PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 25, 2016

Published on April 25, 2016 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (10-7) vs. Iowa Cubs (6-10)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs

Game #18 of 144/Road #11 of 72 (7-3)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Sam LeCure (0-1, 2.64) vs. IOW-RHP Drew Rucinski (0-2, 6.61)

Monday, April 25, 2016 | Principal Park | Des Moines, Iowa | 6:38 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Dodgers continue their series against the Iowa Cubs at 6:38 p.m. at Principal Park. The Dodgers lead the series, 2-0, and seek their second four-game winning streak of the season.

Last Game: The Dodgers posted season highs in both runs and hits on the way to a 13-5 win against Iowa Sunday afternoon at Principal Park. Iowa built a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three-run homer by Tim Federowicz, but the Dodgers responded by outscoring the I-Cubs, 13-2, the remainder of the game. OKC answered with two runs in the second inning, then took the lead in the third inning with two more runs. Iowa tied the game, 4-4, in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Oklahoma City scored four runs to take the lead for good. Rob Segedin collected a RBI single to put Oklahoma City in front, 5-4. Elian Herrera added a RBI groundout, and OKC starting pitcher Jharel Cotton's two-run single down the right field line later gave OKC an 8-4 edge. The Dodgers added four more runs in the seventh inning on a RBI single by Rico Noel, a sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Jose Tabata, and a two-run homer by Micah Johnson. Iowa pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. walked Austin Barnes with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to bring home OKC's final run. Cotton (2-1) earned his second win in as many starts, allowing four runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out six. Lisalverto Bonilla earned the save by completing the final three innings. Iowa starting pitcher, and former OKC RedHawk, Jake Buchanan (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Sam LeCure (0-1) looks to bounce back from his first loss of the season...On Wednesday against Memphis in OKC, LeCure gave up his first runs and walks of the season. He allowed four runs and five hits over 4.1 innings, walked four and had four strikeouts...LeCure started his season with 12 consecutive scoreless innings and did not walk any of the first 39 batters he faced...He made his team debut April 9 in Nashville as he paced the Dodgers pitchers in a near no-hitter. He retired all 12 batters he faced on just 45 pitches. Relievers Ian Thomas and Adam Liberatore followed, as the trio combined to retire 24 of 25 batters without surrendering a hit through eight innings. LeCure and Thomas retired the game's first 17 hitters. The Sounds broke up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the ninth inning, but OKC held on for a 2-1 win...Prior to this season, LeCure had not started a game since April 27, 2011 for the Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee...He signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers April 6...LeCure spent Spring Training with Arizona, appearing in eight games before being released March 28...LeCure spent the majority of the 2015 season in the Reds organization with Triple-A Louisville, going 5-4 with a 5.25 ERA in 41 relief appearances, but also made 19 appearances with Cincinnati, going 0-2 with a 3.15 ERA...Tonight marks his first career appearance against Iowa.

Against the I-Cubs: 2016: 2-0 2015: 12-4 All-time: 126-129 At Iowa: 58-71

Going back to last season, the Dodgers have won six straight meetings against the I-Cubs overall and eight of the last 10 games in Des Moines...The Dodgers won the 2015 series between the teams, 12-4, including a 6-2 record on the road. It was just the second time during the team's PCL era OKC won six games in one season at Principal Park (also in 2004) and was the first time the team had a winning record in Des Moines since 2012...The Dodgers outscored the I-Cubs, 75-48, but the Dodgers hit just .216...Nine of the 16 meetings between the teams were decided by one or two runs...OKC and Iowa combined to play 7 hours, 31 minutes in a Sept. 1, 2015 doubleheader at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark that started at 4:35 p.m. and concluded at 12:47 a.m. The slate was scheduled to include two seven-inning games. Game one lasted 5 hours, 44 minutes and tied the Oklahoma City team record for longest game in terms of innings (19) since the team joined the PCL in 1998. It was also the longest game ever played at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and was the longest in the PCL, in terms of innings, since May 5, 2006. Buck Britton's two-run walk-off homer gave the Dodgers a crucial 6-4 victory.

It Goes Down in the DM: Yesterday in Des Moines, the Dodgers scored a season-high 13 runs and connected on a season-best 14 hits. Five Dodgers players finished the day with a multi-hit game and four players had multi-RBI performances. It was the team's highest-scoring game since a 14-11 win May 28, 2015 in Salt Lake...The Dodgers went 8-for-18 with runners in scoring position. They entered the game batting just .201 with runners in scoring position for the season.

Breaking Out: The Dodgers have scored 31 runs (44 percent of their season total) and notched 43 hits (31 percent of their season total) over their past four games. They are batting .274 (43x157) over the four games, which is a considerable improvement after batting just .223 through the first 13 games.

Segedin's Surge: Rob Segedin went 2-for-5 yesterday and became the first Dodger to score three runs in a game this season. He's off to a 5-for-11 start in the series, with three extra-base hits, three RBI, and five runs scored...Segedin is currently on a 10-game hitting streak, batting .425 (17x40) with five multi-hit games during the stretch. It's his longest hitting streak since hitting safely in 12 straight with the High-A Tampa Yankees, May 12-23, 2012. He's also collected a RBI in four straight games (six total) and leads the team with 10 RBI this season...He's been even hotter over his last seven games, going 13-for-27 (.481) with four doubles, a triple, and home run.

Powerball: Through the first 14 games of the season, the Dodgers hit a total of five home runs and never hit more than one in a single game. Over past three games, the Dodgers have gone deep five times.

Herrera's Heyday: Elian Herrera racked up three RBI Sunday to become the third OKC Dodger this season with a three-RBI game, joining Jose Tabata (April 15) and Zach Walters (April 22). He also had two hits, walked once and scored two runs...Herrera had one RBI entering yesterday, and had not collected a RBI since the first game of the season April 7 in Nashville.

Kontakt Issues: The Dodgers struck out 11 times yesterday and they lead the PCL with 177 strikeouts in 2016. Among all minor league teams who have played a maximum of 17 games, only High-A Bakersfield (178) and Triple-A Charlotte (181) have struck out more. The Dodgers have struck out at least 10 times in 10 of the first 17 games of the season.

How the West was Won: Reliever Matt West has retired 22 of the 24 batters he's faced this season, including the last 14 straight. Over 7.1 IP, he's notched 10 strikeouts and has yet to allow a walk.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHERS OPP. PITCHER

Tuesday, April 26 12:08 p.m. at Iowa RHP Jeremy Kehrt (1-1, 4.20) RHP Pierce Johnson (0-0, 1.13)

Wednesday, April 27 OFF

Thursday, April 28 6:35 p.m. at Omaha LHP Julio Urias (2-1, 3.00) RHP Miguel Almonte (0-2, 3.60)

Friday, April 29 7:05 p.m. at Omaha TBA LHP John Lannan (2-1, 5.40)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 25, 2016


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