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OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 22, 2021

July 22, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Sugar Land Skeeters (37-28) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (35-31)

Game #67 of 130/Home #31 of 65

Pitching Probables: SUG-RHP J.P. France (2-0, 2.42) vs. OKC-RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx (7-1, 4.40)

Thursday, July 21, 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 Oklahoma City Dodgers continue their 12-game homestand and open a six-game series against the Triple-A West East Division-leading Sugar Land Skeeters at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers split their previous series, 3-3, with the league-leading Reno Aces and currently sit 2.5 games behind Sugar Land in second place in the division.

Last Game: The OKC Dodgers hit four home runs and recorded their highest run total of the series in a 10-3 win in their series finale against the Reno Aces Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers took the game's first lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Cristian Santana and led the rest of the way, quickly building a 4-0 advantage by hitting three home runs in a span of four batters in the third inning. Keibert Ruiz and Sheldon Neuse hit back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches to lead off the bottom of the third inning. After the first out of the inning, Yoshi Tsutsugo added a home run on a solo shot out to right field. The Aces scored two runs in the fourth inning to trim the Dodgers' lead before Omar Estévez belted a two-run toward the LED board in left-center field to extend OKC's lead to 6-2 in the sixth inning. Reno cut OKC's lead to three runs in the top of the eighth inning before OKC responded with a four-run eighth inning that included a two-run single by Luke Raley, Carlos Asuaje stealing home and Ruiz picking up his third hit of the night with a RBI double.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Austin Bibens-Dirkx (7-1) makes his ninth start of the season tonight seeking his league-leading eighth win of 2021...Bibens-Dirkx leads Triple-A West with seven wins, ranks fourth in the league in ERA at 4.40, eighth with a 1.34 WHIP and ninth with 57.1 innings pitched...He last pitched July 16 against Reno in OKC, starting the game with 3.0 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and no walks with five strikeouts in a no decision, as the Aces won, 4-3. Bibens-Dirkx retired nine of 11 batters faced over the first three innings, but he left the game after throwing one pitch in the fourth inning due to a leg cramp...The Dodgers are 6-2 in his starts, and the team is 9-3 in games he's appeared as a starter or primary pitcher. The team had won each of his previous four starts before his last game against Reno, and it marked the first time the Dodgers lost one of his starts since May 24 at Albuquerque...Over his last four outings, Bibens-Dirkx has allowed just one walk over 17.2 IP and two walks over his last five outings, spanning 22.2 IP...He was named Triple-A West Pitcher of the Week following an outing of 5.0 scoreless innings June 6 vs. Sugar Land, marking his first weekly award since May 2013 with High-A Dunedin...Bibens-Dirkx signed with the Dodgers May 4 after he did not see any formal game action in 2020. He was with the Texas Rangers during Spring Training in 2020 and was released June 1...Tonight is his third appearance of the season against the Skeeters. In 10.0 IP against Sugar Land, he has allowed three runs, 12 hits and one walk with nine strikeouts.

Against the Skeeters: 2021: 9-3 2019: N/A All-time: 9-3 At OKC: 4-2 The Dodgers and Skeeters meet for their third series of the season and second at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The Dodgers have won the first two series between the teams this season, including most recently June 24-29 at Constellation Field, 5-1, and also in OKC June 3-8, 4-2...During the six-game series in Sugar Land, each game was decided by one or two runs, with three decided by just one run. In four of OKC's wins, the Dodgers scored the go-ahead run(s) in the seventh inning or later. Keibert Ruiz enters the current series with a team-leading 12 hits against Sugar Land, including four doubles and two homers, as well as a team-best 10 runs scored and 11 walks. Luke Raley racked up nine RBI during the first two series...During the first two series, OKC outscored the Skeeters, 65-41, and had 14 homers while holding Sugar Land to eight...Triple-A newcomer Sugar Land was previously an independent team and is now the top affiliate of the Houston Astros. The team was established in 2012 and is one of three previously independent teams to become affiliated in 2021 along with the St. Paul Saints (Triple-A East; Twins) and Somerset Patriots (Double-A Northeast; Yankees)...Sugar Land leads the East Division with a 37-28 record and is tied with the Dodgers with a division-leading 21-15 road record. The Skeeters' +64 run differential is best in the league. Their pitching staff's 4.32 ERA leads Triple-A West, and they have allowed a league-low 297 runs so far in 2021.

Base Jumping: Starting today and continuing for the remainder 2021 season, Triple-A West will increase the size of first, second and third base from 15 inches square to 18 inches square. The change is one of the experimental rules being tested by Major League Baseball during the 2021 Minor League season. According to a preseason press release, the Competition Committee "expects the shorter distances between bases to have a modest impact on the success rate of stolen base attempts and the frequency with which a batter-runner reaches base on ground balls and bunt attempts." The intent is to also reduce player injuries and collisions, according to the release. Larger bases were used by Triple-A East teams during the first half of the season.

