PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 12, 2022

Published on July 12, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (49-35) at Tacoma Rainiers (35-48)

Game #85 of 150/Road #40 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Ryan Pepiot (6-0, 1.94) vs. TAC-RHP Chris Mazza (1-0, 0.00)

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 | Cheney Stadium | Tacoma, Wash. | 9:05 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv

Today's Game: Following back-to-back off days, the Oklahoma City Dodgers open a six-game road series against the Tacoma Rainiers at 9:05 p.m. CT at Cheney Stadium in the final series before the All-Star Break. The Dodgers are making their first trip to the Evergreen State since 2018 and the teams are also playing one another for the first time since the 2019 season...The Dodgers have lost back-to-back games as well as seven of their last nine games.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored three straight runs to reduce an early deficit but were unable to complete a comeback against the Las Vegas Aviators in a 4-3 loss Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Aviators built a 4-0 lead as they went on to win the series between the teams, 4-2. Las Vegas' Vince Fernandez hit a home run out to right field in the second inning and Shea Langeliers homered out to center field in the third inning for a 2-0 lead. The Aviators added two more runs in the fourth inning. The Dodgers scored their first two runs of the night in the fifth inning on a RBI triple by Drew Avans and a RBI single by Miguel Vargas. A two-out RBI single by Jake Amaya in the eighth inning cut Las Vegas' lead to one run, but the Dodgers left the tying run at third base in the eighth inning and at second base in the ninth inning.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Ryan Pepiot (6-0) returns to start for OKC after notching the first win of his Major League career...Pepiot most recently pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers July 5 against Colorado at Dodger Stadium, allowing one run and four hits over 5.0 innings to help lead the Dodgers to a 5-2 win. He issued one walk and recorded a ML career-best six strikeouts...Pepiot last pitched for OKC June 28 in a series opener in El Paso, allowing two runs and three hits, along with three walks and six K's over 4.0 innings. He also hit four batters and did not receive a decision in the team's 6-3 win...Pepiot owns a 1.94 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) this season with OKC and the team is 11-0 in his starts. Among PCL pitchers with at least 55.0 innings this season, Pepiot ranks first with a 1.94 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .1.80 BAA and 12.29 strikeouts per nine innings...He has not allowed more than two runs in any game with OKC this season and has allowed six runs total in his last six games at Triple-A...In four starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he's allowed five runs over 16.1 innings while holding opponents to a .175 average with 19 strikeouts. However, he has also allowed 12 walks. Pepiot made his ML debut in Pittsburgh May 11 with 3.0 scoreless innings...He was named PCL Pitcher of the Month for April as he went 2-0 in five starts with a league-best 1.66 ERA, allowing 14 hits with 29 K's over 21.2 IP and held opponents to a .182 average. He also received weekly PCL honors after making two starts during OKC's first series of the season versus Albuquerque...Pepiot was selected in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Butler University, becoming the program's highest-ever draft pick.

Against the Rainiers: 2022: 0-0 2021: N/A All-time: 51-50 At TAC: 19-31 The Dodgers and Rainiers meet for their first of two series of 2022 after last playing each other during the 2019 season. Tonight will be the first game between the clubs since Aug. 9, 2019 - a span of 1,069 days...Tacoma was the only Triple-A West foe the Dodgers did not play during the 2021 season. The teams were originally scheduled to play in April 2021, but the games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rainiers went on to win the the league title...When the teams last met as part of the 2019 schedule, the Dodgers swept a three-game set at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, outscoring the Rainiers, 23-9. Zach McKinstry had a monster series batting .818 (9x11) over the three-game set with three doubles and three home runs along with 10 RBI...This week the Dodgers are making their first trip to Tacoma since the 2018 season and OKC is 19-31 all-time at Cheney Stadium...OKC is 2-0-3 against the Rainiers in the last five season series and has not lost a series to Tacoma since the 2014 season (0-4 in Tacoma)...The teams will also meet Sept. 6-11 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Summer Dip: After closing out June with wins in 18 of their last 25 games of the month, the Dodgers have now lost seven of their first nine games to open the month of July, including a season-high five-game losing skid July 1-5 and back-to-back losses in each of the last two games. The Dodgers had eight total losses in the entire month of June...They have also lost back-to-back series for the first time this season. Prior to their previous series in El Paso and against Las Vegas, which they both lost, 4-2, the Dodgers had won five straight series and were 10-1-3 through their first 14 series of 2022...During the recent skid, the Dodgers have seen their lead atop the East Division shrink from 6.0 games to just 1.0 game ahead of El Paso.

Offensive Remarks: After scoring four runs in just the first inning as well as double-digit runs in back-to-back games during wins Wednesday and Thursday, the Dodgers' offense was held to three runs in each of their last two games. OKC went 3-for-19 with runners on base Saturday and have gone 6-for-40 with runners on and 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position over the last two games...The Dodgers have now tallied four runs or less five times in the last seven games...In the team's last 15 losses, they've scored 48 runs combined (3.2 rpg)...Even with the recent slowdown, the Dodgers lead Triple-A with 403 walks this season, while their .366 OBP and 30 triples are second and their 524 runs, .459 SLG and .825 OPS are all third.

