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OKC Dodgers Game Notes - April 6, 2022

April 6, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Albuquerque Isotopes (0-1) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (1-0)

Game #2 of 150/Home #2 of 75

Pitching Probables: ABQ-RHP Frank Duncan vs. OKC-LHP Robbie Erlin/RHP Mike Wright Jr.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: After a thrilling walk-off win on Opening Night, the Oklahoma City Dodgers seek back-to-back victories to begin a season for the first time since 2006 when they continue their series tonight against the Albuquerque Isotopes at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Last Game: Jason Martin's solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning sent the Oklahoma City Dodgers to a 3-2 walk-off win on Opening Night against the Albuquerque Isotopes Tuesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. With the game in a 2-2 tie, the outfielder led off the inning and connected on the seventh pitch of his at-bat, sending a towering fly ball down the right field line for OKC's first homer of the 2022 season. Albuquerque went on to score two runs in the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers knotted the game, 2-2, in the sixth inning on Andy Burns' two-run double. Dodgers starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced, including three strikeouts, allowing one hit and one walk over 4.0 innings. Reliever Darien Núñez (1-0) retired all six batters he faced - including three strikeouts - over the final two innings for the win.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Robbie Erlin makes his first start of the season with OKC and will be piggybacked by Mike Wright Jr...Erlin made one Cactus League start for the Los Angeles Dodgers March 20 against the Chicago Cubs, allowing three hits and one walk over 3.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts...Last season, he pitched in 16 games for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, posting a 2-4 record, 3.71 ERA and 46 strikeouts over 53.1 innings. He signed with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent Feb. 21, 2022...The lefty has appeared in 115 games (43 starts) in the Majors, primarily with San Diego and made his MLB debut April 30, 2013 with the Padres at Chicago (NL)...Erlin was selected by Texas in the third round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Scotts Valley High School in Scotts Valley, Calif...He spent parts of four previous seasons in the PCL while in the Padres organization and last pitched against Albuquerque in 2019 with El Paso.

Mike Wright Jr. is scheduled to follow Erlin's start...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 following his junior season and was the organization's Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2013...Tonight marks his first career appearance against the Isotopes

Against the Isotopes: 2022: 1-0 2021: 9-9 All-time: 117-99 At OKC: 67-38 The Dodgers and Isotopes open the 2022 season with a six-game series, marking just the second time since the teams started competing against one another in 2003 that they have opened a season against each other. The teams previously played a season-opening series in 2010 in OKC, splitting the series, 2-2, with Albuquerque winning the opener, 6-3, in 13 innings...The teams split their 2021 series, 9-9. The first 12 games were played in Albuquerque before the series shifted to OKC for the final six games. The Isotopes won seven of the first 12 games before OKC won the final series, 4-2, including the final two games between the teams...Matt Davidson led the Dodgers with 14 hits in the 2021 series, including four homers, along with a team-best 16 RBI...The Dodgers hit 29 homers over the 18-game series in 2021...The Dodgers have not lost a season series to Albuquerque since 2017, going a combined 6-0 against the Isotopes in 2018 and 2019 prior to last season's split...Since the start of the 2013 season, OKC is 20-6 at home against the Isotopes.

Off the Bat: OKC improved to 11-13 overall in season openers since 1998 and 4-7 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Opening Day with last night's victory. The team had not previously won a home Opening Day game since 2008, defeating Memphis, 4-3, in 10 innings. Last night's win snapped a five-game losing skid for the team when playing at home on Opening Day...OKC improved to 9-15 in home openers overall, winning last night for just the second time in the last 10 home openers. Each of the team's last two wins have been walk-off victories. In 2018, Travis Taijeron's RBI single capped a four-run bottom of the ninth to send OKC to an 8-7 win over Round Rock.

Opening Statement: Jason Martin's walk-off home run in last night's season opener was the first for Oklahoma City to begin a season since 2008, when the Oklahoma RedHawks defeated the Memphis Redbirds, 4-3, in 10 innings on April 3 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, OKC's Ryan Roberts lined a RBI single to center field to score Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the victory...Prior to that, the RedHawks also walked off against Memphis in a season opener April 6, 2006, winning, 5-4, in 13 innings in OKC. With one out in the bottom of the 13th inning, Drew Meyer grounded a RBI single to right field to score Nick Trzesniak for the win...Martin's walk-off blast was the first in the team's Bricktown era on Opening Day, but the second-ever in a home opener. In 2005, Jason Botts hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning against Memphis, resulting in a 5-4 win.

