PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - August 2, 2021

August 2, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (39-37) at Round Rock Express (37-39)

Game #77 of 130/Road #41 of 65

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Ryan Pepiot (NR, -.--) vs. RR-LHP Brock Burke (1-4, 7.11)

Monday, August 2, 2021 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers and Round Rock Express meet at 7:05 p.m., with each team looking to take the edge in the current series as well as season series...OKC is in second place in the East Division of Triple-A West and Round Rock is in third place, 2.0 games behind...Starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot is scheduled to make his Triple-A debut after a strong run at Double-A Tulsa.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers tallied a season-high six doubles as part of 12-hit attack and defeated the Round Rock Express, 7-1, Sunday night at Dell Diamond. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead on a RBI groundout by Carlos Asuaje in the second inning and led the rest of the game. Three runs and four hits followed in the third inning, including a RBI double by Yoshi Tsutsugo and RBI triple by Asuaje. After a solo homer by Round Rock pulled the Express within 4-1, Cristian Santana added a RBI double in the fifth inning. Matt Davidson and Steven Souza Jr. each knocked RBI doubles in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to finish the scoring. The Dodgers pitching staff held the Express 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, snuffing out any potential rallies.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Ryan Pepiot is set to make his Triple-A debut tonight after being transferred to OKC's roster from Double-A Tulsa Saturday...The Dodgers' No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline made 15 appearances (13 starts) for the Drillers and posted a 3-4 record and 2.87 ERA. He allowed a total of 19 runs and 30 hits with 26 walks and 81 strikeouts over 59.2 innings. Pepiot held the opposition scoreless in five of his 15 games and allowed no more than one run in 10 of 15 games. At the time of his promotion, he led the Drillers with 81 strikeouts and had the lowest ERA among regular starting pitchers. Although he recently fell out of the official league leaders due to not enough qualifying innings, he would have ranked first in BAA (.149) and WHIP (0.94) and third in ERA. His 81 K's ranked fifth-most in the Double-A Central...He last pitched July 27 against Midland in Tulsa and pitched 4.2 inning, serving as the primary pitcher following an opener. He allowed a season-high four runs, including three home runs, and four hits with one walk and two strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of Tulsa's 7-4 home win...He recorded a career-high 11 K's over a career-high 7.0 innings July 4 against Arkansas. He was perfect through seven innings before walking the first batter of the eighth inning...Pepiot did not play during the 2020 season due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season, but spent part of the year at the Dodgers' Alternate Training Site on the campus of USC...He began his pro career after being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Butler University, becoming the Bulldogs' highest-ever draft pick at No. 102 overall...Pepiot has zoomed up to Triple-A, reaching the level after just 28 career games (23 starts) and 83.0 IP.

Against the Express: 2021: 8-8 2019: 6-10 All-time: 138-116 At RR: 70-59

The Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series continues as the Dodgers and Express meet for their third of five total series this season and final series in Round Rock...The teams last met June 17-22 at Dell Diamond, with the Dodgers winning the series, 5-1, and outscoring Round Rock, 36-23. It was a reversal of the first series May 6-11, as the Express went 5-1 while outscoring the Dodgers, 49-24...Through the first two series between the teams this season, Zach Reks paced the Dodgers with 12 hits and eight RBI, including two home runs. Sheldon Neuse had 10 hits in six games and Luke Raley hit four homers...Only 371 miles separate Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark from Dell Diamond, making it the shortest distance between the Dodgers and any of their Triple-A opponents, as well as a perfect set-up for a rivalry as the teams meet 30 times this season...In 2019, the Express won the season series for the first time since 2014. The Dodgers went 2-6 at Dell Diamond, posting a losing record there for the first time since 2009 and taking their most losses ever in one season at the stadium...The Dodgers are 8-4 in the last 12 games at Dell Diamond after going 3-11 over the previous 14 games in Round Rock.

Getting Offensive: After being held to 18 total hits over the first three games of the series, the Dodgers collected 12 hits Sunday, including seven for extra bases. They set a season high with six doubles and added their eighth triple of the season. It was the team's most doubles in one game since June 27, 2019 at home against New Orleans and the most in a road game since hitting seven doubles May 14, 2019, also at Dell Diamond...OKC also scored seven runs last night, surpassing three runs scored for just the second time in the last six games. OKC had scored a total of 18 runs over the previous five games before Sunday while batting .220 (36x164). They entered Sunday's game 7-for-the-last-43 with runners on base, but went 7-for-20 Sunday. The team also had 16 at-bats with runners in scoring position after having a total of just 30 such at-bats over the previous five games.

Santana's Greatest Hits: Cristian Santana extended his current hitting streak to seven games yesterday, going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. During his hitting streak, Santana is 13-for-30 (.433) with nine RBI and five multi-hit games...He has now hit safely in 17 of his last 19 starts, and since July 1, he's batted .338 (27x80) after batting .236 through June 30...Santana has collected multi-hit efforts in four of the last five games (9x21), five of the last seven games (13x30) and six of the last nine games (15x36). Due to the recent surge, Santana is now third on the team this season with 13 multi-hit games.