Drew Point: Drew Avans hit his PCL-leading seventh triple of the season Saturday night as he went 3-for-4 with a RBI and run scored. He tied his season-high mark with three hits as he also extended his season-best on-base streak to 23 games. The on-base streak is the longest by an OKC player this season and is the second-longest active streak in the PCL. He has now hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games (.318; 28x88) and has reached base safely in 37 of his last 38 games...From the start of the season through May 31, Avans batted .235 (20x85) with seven extra-base hits, eight RBI and 15 runs scored through his first 31 games of the season. Since June 1 (32 games), Avans is batting .319 (38x119) with nine doubles, four triples, three homers, 17 RBI and 28 runs scored. He also has 16 walks during the stretch.

RacKs on RacKs on RacKs: The Dodgers pitching staff recorded 11 strikeouts Saturday, including a season-high eight K's by starting pitcher Andre Jackson, as they have now racked up 11 or more strikeouts in six straight games (81 K), including four games with 14 or more strikeouts and a season-high 16 strikeouts Wednesday. Prior to July 4, the team had only registered 14 strikeouts just once in a nine-inning game this season and not since April 22 at Sacramento...OKC's 100 total strikeouts so far in July are second-most in the PCL and one shy of Round Rock's 101 K's...However, when Las Vegas did not strike out during the previous series, the Aviators batted .440 (59x134).

The Future is Now: Miguel Vargas finished Saturday night's game with a hit, walk and RBI as he extended his hitting streak to five games, going 7-for-22. It's the longest active streak by an OKC player and he has now hit safely in 19 of his last 21 games, batting .349 (30x86) with eight doubles, three homers, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored...Vargas was named to the annual MLB All-Star Futures Game earlier last week. This year's contest will take place Saturday, July 16 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and Vargas will be joined by fellow Dodgers prospects pitcher Bobby Miller (Double-A Tulsa) and catcher Diego Cartaya (High-A Great Lakes) on the National League roster...He leads the PCL with 96 total hits and 68 total runs scored this season. His 162 total bases are second-most in the league, while his 61 RBI are third, his 19 doubles are tied for fourth, his 36 extra-base hits are fifth and his 43 walks are tied for sixth.

Busch League: Michael Busch recorded a double for a third straight game Saturday night and he has hit safely in four straight games, going 6-for-19. In the six-game series against the Las Vegas Aviators, he recorded a team-leading eight hits, including four for extra bases - three doubles and a home run...Over 45 games with OKC, Busch has 46 hits, with half of them going for extra bases (13 doubles; 10 homers)...Busch leads all Dodgers minor leaguers with 21 home runs this season, including 10 with OKC and 11 with Double-A Tulsa and is one of 12 players in all of the Minors with 21 or more home runs this season.

Hard Times on the Hill: The Dodgers allowed four runs Saturday, marking the second time in the last three games OKC's pitching staff has allowed four runs or less. However, OKC's team ERA through the first nine games of July is highest among all full-season Minor League teams (9.47) as are the team's 84 runs allowed (80 earned) over 76.0 IP. Opponents have reached double-digit run totals in five games this month and are batting .314 against OKC in July. They have allowed at least seven runs in seven of the last nine games and eight times in the last 11 games (100 R), including six games with 10 or more runs...Since June 29 (11 games), the Dodgers have allowed 100 runs - the most among any team in the Minors (full-season or short-season). During that time, the Dodgers have a 9.00 ERA (93 ER/93.0 IP) and opponents have batted .313 (123x393), swelling their season numbers to a 5.00 ERA and .250 BAA. Before this recent rough patch, the Dodgers led the league with a 4.42 ERA and .240 BAA...Following a 6-3 win in El Paso June 28, the team's run differential was +111 for the season. In the 11 games since, OKC has been outscored by 41 runs (100-59), whittling down its season run differential to +70...Opponents have totaled 154 at-bats with runners in scoring position over the last 11 games, with at least 11 at-bats in nine straight games, and at least 13 at-bats in four of five games (74) and six of the last nine (127). Over the last 11 games, opponents are batting .325 (50x154) with RISP...The starting/primary pitchers have had an especially tough go of things since the calendar flipped to July. Over nine games, they have only combined for only 31.1 innings while allowing 40 runs (11.58 ERA) and 50 hits (.352 BAA; 50x142), including nine homers. They have also walked 19 batters, resulting in a 2.20 WHIP.

Around the Horn: Ryan Noda recorded another walk Saturday and now leads the league with 48 walks this season...Eddy Alvarez doubled Saturday and is 6-for-14 with two home runs and five RBI in his first three games back with OKC following a stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers...Tomás Telis has reached base eight times over his last three games. Over his last seven games, Telis is 9-for-22 with five walks...Jason Martin was held without a hit Saturday but is batting .333 through his first eight games of July (10x30) with two doubles and four home runs...The Dodgers are in the midst of a stretch of 15 straight games against West Division foes. OKC is 13-14 against the West Division this season...Opponents have scored in the first or second inning in 15 of the last 16 games, with 37 runs over 32 innings.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 12, 2022


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