Walk in the Park: Prior to last night, the team's last walk-off home run was Sept. 19, 2021 when Zach McKinstry homered to center field in the bottom of the ninth inning against Round Rock to break a 7-7 tie. Round Rock's center fielder who chased the ball toward the wall was none other than Jason Martin.

Troublesome Twosome: The Dodgers now seek back-to-back wins to open a season for the first time since 2006 when they began the season with five straight victories, including four against Memphis and one against Round Rock in Oklahoma City. In each of the last six times OKC has won its first game of the season, it lost the next game (2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018).

Burning Down the House: Infielder Andy Burns collected the Dodgers' first extra-base hit of the season in the sixth inning last night, knocking a two-run double to knot the game, 2-2. He went on to finish with a game-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. It was his highest hit total since collecting four hits June 1, 2021 in El Paso when he went 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBI...Burns spent the majority of the 2021 season with OKC and also played in nine games with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the regular season, as well as two appearances in the National League Championship Series.

Roster Rundown: Similar to last season, a Triple-A roster can hold a maximum of 33 players, although only 28 players will be active per game. Some members of the OKC roster will concurrently serve as part of the official Los Angeles Dodgers Taxi Squad. The roster is headlined by three of the Los Angeles Dodgers' top nine prospects per Baseball America: Infielder Miguel Vargas (No. 3) and starting pitchers Ryan Pepiot (No. 5) and Andre Jackson (No. 9). Vargas - who is also the youngest player on the roster at 22 years old - was named Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year in 2021 after a stellar campaign split between High-A Great Lakes and Double-A Tulsa...Pepiot and Jackson were both promoted to OKC in early August last season after strong seasons at Double-A Tulsa. Jackson also made his Major League debut in 2021, and in addition to him, utilityman Zach McKinstry and reliever Darien Núñez are also members of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 40-man roster...OKC's Opening Day roster has 30 players. A total of 11 players spent at least part of the 2021 season with OKC. Eighteen players appeared in the Majors last season with the Dodgers or another organization and 22 have Major League experience in their careers. Infielder Jake Lamb (2017 -- Arizona) and relief pitcher Shane Greene (2019 -- Detroit) are both former Major League All-Stars.

Leading the Charge: Travis Barbary returns for his third season as manager of the OKC Dodgers and his 28th season in the Dodgers organization as a player, staff member or coach. In 2021, Barbary led the OKC Dodgers to a 67-62 record and second-place finish in the East Division of Triple-A West. He was slated to be OKC's manager in 2020 prior to the cancelation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he served as part of the coaching staff at the Los Angeles Dodgers' Alternate Training Site held at the University of Southern California. During Barbary's first season with OKC in 2019, the Dodgers posted a 62-77 record. The team set a single-season record by hitting 203 home runs and established a new club record for longest road winning streak at nine games...His 2022 staff includes returning hitting coach Manny Burriss and returning bullpen coach Justin DeFratus. Pitching coach Dave Borkowski joins OKC after spending the past three years in the same role with Double-A Tulsa.

Warmest Regards: The Dodgers are back competing in the storied Pacific Coast League, which also has a new logo for 2022. In March, Minor League Baseball announced the return of historical names for the 11 leagues in Major League Baseball's development system. The leagues used regional names during the 2021 season while the rights to use the historic league names were in the process of being acquired by MLB, according to a press release. The PCL was originally founded in 1903 and will feature 10 teams in 2022, including the Dodgers, Albuquerque Isotopes (COL), El Paso Chihuahuas (SD), Las Vegas Aviators (OAK), Reno Aces (ARI), Round Rock Express (TEX), Sacramento River Cats (SF), Salt Lake Bees (LAA), Sugar Land Space Cowboys (HOU), and Tacoma Rainiers (SEA). All 10 teams also competed against one another last season in Triple-A West...Oklahoma City's baseball franchise originally competed in the PCL from 1963--68 as the 89ers and again from 1998--2014 as the RedHawks and 2015--19 as the Dodgers.

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