Road Raging: With last night's victory, the Dodgers improved to 21-8 in their last 29 road games and have followed up each of their last eight road defeats with a win in the next game. They have not lost consecutive road games since a three-game skid May 22-24 in Albuquerque...The Dodgers are 23-17 on the road overall this season and own the third-most road wins in the league behind Reno (26) and Sugar Land (25). Back in Bricktown, the Dodgers have posted a 16-20 record so far in 2021.

Yoshi's Island: Yoshi Tsutsugo reached base four times Sunday night, with two doubles and two walks. He also scored three runs, marking the highest single-game total of his U.S. career. Tsutsugo now has four doubles over the last three games and has reached base in seven of his last nine plate appearances as well as nine of his last 12 plate appearances...Tsutsugo has reached base safely in 17 of his last 18 games, batting .351 (20x57) with five homers, five doubles, 15 RBI and 18 runs scored while posting a .479 OBP (OB 35/73 PA). Over his first 16 games with OKC, Tsutsugo batted .127 (8x63) and had a .211 OBP.

Reks in Effect: Zach Reks has hit safely in the last three games, going 5-for-12 with five runs scored, a double, homer, two RBI and two walks. Prior to that Reks, was 4-for-22 in his first six games following his most recent option to OKC...Overall this season, Reks leads the Dodgers with 50 runs scored, is tied for first with 18 doubles, 28 walks and 17 multi-hit games, ranks second with 62 hits, third with 12 homers and fourth with 38 RBI...He ranks sixth among Triple-A West leaders with 50 runs scored, seventh with a .997 OPS and tied for seventh with a .408 OBP.

Dinger Details: The OKC Dodgers have been held without a home run in back-to-back games for the first time since July 5-6 against Salt Lake in OKC and for the first time in consecutive road games since June 25-26 at Sugar Land. It's the fifth time overall this season they've gone consecutive games without a homer, but they have yet to be kept inside the park in three straight games...Last night was just the third time in the last 17 games and fourth time in the last 22 games OKC had been held without a home run. The team's 38 homers since July 8 are still tied for second most in Triple-A West and one behind league-leading Albuquerque...Round Rock's lone run last night came via a solo homer and opponents have now homered in eight consecutive games (12 HR) for the first time since a season-high nine-game span May 15-24. Nine of the 13 runs allowed in the current series, as well as 11 of the last 16 runs and 14 of the last 20 runs allowed by OKC have been via home runs...The Express has homered in 15 of their 16 games against the Dodgers, totaling 28 dingers - all at Dell Diamond. In their remaining 24 home games against the rest of Triple-A West, they've managed to only hit 19 home runs...Yonny Hernandez's homer last night was just the fourth of his entire pro career (459 G/1903 PA) and his first homer in three years (July 31, 2018).

Sales Pitch: Last night, OKC pitchers recorded their lowest strikeout total since striking out five Reno batters July 19 (11 G), posting seven K's. Entering Sunday, OKC's pitching staff struck out at least eight batters in 10 straight games and at least 10 batters eight times during the stretch (116 K)...Over the last 10 games, the Dodgers have racked up 116 strikeouts against 30 walks (3.9 K/BB), although they allowed six walks against their seven strikeouts last night...The Dodgers rank second in Triple-A West with 745 strikeouts this season (one behind league leader Sacramento's 746 K's) and their 168 strikeouts since July 16 (15 games) lead all Triple-A teams...OKC led the Pacific Coast League with a team record 1,287 strikeouts in 2019 and with 1,272 strikeouts in 2017.

Lonely at the Top: OKC starting pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx earned his league-leading eighth win of the season Sunday. No other Triple-A West pitcher has more than six wins so far in 2021. He allowed one run and two hits over 5.0 innings, with two walks and two strikeouts. Following a walk to the first batter he faced, Bibens-Dirkx then retired 13 of the next 14 Express hitters. He improved to 4-0 in four starts against Round Rock this season.

Around the Horn: Over his last 25 games, Matt Davidson has homered 13 times and is 29-for-94 (.309) with 19 extra-base hits and 29 RBI...Drew Avans collected two hits last night and stole two bases. He is now 4-for-10 over the last three games with a home run, two walks, three runs scored and three stolen bases. He is tied for the team lead in both walks (28) and steals (10)...Steven Souza Jr. went 2-for-5 with a RBI and two doubles Sunday, marking his first game with two doubles since Aug. 17, 2018 while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the San Diego Padres. It was also the outfielder's third multi-hit game in his last six starts...Not counting piggyback starters as part of a tandem, the bullpen has allowed only four earned runs (five runs total) and 18 hits over 27.1 innings while notching 46 strikeouts in the last seven games...In the two games since his return to Oklahoma City, reliever Darien Núñez has retired 11 of 12 batters faced with nine strikeouts.

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