PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - August 25, 2022

Published on August 25, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


El Paso Chihuahuas (65-53) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (68-51)

Game #120 of 150/Home #63 of 75

Pitching Probables: ELP-LHP Jay Groome (0-1, 2.87) vs. OKC-RHP Hansel Robles (0-0, 11.42)

Thursday, August 25, 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: The Oklahoma City Dodgers and El Paso Chihuahuas continue their pivotal series at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The six-game set between the top two teams in the PCL East Division is tied, 1-1, and after a win last night, the first-place Dodgers have a 2.5-game lead ahead of second-place El Paso.

Last Game: James Outman racked up six RBI and Michael Busch had four hits as the Oklahoma City Dodgers defeated the El Paso Chihuahuas, 13-8, Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark to even the series between the top two teams in the PCL East Division. The Dodgers scored 12 runs between the third and fifth innings after El Paso took the game's first lead on a home run by Cam Gallagher in the third inning. Oklahoma City answered with seven runs in the bottom of the third inning. With the bases loaded, Busch hit a RBI single, and Edwin Ríos followed with a hit by pitch for a 2-1 lead. Outman later hit a bases-clearing triple for a 5-1 advantage and Ryan Noda and Hunter Feduccia each chipped in RBI singles to make it a 7-1 lead. OKC scored five more runs in the fifth inning, including a RBI single by Busch, two-run ground-rule double by Ríos and two-run double by Outman to make it 12-1. El Paso hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning before a sacrifice fly by Outman. The Chihuahuas went on score five runs in the ninth inning, including four runs on back-to-back homers with two outs.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Hansel Robles is scheduled to open a bullpen game tonight for OKC and make his first start since 2019...Robles has made 10 relief appearances with OKC since signing with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent July 15. He has an 11.42 ERA in 8.2 innings with six walks and 12 strikeouts...He most recently pitched Aug. 21 in Sugar Land, allowing two runs and two hits along with one walk over 1.0 inning with one strikeout. He entered the game in the seventh inning with a 1-0 lead and retired the first two batters before the Space Cowboys rallied for a pair of runs...Robles last started a game April 21, 2019 for the Los Angeles Angels against Seattle, retiring all three batters he faced, including a strikeout...Robles made the Boston Red Sox Opening Day roster this season after signing a minor league contract. He went 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA over 26 relief appearances (24.2 IP) with the Red Sox, issuing 14 walks against 21 strikeouts and was released July 9....He split the 2021 season between Minnesota and Boston and was one of just six pitchers to make 70 or more appearances in both the 2019 (71- LAA) and 2021 (72 - MIN/BOS) seasons...Robles was originally signed by the Mets as an international free agent Aug. 8, 2008.

Against the Chihuahuas: 2022: 8-9 2021: 14-9 All-time: 36-28 At OKC: 16-12 The top two teams in the PCL East Division meet for the fourth of five series this season and the final time of 2022 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The teams last played a six-game set in El Paso June 28-July 3 with El Paso winning the series, 4-2. The Dodgers won two of the first three games before the Chihuahuas won the final three of the set while scoring an incredible 41 runs. In each of El Paso's four wins during the series, the Chihuahuas scored at least 11 runs (55 runs total)...The teams last met in OKC for a three-game series May 17-19 with OKC winning, 2-1, after the teams split a six-game series in El Paso April 12-17 with OKC winning the final three games of the series...Miguel Vargas leads OKC with 20 hits and 15 RBI in the season series, while Jason Martin has eight homers...The Dodgers won the 2021 series between the teams, 14-9, including 8-4 in El Paso...Outside of 2018, OKC has won or split each season series against the Chihuahuas since Tucson's franchise relocated to El Paso for the 2014 season...Entering tonight, El Paso has won five of the last seven games against OKC...Following the current series, the teams play six more games head-to-head Sept. 20-25 in El Paso.

Hanging On: The Dodgers own the best record in the PCL at 68-51 and lead the East Division by 2.5 games ahead of second-place El Paso. Following last night's win, the Dodgers are now 6-10 in their last 16 games...The Dodgers are in the midst of a key stretch of 24 straight games against East Division foes, but they are 6-8 so far. Additionally, OKC is in a stretch of 12 consecutive games against second-place El Paso and third-place Round Rock (5.0 GB)...The Dodgers went 9-2 immediately following the All-Star Break, but are 7-11 since...The Dodgers have won three of their last four games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. They are 37-25 at home this season and own the most home wins in the league.

Big Game James: James Outman went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, sacrifice fly, run scored and six RBI last night. The six RBI tied his career-high mark set earlier this season July 24 against Sacramento, and it was the third time since July 13 Outman recorded five or more RBI in a game. He now has 33 RBI through his first 27 Triple-A games and 30 RBI in his last 21 games with OKC (since July 7). Last night Outman became the first OKC player with two six-plus RBI games in the same season since Victor Diaz in 2007. He is one of two players in the PCL this season to have two six-plus RBI games, joining Sacramento's David Villar...Since joining OKC in late June, Outman is 11-for-35 (.314) with eight extra-base hits when batting with runners in scoring position.

