PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - August 31, 2021

Published on August 31, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Las Vegas Aviators (55-46) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (50-50)

Game #101 of 130/Home #47 of 65

Pitching Probables: LV-RHP Homer Bailey (1-3, 5.47) vs. OKC-RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-3, 6.46)

Tuesday, August 31, 2021 | 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 OKC Dodgers and Las Vegas Aviators close out their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. on a $2 Tuesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Aviators lead the current series, 4-1, as the Dodgers have lost nine of their last 11 games. The Aviators enter tonight have won nine of their last 10 and 12 of their last 14 games.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored two runs in the ninth inning and went on to load the bases with one out, but the Las Vegas Aviators held on for a 6-4 win Monday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Trailing 6-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers initially loaded the bases with no outs. Gavin Lux brought in a run with a RBI groundout before Matt Beaty followed with a RBI single. Matt Davidson drew a walk to load the bases once again with one out. Las Vegas pitcher Ben Bracewell then struck out Zach McKinstry and Aviators center fielder Buddy Reed made a diving catch on a ball hit to right-center field by Cristian Santana to end the game. Las Vegas took the first lead of the night on a two-run homer by Luis Barrera in the second inning. The Aviators added two more runs in the fifth inning for a 4-0 lead. OKC's Tony Wolters hammered a solo homer into the upper deck in right field for OKC's first hit of the night in the fifth inning and Lux added a RBI single to cut Las Vegas' lead to two runs. A two-run homer by Carlos Pérez in the seventh inning boosted Las Vegas to a 6-2 lead.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Ryan Pepiot (1-3) is set to take the mound for his sixth Triple-A start...In the series opener Thursday night, Pepiot had his longest outing with OKC this season and marked the third time this season overall he pitched at least 6.0 innings. Pepiot allowed one hit through five innings of work - a RBI single in the first inning - before allowing four hits in the sixth inning, including a three-run homer to break a 1-1 tie. He finished with one walk and three strikeouts...Pepiot will look to straighten things out on the mound tonight after allowing 21 runs and 26 hits over 18.2 IP during his last four starts (0-3). Prior to that, Pepiot had posted a combined 2.92 ERA, .145 BAA and 0.94 WHIP over his first 16 games of the season between OKC and Double-A Tulsa...Pepiot was promoted to OKC from Double-A Tulsa July 31. The current Dodgers' No. 2 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 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. His 81 K's ranked fifth-most in the Double-A Central...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. Pepiot zoomed up to Triple-A, reaching the level after just 28 career games (23 starts) and 83.0 IP.

Against the Aviators: 2021: 1-4 2019: 1-3 All-time: 49-58 At OKC: 24-28 Oklahoma City and Las Vegas are meeting for their first of two series this season and only series of the regular season at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The teams will also meet as part of Triple-A's Final Stretch during a five-game series Sept. 23-27 in Las Vegas...The teams last met during a four-game series in Las Vegas Aug. 2-5, 2019. The Aviators won the series, 3-1, and scored 10 runs in each of their three wins during the series, outscoring the Dodgers, 36-29, as the Aviators batted .342. Twice in their three wins, the Aviators trailed in their final at-bat, only to rally and walk off with a win...Austin Barnes and Gavin Lux each led OKC with eight hits and Barnes homered four times in the series, collecting 10 RBI...This is the first time Las Vegas has played in Bricktown since June 16-19, 2018, when the team was known as the 51s and they were affiliated with the New York Mets...OKC last won a series against Las Vegas in 2015 (3-1) on the road and last won a home series against Las Vegas in 2014 (3-1)...Entering tonight, Las Vegas has won nine of the last 11 games against OKC going back to 2018, including six of the last seven in Bricktown.

Cold Spell in the August Heat: With last night's defeat, the Dodgers have lost six of their last seven games and their overall record fell back to .500 for the second time in three games. Prior to Saturday, the last time the Dodgers had a .500 record was when they entered June 24 with a 21-21 ledger...Following a win Aug. 17 vs. Round Rock, the Dodgers sat a season-best seven games above .500 at 48-41 and were just 1.0 game out of first place. But since then, the team has dropped nine of 11 games and has now fallen 8.5 games out of first place. It matches the furthest the Dodgers have been out of first place this season and furthest since they fell to 9-15 June 1 and were 8.5 games back. The Dodgers were also 8.5 games back after a May 27 loss (5-14)...After starting August with a 10-4 record, the team is now 12-13 this month...Including yesterday, six of the nine losses during the last 11 games have been by one or two runs, including five losses by one run.

August Arithmetic: The Dodgers wrap-up play in August tonight, looking to break even for the month. In their 12 wins, they've allowed a total of 48 runs (4.0 rpg), with four or fewer runs allowed in 10 of the 12 games. In the 13 losses, they've allowed 103 runs (7.9 rpg), with at least seven runs in eight of the 13 games.

