PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 5, 2018

Published on April 5, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-0) vs. Iowa Cubs (0-0)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs

Games #1 & 2 of 140/Road #1 & 2 of 70 (0-0)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Walker Buehler vs. IOW-RHP Jen-Ho Tseng

OKC-Manny Banuelos vs. IOW-LHP Michael Roth

Thursday, April 5, 2017 | Principal Park | Des Moines, Iowa | 3:08 p.m. CT

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

Today's Games: The Oklahoma City Dodgers embark on the 2018 Pacific Coast League season with a road doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games starting at 3:08 p.m. against the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park. Game 1 of the doubleheader kicks off the entire 2018 Minor League Baseball schedule and opens a five-game series between the American Northern Division teams. Today's doubleheader was not originally scheduled but was necessitated due to a high chance of snow in Des Moines on Sunday.

Last Season: The OKC Dodgers wrapped up Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark's 20th season with a 72-69 record in 2017, finishing with a winning mark for the sixth straight year. The Dodgers pitching staff racked up a combined 1,277 strikeouts to break their own PCL modern-era record from 2016 (1,245). RHP Wilmer Font set the OKC single-season record with 178 strikeouts and was named PCL Pitcher of the Year. He paced all of Triple-A in total strikeouts and notched a single-game, team-record 15 K's May 15 against Sacramento. Outfielder Alex Verdugo, relief pitcher Madison Younginer and infielder Willie Calhoun joined Font in the Triple-A All-Star Game. Verdugo paced OKC with 136 hits, including a team-high 27 doubles. He tied for the third-longest hitting streak by an OKC player in the modern era, with a 20-game streak June 8-30. Outfielder O'Koyea Dickson led OKC with 24 home runs, 76 RBI and 70 runs scored. Infielder Tim Locastro recorded a team-best 12 stolen bases. Font and RHP Justin Masterson tied for the team lead with 25 starts. Masterson paced OKC with 141.2 innings and 11 wins -- tied for the most in the league. Younginer had a team-best eight saves and Joe Broussard led with 44 appearances. The third-largest crowd in Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark history was on hand Aug. 26 as LA Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw made a rehab appearance (13,106).

Today's Probable Pitchers: Walker Buehler makes the Opening Day start for OKC in Game 1 as he enters the 2018 season rated as the Dodgers' top prospect and 14th prospect overall by Baseball America...Buehler saw action at four levels during his second season in the organization, starting the year with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, moving to Double-A Tulsa May 10 and OKC July 16 before the Dodgers selected his contract Sept. 6...He made his ML debut Sept. 7, pitching 2.0 innings of scoreless relief against Colorado, with one hit and two K's...The Dodgers named him 2017 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year and he was named a MiLB.com Organziation All-Star after posting a 3.35 ERA in 28 appearances (19 starts). He held opponents to a .208 average, notching 125 strikeouts against 31 walks over 88.1 IP...With OKC, he pitched in 12 games (three starts), compiling 23.1 IP, a 4.63 ERA, 34 K's and 11 walks...The Dodgers selected the Lexington, Ky. native 24th overall in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt...Today is his first career appearance against Iowa.

Veteran lefty Manny Bañuelos starts for OKC in Game 2... Bañuelos signed with the Dodgers as a free agent Nov. 14, 2017 after spending 2017 with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Los Angeles Angels organization...Bañuelos appeared in a team-leading 39 games (nine starts) with Salt Lake, pitching 95.0 innings to a record of 5-6, a 4.93 ERA and 85 K's...Bañuelos has appeared in seven total ML games (six starts), all with Atlanta in 2015. He compiled a 1-4 record over 26.1 IP, with a 5.13 ERA, and 19 K's....The Durango, Mexico native signed as an amateur free agent with the New York Yankees out of the Mexican League March 30, 2008. He was traded to Atlanta Jan. 1, 2015 and signed as a free agent with the Angels Aug. 18, 2016...Today is Bañuelos' third career appearance against Iowa. He made two relief appearances against the I-Cubs in 2017 with Salt Lake, allowing three runs (one earned) and five hits over 4.0 innings, with three strikeouts and three walks.

