PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - August 23, 2021

August 23, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (49-44) at Sugar Land Skeeters (52-41)

Game #94 of 130/Road #53 of 65

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Yefry Ramírez (4-3, 5.10) vs. SUG-Peter Solomon (6-0, 4.69)

Monday, August 23, 2021 | Constellation Field | Sugar Land, 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 continue their series against the Sugar Land Skeeters at 7:05 p.m. at Constellation Field, looking to close the gap in the East Division standings between the top two teams. The Skeeters lead the current series, 3-1, and have a 3.0-game lead ahead of the Dodgers.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored eight runs over the first three innings on the way to an 8-4 win against the Sugar Land Skeeters Sunday night at Constellation Field to end a three-game losing skid. The Dodgers built a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Zach Reks and a two-run double by Cristian Santana. OKC added a run in the second inning on a RBI single by Zach McKinstry. The Skeeters scored twice in the bottom of the inning before the Dodgers added four more runs in the third inning. Tony Wolters hit a two-run double down the left field line. The Dodgers then brought in another run when Carlos Asuaje hit into a fielder's choice. A bases-loaded walk by McKinstry scored OKC's eighth run of the night for a six-run advantage. The Skeeters scored a run in the fifth inning and added another in the ninth inning on a one-out RBI ground-rule double. Then with runners at second and third base and one out in the ninth inning, McKinstry made a diving catch in left field for the second out before James Pazos secured a game-ending strikeout.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Yefry Ramírez (4-3) makes his 15th start of the season with OKC...Ramírez last pitched Aug. 17 against Round Rock in OKC. Over 5.0 innings, he allowed four runs (three earned) and three hits with four walks and four strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of OKC's 5-4 win...Since his return to the team after a brief stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ramírez has allowed five runs total (three earned runs) and four hits over 10.0 innings. However, he has allowed seven walks during that time...Ramírez made his Los Angeles Dodgers debut Aug. 1 at Arizona and pitched 2.0 scoreless and hitless innings with two K's and one walk to close out a 13-0 win. Ramírez was optioned to OKC Aug. 2, designated for assignment when the Dodgers signed four-time All-Star Cole Hamels and subsequently outrighted to OKC Aug. 7...Ramírez was named Triple-A West Pitcher of the Month for June after going 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in five starts. He allowed 20 hits and struck out 27 over 26.0 IP while holding opponents to a .213 average. Ramírez led the league in ERA and opponent average while he tied for the best WHIP (1.12). He also ranked third in strikeouts and innings...Ramírez's 77 strikeouts are currently sixth-most in Triple-A West...Ramírez signed with the Dodgers as a free agent March 25. He is in his 10th pro season after originally signing with Arizona as an international free agent in 2011...Tonight is his fourth appearance of the season against the Skeeters. He is 0-0 with a 4.73 ERA over 13.1 innings with four walks and 11 strikeouts. The Skeeters have batted just .220 against him but have hit four home runs.

Against the Skeeters: 2021: 12-10 2019: N/A All-time: 12-10 At SUG: 6-4 The top two teams in the East Division meet for their fourth and final series of the season and second at Constellation Field...The teams most recently met at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark July 22-27 with the Skeeters winning the series, 4-2. The Dodgers had won each of the first two series between the teams, including June 24-29 at Constellation Field, 5-1. They also took four of six games at home June 3-8...The Dodgers have outscored the Skeeters, 135-114, in the season series overall, while Sugar Land has outhit OKC, 200-187. The Dodgers have also hit 29 homers while the Skeeters have gone deep 23 times...Twelve of the last 16 games between the division rivals have been decided by one or two runs, including eight of 10 games at Constellation Field. The go-ahead run(s) has scored in the seventh inning or later five times within the 10 games in Sugar Land...The Dodgers won last night's game to snap Sugar Land's four-game winning streak against OKC, but the Skeeters have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams after the Dodgers went 9-3 in the first 12 meetings.

Containing the Swarm: Through the first 12 meetings with Sugar Land, the Dodgers held the Skeeters to a .233 batting average and a total of 41 runs (3.4 rpg). During that time, the Skeeters reached at least seven runs just once and at least five runs just twice while tallying only 25 extra-base hits in the 12 contests. But in the last 10 meetings, the Skeeters have scored 73 runs (7.3 rpg) and scored at least eight runs in five of the last seven games. They are batting .299 (109x365) with 48 extra-base hits (4.8 pg), including 14 homers and 29 doubles...Last night OKC held Sugar Land to four runs and seven hits, marking the first time in the last five meetings that the Skeeters scored fewer than eight runs in a game and totaled fewer than 13 hits in a game. Last night was also just the second time in the last 10 meetings between the teams that the Skeeters scored fewer than five runs against OKC...Friday and Saturday, Sugar Land scored 12 runs against the Dodgers in back-to-back games for the most runs an opponent has scored against OKC in a two-game span since El Paso scored 26 runs over two games July 8-9 in El Paso...The Skeeters are batting .267 (32x120) with runners in scoring position and have averaged 12 at-bats with RISP per game during the 10-game stretch...When the Skeeters have not struck out over those 10 games, they are batting .424 (109x257). Last night they went 7-for-24 (.292) when making contact after batting .478 (55x115) in the previous four games.

