PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - August 29, 2018

August 29, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (70-62) vs. Iowa Cubs (48-85)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs

Games #133 & 143 of 140/Road #63 & 64 of 70 (29-33)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Justin DeFratus (3-4, 5.60) vs. IOW-RHP Trevor Clifton (3-3, 4.20)

OKC-RHP Zach Neal (3-2, 4.19) vs. IOW-RHP Duncan Robinson (1-0, 0.00)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018 | Principal Park | Des Moines, Iowa | 4:38 p.m. CT

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

Today's Games: The OKC Dodgers continue their series against the Iowa Cubs with a doubleheader of two seven-inning games starting at 4:38 p.m. at Principal Park. The teams are making up a game that was postponed April 6 due to inclement weather...With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Dodgers trail first-place Colorado Springs by a half-game in the American Northern Division standings.

Last Game: Iowa delivered an early blow with five runs in the first inning, and the Dodgers never recovered in an 8-3 loss Tuesday night at Principal Park. Each of the first three Iowa batters of the game reached base, including a RBI single by Mike Freeman. Later with the bases loaded, Jason Vosler hit a high-arcing grand slam that landed just over the right field fence. Iowa added to the lead with a bloop RBI single by rehabbing Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant in the fourth inning. After being held to no runs and one hit through five innings by Iowa starting pitcher Luke Farrell, the Dodgers broke a streak of 13 straight scoreless innings. Leading off the sixth inning, Alex Verdugo launched his 10th home run of the season out to right field. The I-Cubs plated two runs in the seventh inning to take their largest lead of the night. Taylor Davis hit a RBI single, and Chris Coghlan added a RBI double to make it 7-1. The Dodgers scored their final two runs in the eighth inning with a RBI double by Kyle Garlick and a RBI single by Tyler Pill. Farrell (1-4) earned his first win with Iowa, allowing just one bloop single during his start. He set a new season high with seven strikeouts and allowed three walks. OKC starting pitcher Logan Bawcom got through five frames, allowing six runs and seven hits. Although Bawcom (2-4) set a career high with nine strikeouts, he also tied a career high with five walks.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Justin DeFratus (3-4) makes his 13th start of the season for the Dodgers in Game 1 of today's doubleheader...DeFratus has not appeared in a game since he pitched six shutout innings in the first game of an Aug. 19 doubleheader in OKC against Iowa, allowing seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He earned the win and combined with Manny Bañuelos on a 5-0 shutout...DeFratus has made three starts for Tulsa this month, posting a 1-2 record and 3.86 ERA over 18.2 innings with 17 K's and three walks...Between OKC and Double-A Tulsa over 22 starts, DeFratus is 7-9 with a 4.88 ERA...DeFratus was named PCL Pitcher of Week for May 7-13 after his second career complete game and first career shutout May 11 against Memphis, throwing 89 pitches (64 strikes)...He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent Feb. 17...DeFratus made his MLB debut Sept. 18, 2011 with Philadelphia and appeared in 191 MLB games with the Phillies. He was originally drafted by the Phillies in the 11th round of the 2007 MLB Draft from Ventura (Calif.) College...Today is his third start of the season against Iowa. Over two meetings, DeFratus held the I-Cubs to two runs on 14 hits over 12.0 innings, with three walks and seven strikeouts (1-0).

Zach Neal (3-2) returns to the mound in Game 2 for his 10th start and 13th appearance with the Dodgers...Neal last pitched Aug. 24 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark against Colorado Springs. He allowed two runs and six hits over 5.0 innings in a no decision. He issued one walk and recorded four strikeouts in OKC's eventual 6-5 loss...Over his last five appearances (23.0 IP), he has allowed just two walks...Neal returned to OKC following a four-player trade with Cincinnati July 4. Since rejoining the team, Neal has made 10 appearances (seven starts) and has posted a 4.30 ERA with opponents batting .265...The team is 5-4 in his starts and he has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of the nine games...He also made two starts with OKC in April before an April 17 trade sent him to Cincinnati. Neal then made 18 appearances (three starts) with Triple-A Louisville...In 2017, Neal made six relief appearances during two stints with Oakland and spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Nashville...Tonight is his second start of the season against Iowa as well as his second start against Iowa in his last three outings. On Aug. 18, Neal pitched 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing only three singles. He did not allow a walk and recorded a season-high seven strikeouts. He exited the game with OKC in a 2-0 lead, but Iowa came back to win, 4-3.

Against the I-Cubs: 2018: 10-3 2017: 9-7 All-time: 150-148 At IOW: 68-79

The Dodgers and I-Cubs are meeting for the final time this season and second series at Principal Park...The Dodgers have won each of the first three series of the season between the teams and have won 10 of 13 meetings overall...The teams last met in Oklahoma City Aug. 17-19, with the Dodgers winning the series, 3-1. The teams split the first two games before the Dodgers swept both games of a doubleheader on the final day...Two of Iowa's three wins over the Dodgers this season have been in extra innings, as four of 12 meetings in 2018 have gone into extras...The Dodgers swept an April 25-29 series between the teams at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 5-0...This is the Dodgers' first trip back to Iowa since opening the season in Des Moines, but due to inclement weather, the teams could only play three of the scheduled five games...Since the Dodgers affiliation began in 2015, OKC is 18-11 at Principal Park.

Quiet Riot: The Dodgers tallied six hits last night, marking the 15th straight game the team has finished a game with nine or fewer hits and second in a row with six or fewer hits. Tuesday also marked the ninth time in the last 15 games the Dodgers were held to three or fewer runs...During the last 15 games, the Dodgers are batting .211 (100x475), including .217 (25x115) with runners in scoring position. They have scored 48 runs during the stretch (3.2 rpg).

Race for the Batting Title: Alex Verdugo finished 1-for-4 last night and hit his 10th homer of the season. He currently ranks second in the PCL with a .331 batting average - two points behind Salt Lake's Jose Fernandez (.333)...He entered Aug. 15 with a .346 clip, but has since been held 6-for-32 over his last 10 games, including an 0-for-13 drought over five games Aug. 15-23 - his longest streak without hit in his two Triple-A seasons...No OKC player has won the PCL batting title since the team reentered the league in 1998.

Mound Maladies: Over the last two nights, the Dodgers pitching staff has allowed 15 runs and 27 hits after allowing two runs or less in six of the previous eight games. Opponents have batted .360 (27x75) with 12 extra-base hits and are 9-for-28 (.321) with RISP...Jason Vosler's grand slam in the first inning last night was the league-leading eighth allowed by the Dodgers this season - surpassing the total amount of grand slams allowed by OKC over the past three seasons combined (7)...Although the Dodgers have allowed the second-fewest home runs in the PCL this season (99), they have allowed at least one homer in seven of the last eight games (nine total)...Iowa's five-run first inning marked the 12th time in 27 games this month an opponent scored four or more runs in one inning.

Around the Horn: The Dodgers are 2-1-3 in their six doubleheaders this season (5-1 in Game 1 and 2-4 in Game 2)...The Dodgers have lost their last four true road games, tying a season-high skid. They've also lost eight of their last 10 true road games and are 4-10 over their last 14 true road games...Donovan Solano has tallied three multi-hit games over his last four contests, going 6-for-17...Last night was the team's sixth loss this month by at least five runs. OKC's -29 run differential in August ranks tied for 14th in the PCL (12-15 record).

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