Against the I-Cubs: 2018 Season: 0-0 2017: 9-7 All-time: 140-145 At IOW: 66-77

This marks the second straight season Iowa and OKC are opening a season against one another...The Dodgers won the 2017 series between the teams, 9-7, but Iowa won the season-opening series, 3-2, taking each of the first three games...OKC posted a 5-3 record at Principal Park in 2017 and has secured a winning mark in Des Moines each of the previous three seasons (16-8)...Seven of last year's 16 meetings were decided by one or two runs...The Dodgers outscored Iowa, 82-65, in the 2017 series and outhit the I-Cubs, 155-119...Willie Calhoun led OKC with 19 hits and 15 RBI against Iowa...Alex Verdugo batted .321 against the I-Cubs with 17 hits, with five doubles, two triples, a home run and five RBI. He scored seven runs and drew a team-leading eight walks.

One Away from 500: Manager Bill Haselman begins his third season at the helm of the OKC Dodgers, fifth in the Dodgers organization, and his eighth overall as a minor league manager. Haselman sits one victory away from his 500th career win, owning a 499-482 record. He guided OKC to a 72-69 record in 2017 and 81-60 record in 2016. His 153 combined victories are the most by an OKC manager in his first two season since Grady Hatton in 1963-64 (172). Prior to OKC, Haselman managed fellow Dodgers affiliates High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Low-A Great Lakes. He began his managerial career in 2010 with High-A Bakersfield (Texas Rangers) and managed High-A Inland Empire (Los Angeles Angels) 2012-13...Haselman won California League titles with Inland Empire in 2013 and Rancho Cucamonga in 2015.

Feels Like the First Time: OKC is 9-11 all-time on Opening Day in the PCL era and is 6-4 on the road on Opening Day since 1998... The Dodgers suffered a 1-0 defeat in last season's opener April 6, 2017 against Iowa at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...In road openers overall, the team is 13-7, with wins in three of the last four and six of the last eight...This is not the first time OKC has opened the season with a doubleheader in recent years. In 2013, Opening Night in Memphis was rained out. The RedHawks and Redbirds played two the next day, with Memphis winning the first game, 9-0, before OKC earned a split in the nightcap with an 8-7 victory.

Roster Rundown: Among the 25 players on the OKC Dodgers' initial roster, 20 have Major League experience, 12 appeared in the Majors last season and 10 logged time with OKC in 2017. The top two prospects in the Dodgers organization, as ranked by Baseball America, headline the roster: pitcher Walker Buehler (No. 1) and outfielder Alex Verdugo (No. 2)...In addition to returning manager Bill Haselman, coach Luis Matos is back for a third season as the team's primary third base and outfield coach. Bill Simas joins the team as pitching coach from Double-A Tulsa and Adam Melhuse joins OKC as hitting coach after managing Low-A Burlington in the Los Angeles Angels organization.

Max-ed Out: One of the 10 returners on the roster is infielder Max Muncy, who finished the 2017 season on a career-best 15-game hitting streak, batting .465 with 20 hits, seven RBI and 11 runs scored. The streak was the second-longest by an OKC player last season.

Happy Homecoming: Iowa native Jake Peter celebrates his 25th birthday today back in his home state. The infielder from Mason City, Iowa -- about 120 miles north of Des Moines -- split the 2017 season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte in the Chicago White Sox organization, slashing .279/.344/.417 with a career-best 13 homers. He was acquired by the Dodgers as part of a three-team trade Jan. 4.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHER OPPONENT PITCHER

Friday, April 6 7:08 p.m. at Iowa RHP Brock Stewart RHP Luke Farrell

Saturday, April 7 7:08 p.m. at Iowa RHP Guillermo Moscoso RHP Alec Mills

Sunday, April 8 Moved to Thursday, April 5 due to expected inclement weather

Monday, April 9 12:08 p.m. at Iowa TBA RHP Duane Underwood

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 5, 2018


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