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PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - August 29, 2019

August 29, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Iowa Cubs (72-63) vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers (60-74)

Game #135 of 139/Home #65 of 69 (28-36)

Pitching Probables: IOW-RHP Colin Rea (14-3, 3.74) vs. OKC-RHP Justin DeFratus (2-5, 7.09)

Thursday, August 29, 2019 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers and Iowa Cubs wrap up their current four-game series, as well as their season series, at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on a $2 Thursday. The Dodgers have lost eight of their last nine games and 11 of the last 13 games.

Last Game: Iowa scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a tie on the way to a 7-4 win against the Dodgers Wednesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Iowa led from the second inning and held OKC to two hits until Edwin RÃ-os crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to knot the game at 4-4. Iowa quickly answered in the top of the ninth. Trent Giambrone hit a RBI double to the wall in right field to put the Cubs back in front, and Dixon Machado later added a two-run homer to extend Iowa's lead to 7-4. The Dodgers brought they tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Dillon Maples struck out the next two batters to end the game and earn his seventh save. Iowa took the lead in the second inning when starting pitcher Adbert Alzolay picked up a RBI single. Each of the first five batters of the third inning reached base to extend Iowa's lead to 3-0. Giambrone added a RBI single in the seventh inning to extend the Cubs to a 4-0 lead. The Dodgers were held to one hit and two walks through seven innings but got on the scoreboard in the eighth, loading the bases via a one-out walk by Jake Peter, double by Cameron Perkins and a two-out walk by Zach McKinstry ahead of RÃ-os' grand slam. Iowa reliever Dakota Mekkes (4-2) allowed the grand slam, but picked up the win. Dodgers reliever Jaime Schulz (2-3) was charged with the loss.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Justin DeFratus (2-5) will match up against PCL Pitcher of the Year Colin Rea...DeFratus last pitched Aug. 24 in San Antonio, allowing six runs and seven hits over 5.0 innings and was charged with the loss in OKC's 15-3 defeat. He issued one walk and recorded six strikeouts. He started his outing with three perfect innings before San Antonio broke out for six runs and six hits in the fourth inning...Prior to rejoining OKC on Aug. 11, DeFratus' 10 previous appearances came with Double-A Tulsa. In a combined 24 appearances (21 starts) between OKC and Tulsa, DeFratus is 8-13 with a 5.68 ERA over 134.2 IP and 35 walks against 96 K's. He's lasted at least 6.0 innings in 15 games and at least 7.0 innings six times...Over 12 starts with the Dodgers in 2018, he went 3-4 with a 5.27 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 17 walks in 68.1 innings. He was named PCL Pitcher of Week for May 7-13 after his second career complete game and first career shutout May 11 against Memphis...He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent Feb. 17, 2018 and re-signed with the club this past offseason...DeFratus made his MLB debut Sept. 18, 2011 with Philadelphia and was originally drafted by the Phillies in the 11th round of the 2007 MLB Draft from Ventura (Calif.) College...DeFratus has not pitched against Iowa this season but faced the I-Cubs three times in 2018. He went 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA, holding Iowa to two runs and 15 hits over 15.0 IP, with four walks against 12 strikeouts.

Against the I-Cubs: 2019: 6-9 2018: 11-5 All-time: 157-159 At OKC: 83-74 The Dodgers and Cubs close out their season series with a four-game set at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The teams last met July 15-18 in Des Moines, with the teams splitting the four-game set. In the Dodgers' two wins, they outscored Iowa, 31-9. Gavin Lux had a series for the ages, going 12-for-18 with two doubles, five home runs, three walks, 11 RBI and nine runs scored...The Cubs won the teams' previous series in Bricktown, 3-1, April 19-22 with the I-Cubs winning the first three games before the Dodgers won the series finale. Iowa outscored OKC, 34-16, during the series...Kyle Garlick leads the Dodgers with 16 hits against Iowa this season while Will Smith collected 13 RBI. Garlick has seven homers and Lux has homered six times in seven games...OKC and Iowa have each scored exactly 82 runs through 15 games this season.