Gettin' Miggy With It: Miguel Vargas came off the bench last night and reached base in both of his two plate appearances with a hit by pitch and single, and he also scored his league-leading 93rd run of the season. During his 10-game hitting streak, Vargas is 14-for-34 (.412), and the streak is his third of the season of at least 10 games...Vargas leads the PCL with 93 runs scored and is second with 127 hits, one behind El Paso's Eguy Rosario. Vargas also ranks among league leaders in doubles (T-2nd, 30), walks (3rd, 66), RBI (4th, 77), total bases (4th, 210), OBP (5th, .394), extra-base hits (T-5th, 49) and AVG (7th, .298)...Vargas' 93 runs scored this season are tied for fifth on OKC's all-time list for most runs scored in a single season during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and most scored by an OKC player since Nelson Cruz had 93 runs in 2008. The team record is 103 runs scored by Esteban German in 2005.

Buschwacked: Michael Busch finished Wednesday night's game 4-for-4 with a double, walk, two RBI and two runs scored as he reached base in all five of his plate appearances. The outing was Busch's third game with OKC with at least four hits since July 12 and immediately followed a stretch where he had been held 3-for-24 over the previous six games...Since his first game with the Dodgers May 17 after joining the team from Double-A Tulsa, Busch leads OKC with 89 hits, 159 total bases, 38 extra-base hits and 62 runs scored.

Crooked Numbers: The Dodgers scored seven runs in the third inning last night, collecting six hits, three walks and a hit by pitch. It marked the second time in the last three home games the Dodgers had an inning of seven-plus runs, joining a 10-run rally during the eighth inning Aug. 14 vs. Round Rock. It was the sixth time overall this season the Dodgers scored seven or more runs in an inning...OKC went on to add five more runs in the fifth inning last night and have now scored five or more runs in an inning 25 times this season...On the other hand, the Dodgers allowed five runs in the ninth inning have now allowed five or more runs in an inning 19 times in 2022...The Dodgers have now scored 121 runs in the third inning this season, which is the most among all teams in the Minors.

Beast Node: Ryan Noda finished with a hit, RBI, walk and run scored last night. During his six-game hitting streak he is 6-for-17 with a home run and two doubles. Over his last 18 games, Noda is 21-for-58 (.362) with five doubles, four homers, 18 RBI, 14 runs and 16 walks and a .538 OBP. He leads OKC with 19 RBI and ranks second with 21 hits in August...Overall this season, Noda ranks among league leaders in walks (2nd, 70), OBP (4th, .395), RBI (T-6th, 74), total bases (8th, 188), extra-base hits (10th, 43) and runs (10th, 70). And since the All-Star Break, Noda is second in the PCL with 28 RBI and ranks third with both a .449 OBP and 1.061 OPS.

Walking Papers: The Dodgers drew seven more walks last night, adding to the team's single-season record. They pace all Triple-A teams in walks this season and rank third overall in the Minors with a team-record 592 walks during the Bricktown era (since 1998). The team has drawn 168 walks in the 29 games following the All-Star Break for an average of 5.79 per game, including 11 games with seven or more walks...The last PCL teams with more than 592 walks in a season were Salt Lake (637) and Round Rock (623) during the 140-game 2019 season...On the other hand, the Dodgers pitching staff has allowed 576 walks this season to lead all Triple-A teams. They are 16 walks shy of setting a new single-season team record, previously set in 2000.

Rehab Report: Reliever Tommy Kahnle opened a Major League Rehab Assignment last night. He pitched the seventh inning, allowing two runs and two hits, including a home run. He faced five batters, throwing 12 pitches, including seven strikes. He has been on the LAD Injured List since May 14 due to right forearm inflammation. This is Kahnle's second rehab stint of the season with OKC after he began the season on the IL while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Dinger Details: The Dodgers allowed four home runs Wednesday, including three over the last three innings, tying their season high. The only other game they've allowed four homers was May 13 at Round Rock, and last night was the first time they allowed four homers at home since Aug. 13, 2019 (Reno). The back-to-back-home runs by El Paso's Luis Campusano and Kyle Martin in the ninth inning last night were the sixth back-to-back homers allowed by OKC this season and second of August (Aug. 13 vs. RR)...The Dodgers were held without a home run last night and they have 23 home runs through 20 games this month - tied for second fewest in the league in August.

Around the Horn: Edwin Ríos finished last night's game with a double, a walk, three RBI and two runs scored. He has picked up at least one RBI in four straight games with three extra-base hits and seven RBI...Over the last four games, the Dodgers are 2-2. In the two wins, they've scored 26 runs on 33 hits, batting .429 (33x77) overall and .500 (16x32) with runners in scoring position. In the two losses they have combined for seven runs and 13 hits over 20 innings while batting .188 (13x69), including 4-for-22 with runners in scoring position...Tomás Telis extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double last night and is 8-for-30 during the stretch, tying his season-long hitting streak...Over the last 16 games overall, the Dodgers are 6-10 and have allowed the most runs in the PCL (112) and third-most hits (148). During that time, the bullpen has allowed 79 runs (68 ER), 82 hits, and 43 walks over 67.0 innings, and the unit has been charged with seven blown saves. Opponents have batted .296 (82x277) with 13 home runs...Last night snapped a streak of 14 straight losses when allowing at least six runs going back to July 8. It's the first time OKC won while allowing at least eight runs since a 12-8 victory June 16 at Reno.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 25, 2022


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