Hitting Restart: Last night's win for OKC snapped the team's first three-game losing skid since July 5-8. The Dodgers' 0-3 start in the current series was the team's first 0-3 start in a road series since their season-opening series in Round Rock May 6-8...OKC entered the current series in Sugar Land with wins in five of their previous six games and in seven of their last nine games...After starting 2021 with a 4-13 record, OKC has gone 45-31 since.

The RUNdown: The Dodgers have scored eight runs last night and have scored seven or more runs in each of their last four games, including eight or more runs three times. The Dodgers have scored at least five runs in 11 of their last 13 games (99 R), in 15 of their last 18 games (131 R) and 16 of their last 20 games (142 R). The team has plated at least seven runs in 11 of the last 18 games and have had eight games during that time with double-digit hit totals. They've batted .273 with 72 extra-base hits overall (4.0 pg) and are hitting at a .351 (61x174) clip with runners in scoring position...OKC ranks second in Triple-A West this month in runs scored (131).

Santana's Greatest Hits: Cristian Santana hit a double, collected two RBI and scored a run as he extended his hitting streak to eight games Sunday. Santana has now hit safely in 21 consecutive starts, going 34-for-88 (.386) with 15 RBI and 11 multi-hit games. He's also hit safely in 22 of his last 24 games and is batting .364 during his current hitting streak (12x33)...Since July 23, Santana ranks tied for third in Triple-A West with 35 hits and fifth with a .385 batting average...Since July 1, he's batted .348 (49x141) and leads the Dodgers with 49 hits during the stretch after batting .236 through June 30.

Luke's Using the Force: Luke Raley went 1-for-4 with a walk and scored a run last night. He has now hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, going 17-for-46 (.370) with three homers, five doubles, nine RBI and 12 runs scored...Over his last 48 starts with OKC, Raley has batted .331 (58x175) with 14 doubles, two triples, 10 homers, 50 RBI and 47 runs scored. He leads OKC with 53 RBI this season even though he's only played in 56 of the team's 93 games. His 49 runs are second on the team and he ranks second in Triple-A West with 15 HBP...In 36 road games with OKC, Raley is slashing .346/.443/.692 with 23 XBH and 40 RBI.

Road Warriors: With last night's win, the Dodgers improved to 29-23 on the road overall this season and have the second-most road wins in Triple-A West, only behind Reno (32). OKC is 5-0-1 in its last six road series and 27-14 over the last 41 road games...The Dodgers have scored 345 runs in 52 road games (6.6 per game) and hit 81 homers, while at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark the team has scored 214 runs (5.2 per game) and hit 52 homers in 41 home games...After allowing at least nine runs in each of their previous six road games (64 R), the Dodgers held the Skeeters to four runs last night.

Dinger Details: After combining for 12 homers in the first three meetings of the current series, both Sugar Land and the Dodgers were held without a home run Sunday. Last night was the 11th game this season the Dodgers played in which neither team hit a home run through 93 games. That happened just nine times during the Dodgers' 139-game 2019 season...The Dodgers have hit 62 homers over the last 39 games and have the third-most homers in Triple-A West since July 8 even though they have played one fewer game than league leaders Las Vegas (70 HR) and Albuquerque (63 HR)...Last night ended a stretch of six straight games in which an opponent homered against OKC (12 HR). The Dodgers have allowed a league-low 113 home runs overall this season.

Time Warp: At 3 hours, 9 minutes, Sunday's game was the shortest nine-inning game of the season between the Dodgers and Skeeters. Fifteen of the 22 total games between the teams this season have lasted 3 hours, 20 minutes or longer, including 10 games that have lasted longer than 3:30 and four extending beyond the four-hour mark...In the 19 nine-inning games between the teams, the average time of game is 3 hours, 34 minutes.

Around the Horn: Tony Wolters has hit safely in each of his last three games, going 4-for-11 with three extra-base hits, eight RBI and four runs scored. Prior to the recent surge, Wolters was off to a 4-for-19 start with one RBI in his first six games with OKC...Carlos Asuaje has hit safely in his last five games, going 6-for-17 with two doubles, two RBI and five runs scored. He's one game shy of matching his season-long hit streak...Sheldon Neuse has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games with OKC, going 22-for-68 (.324) with 11 XBH and 15 RBI. Since joining OKC May 31, Neuse leads the team with 66 hits (58 games)...Since taking over the closer's role, James Pazos had made six appearances and thrown 5.0 scoreless innings, holding opponents 2-for-17 with nine strikeouts while going 5-for-5 in save chances...Over his last three games, Zach Reks has six RBI, three hits, three walks and three runs scored. He has 14 RBI in his last eight games, with at least one RBI in six of the eight games and multiple RBI in five of the eight games. Overall this season, Reks leads OKC with 68 hits, 58 runs, 33 walks and ranks second with 52 RBI while posting a .988 OPS.

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