Spoiler Alert: Iowa currently leads the American Northern Division by 5.0 games and the team's magic number to clinch a division title is one. Tonight the I-Cubs can punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2008 with a win or a Memphis loss in New Orleans...Three of OKC's last four series have come against playoff hopefuls (Round Rock, San Antonio, Iowa). With a chance to play spoilers, the Dodgers are just 2-8 in those games.

Where's the Beef?: The Dodgers were limited to four runs and just three hits last night, with Iowa's pitching staff retiring 22 of the first 25 batters. The Dodgers have scored 18 runs over the last seven games combined, and during that time, OKC is batting .217 (45x207) with seven home runs and 15 extra-base hits. The team has especially struggled with runners in scoring position, going 2-for-the-last-27, 4-for-the-last-48 and 5-for-the-last-55...During the team's current 2-11 slide which began Aug. 15, the Dodgers rank last in the PCL with 91 hits and are 14th with both a .224 batting average and 51 runs...The team has been held to three or fewer runs in 10 of the last 17 games, following a streak of 22 straight games with four or more runs.

Eddie Stays Ready: Edwin RÃ-os' game-tying grand slam in the eighth inning marked his team-leading and Dodgers minor league-leading 29th homer of the season. He's gone deep in three of his last four starts, including each of the last two nights. Tonight he'll attempt homer in three straight games for the third time since the All-Star Break...RÃ-os is vying to become just the third OKC player with a 30-homer season during the team's modern PCL era, joining Nelson Cruz (37 in 2008) and Mike Hessman (35 in 2012). He is up to 84 RBI this season, becoming the first OKC player with that many RBI since 2008...RÃ-os has cranked 15 homers in just 30 games following the All-Star Break after hitting 14 dingers in 71 games before the break. The 15 homers during that time rank tied for fifth in the PCL, and the four individuals ahead of him have played in at least five more games than RÃ-os.

Simply De-Lux: Gavin Lux was held 0-for-3 last night before being ejected by home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso after his at-bat in the sixth inning. Wednesday marked just the seventh time in 47 games with OKC he was held without a hit and just the third time he did not reach base safely since moving to Triple-A June 27. Although he has been kept off base in two of the last three games, he only had only three plate appearances in each contest...Since joining OKC, Lux is slashing .396/.480/.734/1.214. He has 76 hits, 24 multi-hit games, 35 XBH, 39 RBI and 52 runs. During that time, Lux's AVG, OBP, OPS and hits rank second among all players in the domestic Minors or Majors, while his runs are third, SLG is fourth, and 141 total bases are sixth and extra-base hits are tied for sixth...He was named PCL Player of the Month for July, becoming the first OKC player to receive a PCL monthly honor since MLBAM began tracking the awards in 2010...Between OKC and Tulsa, Lux is batting .348 and his 157 total hits are fifth in the domestic Minors...This is the first time since joining OKC his batting average has dipped below .400.

Mound Maladies: Last night marked the 13th time in 25 games this month the Dodgers allowed seven or more runs, including eight of the last 12. OKC's 7.10 ERA this month is the highest among all teams in the domestic Minors or Majors and OKC has allowed the fifth-most runs among all teams in the domestic Minors. Opponents have totaled 184 runs and 252 hits, with 56 homers and 111 extra-base hits, batting .295...The 56 home runs allowed are the most among all teams in the Minors. The team has allowed at least one homer in a season-high 14 straight games (30 HR) and in 17 of the last 18 games (38 HR)...The Dodgers issued 12 walks last night, marking the team's most free passes handed out during a nine-inning game since June 1, 2015 vs. Fresno. All three leadoff walks came around to score, including the go-ahead run in the ninth inning. The pitching staff has allowed at least four walks in 11 of the last 12 games (64 BB) and five or more walks in seven of the 12 games.

Kings of K's: OKC's pitching staff paces the PCL with 1,244 strikeouts, and OKC has 14 more strikeouts than second-place San Antonio despite throwing 35.1 fewer innings. The Dodgers are on pace for 1,290 K's this season, which would surpass the team record of 1,277 set in 2017...On the other hand, the Dodgers struck out 16 times last night, marking the fourth game this season with 16-plus whiffs. The team has now struck out 1,219 times this season - second-most in the PCL - and has set a new team single-season record (previously 1,208 in 2016).

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