second time during the current road trip. The team's stretch of six straight games with a home run came to an end Friday night. OKC has homered in 12 of its first 17 games this season and the Dodgers' 22 homers to start 2022 are tied for third in the league...The Dodgers have not gone three straight games without a homer since May 22-24, 2019 at New Orleans...On the other hand, after not allowing a homer in back-to-back games, the Dodgers allowed two home runs Saturday, and the River Cats have hit seven homers in the current series. Sacramento has hit at least two home runs in three of the last five games.

Pillar of Strength: One night after Kevin Pillar's on-base streak was snapped, he drew a walk Saturday and has reached base safely in 13 of his first 14 games this season. He paces the PCL with 16 runs scored so far in 2022, while his .441 OBP is fourth-best and his 11 walks are tied for fifth...He has struck out just once in his last 57 plate appearances.

Mighty Miguel: Miguel Vargas drew a walk and brought in OKC's lone run with a RBI groundout last night, but his six-game hitting streak came to an end. He went 7-for-23 during the streak with four walks, five runs scored and three RBI...His 12 walks this season are tied for third-most in the league while his 12 runs scored are tied for eighth. Over his first 16 games at Triple-A, the 22-year-old has 16 hits, including three doubles, a triple and two homers along with 10 RBI.

Around the Horn: Last season when the Dodgers entered a series finale with a chance to win a series, the team went 5-0, including 2-0 on the road...The Dodgers are 3-0 in day games this season, including a 9-8 victory earlier in the current series Wednesday afternoon...Jason Martin was the only Dodger to finish with a multi-hit game Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a double. He's reached base safely in 14 of his 15 starts this season, and eight of his 15 hits have gone for extra bases...OKC drew four more walks last night and the team's 88 walks lead all Triple-A teams...After committing 10 errors within the first seven games of the season, the Dodgers have only committed five errors over last 10 games.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 24, 2022


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