Kings of K's: OKC's pitching staff recorded only five strikeouts Monday night, marking just the team's third nine-inning game this season with five or fewer strikeouts. Entering Monday, the team had racked up three consecutive double-digit strikeout games...The Dodgers rank second in Triple-A West with 965 strikeouts and are aiming to lead the league in strikeouts for the fourth time in the last five seasons (2016, 2017, 2019).

RISPy Business: The Dodgers went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position last night after going 0-for-12 Sunday night and being held without a hit with a runner in scoring position for the first time since July 2...Over the last 10 games, the Dodgers are batting .319 (29x91) with runners in scoring position and .327 (73x223) throughout August...The Dodgers have had 32 at-bats with RISP over the last three games after totaling just nine at-bats with RISP in the three games prior...The Dodgers left at least 10 runners on base in consecutive games for the third time this season and for the first time since May 21-22 at Albuquerque.

Dinger Details: Last night, Tony Wolters hit the Dodgers' seventh homer over the last four games after the team hit just five homers in the previous seven games combined. The homer was Wolters' second since joining OKC...The Dodgers have hit 33 homers this month after hitting 43 homers in July and 35 homers in June. The team hit 31 homers in May for their lowest monthly total...Of OKC's 33 homers in August, 21 of them came in the first 14 games of the month (through Aug. 17). The team has hit 12 homers in the last 11 games...The Dodgers have allowed at least one home run in 12 of the last 14 games (24 HR), as well as in six of the last seven games (12 HR). The team has allowed 21 home runs in the last 11 games, with two or more dingers in the seven of 11 games...As of Aug. 19, Dodgers pitchers paced Triple-A West with just 105 homers allowed overall this season, but since Aug. 19, the Dodgers have allowed the second-most home runs among all teams in the Minors or Majors...During the current series, six of Las Vegas' nine home runs have been with at least one runner on base, including a pair of two-run homers last night.

Santana's Greatest Hits: After going hitless in consecutive starts for the first time all season, Cristian Santana collected two hits last night for his team-leading 21st multi-hit game. He came up to bat last night with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and two outs and lined a ball into center field that Aviators' center fielder Buddy Reed made a diving catch on to seal Las Vegas' win...Santana is tied for OKC's overall team lead with 73 hits this season...In August, he paces OKC with 31 hits, batting .333 (31x93) with four doubles, a homer, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored...His 31 hits this month are tied for sixth-most in Triple-A West.

Mound Maladies: Over the last 11 games, the pitching staff has allowed a total 82 runs (7.5 rpg) and posted a 7.18 ERA (75 ER/94.0 IP). Opponents have batted .299 (118x394) with a total of 51 extra-base hits, including 21 home runs. Within the 11 contests, the opposition has tallied at least five extra-base hits five times and has homered at least once in nine of the games...OKC is tied for the most runs allowed in the Minors or Majors since this spell began Aug. 19. They've also issued 43 walks and have a 1.71 WHIP over 94.0 IP during the last 11 games...The Dodgers have allowed at least five runs in each of their last nine losses, and at least eight runs in five of the nine losses, including three games with 10 or more runs...As a result of the recent struggles, the team's season ERA has ballooned from 4.92 entering Aug. 19 to 5.16 at present.

Cloud Nine: Dodgers reliever Neftalí Felíz struck out all three Las Vegas batters in the sixth inning Sunday night on a total of nine pitches for the first immaculate inning by an OKC pitcher since José De León accomplished the feat in the first inning Aug. 17, 2016 against Albuquerque in OKC. The inning was Felíz's first since returning to Oklahoma City after being outrighted by the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday. He finished his outing by retiring all five batters he faced on a total of 12 pitches - all strikes.

Around the Horn: The Dodgers outhit Las Vegas, 10-9, in last night's loss, marking just the seventh time they have lost in the 40 games they have outhit their opponent this season...Zach Reks had Monday off, but has 17 RBI in his last 14 games, with at least one RBI in nine of 14 games. He reached base three times in four plate appearances Sunday and ranks seventh in Triple-A West with a .396 OBP this season...The Dodgers are just 8-15 against the West Division this season, with all 23 games played at home...Omar Estévez is 5-for-10 over the last three games and 6-for-14 during his current four-game hitting streak. He's seeking three consecutive multi-hit games for the second time this season (July 8-10 at El Paso)...The Dodgers are now 3-10 when following their last 13 home wins. Regardless of tonight's result, they will have lost or split five of their last six home series (1-3-2)...Last night Logan Salow allowed his second homer within five appearances (5.2 IP). Before Aug. 20, Salow had not allowed a home run since May 14, 2019 with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, spanning 55 straight appearances.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 31, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central