Tater Trifecta: Oklahoma City hit three homers in a span of four batters in the third inning Tuesday night. Keibert Ruiz led off the inning with a solo blast and Sheldon Neuse followed on the very next pitch for OKC's seventh back-to-back homers of the season, but first since June 8. After the first out of the inning, Yoshi Tsutsugo added a solo homer out to right field to extend the Dodgers to a 4-0 lead...Prior to Tuesday, the last time the OKC Dodgers hit three home runs in an inning was July 18, 2019 in an 18-5 win at the Iowa Cubs. The team hit eight homers in that game to set a new OKC Dodgers team record, including three homers in the span of four batters with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, with Connor Joe, DJ Peters and Kyle Garlick each going yard.

Starting His Jordan Year: Keibert Ruiz celebrated his 23rd birthday Tuesday by going 3-for-5 with a home run, double and two RBI for his team-leading 15th multi-hit game of the season and his sixth game of the season with three or more hits. He also became the third member of the team to reach 10 multi-RBI games this season, joining Matt Davidson (11) and Luke Raley (10)...Ruiz has now reached base in 17 of his last 18 starts, going 26-for-75 (.347) with four doubles, five homers, 11 runs scored and 17 RBI...With Tuesday's performance at the plate, he took over the team lead with 27 extra-base hits this season and moved into a tie for the team lead with 53 hits. His 13 homers, 14 doubles and 37 RBI are second-most among Dodgers players this season...Between OKC and his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, Ruiz has hit a career-high 14 homers as well as 14 doubles in 210 total plate appearances (52 games). In his last full season in 2019, Ruiz hit six homers and nine doubles over 350 plate appearances (85 games) with OKC and Double-A Tulsa...The catcher is 8-for-23 his during current five-game hitting streak.

Yoshi's Island: Yoshi Tsutsugo racked up a season-high three hits Tuesday, going 3-for-4 with his sixth homer and two runs scored. Not only was it his first three-hit game of 2021, but the first three-hit game since starting his U.S. career in 2020 (114 total games)...Tsutsugo has now reached base safely in nine straight games, and during that time he is 11-for-29 (.379) with a double, three homers, seven RBI and nine runs scored. He's posted a .486 OBP (OB 17/35) and has drawn five walks against three strikeouts...Tsutsugo is 11-for-25 (.440) over the last eight games after going 8-for-67 over his first 17 games with OKC.

Dinger Details: The Dodgers have now homered in seven straight games and in 11 of the last 12 games, after recording their fourth game of the season with four or more home runs Tuesday. The Dodgers have 27 homers over their 18 games in July and are in the midst of their longest stretch of consecutive games with a homer since a season-best 10-game streak June 13-24. Their 27 homers this month are fourth-most in Triple-A West, but only three off the league lead...On the other hand, the Dodgers held the league's top offense without a home run in Tuesday's series finale. The Aces had homered in each of the first five games of the series, marking the first time OKC has allowed a homer in five straight games since a six-game stretch May 27-June 1 in El Paso, and it was the first time they've allowed a homer in five straight home games this season. The eight homers by Reno were the most hit by an opponent at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark during a series this season...The Dodgers have allowed a league-low 20 homers so far in July and have allowed 36 homers over the last 42 games - fewest in Triple-A West by 16 since June 3. The 78 homers allowed by the Dodgers overall this season are fewest in Triple-A West.

Matt the Bat: Matt Davidson went 1-for-4 Tuesday and was kept inside the park after going deep both Sunday and Monday. He's hit 10 homers in his last 16 games and 12 homers in his last 22 games...Over his last 16 games, Davidson is batting .305 (18-for-59) with 14 extra-base hits and 23 RBI. Since June 29, his 10 homers and .881 SLG lead all Triple-A players, while his 14 extra-base hits are tied for second, his 1.254 OPS and 23 RBI both rank third and his 52 total bases are fourth.

Around the Horn: DJ Peters' season-high 11 game hitting streak came to an end Tuesday night when he was held 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. During the streak, Peters went 17-for-46 (.370) with four doubles, two homers, seven RBI, five runs scored and notched two four-hit games. It was his longest hitting streak since 2017...Carlos Asuaje became the first Dodger to steal home this season when he caught Reno off-guard in an infield shift during the eighth inning Tuesday...The Dodgers have won six of the last seven series openers, including four straight home series openers...The Dodgers walked exactly seven batters for the fourth time in five games Tuesday. But over the last 10 games, they've walked two or fewer batters in each of the other six contests...The Dodgers' seven-run margin of victory was the team's largest since a 9-1 win against El Paso June 11. Thirteen of the team's previous 14 wins had been by three or fewer runs, with none larger than four runs.

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