OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 23, 2022
Published on July 23, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Sacramento River Cats (40-51) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (53-38)
Game #92 of 150/Home #47 of 75
Pitching Probables: SAC-RHP Raynel Espinal (5-4, 4.90) vs. OKC-RHP Michael Grove (0-2, 6.08)
Saturday, July 23, 2022 | 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 play the second game of their three-game series against the Sacramento River Cats at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...¡Celebración Cielo Azul! continues and the Dodgers will take the field as Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City as part of Minor League Baseball's Copa de la Diversión, or Fun Cup...Gates open at 6 p.m. and the first 1,000 fans will receive a bobblehead of former OKC Dodger and current Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, presented by Lime.
Last Game: Hunter Feduccia hit a grand slam and collected a career-high five RBI as the Oklahoma City Dodgers returned from the Pacific Coast League All-Star Break to post a 10-4 win Friday night against the Sacramento River Cats. Sacramento grabbed the game's first lead via a RBI groundout in the second inning. The Dodgers responded to tie the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run by Ryan Noda. The Dodgers then scored seven runs in the third inning to open up the game and take the lead for good. Jason Martin hit a RBI single, James Outman drew a bases-loaded walk and Jake Amaya connected on a sacrifice fly to give OKC a 4-1 advantage. Feduccia later hit a grand slam out to left field to give OKC an 8-1 lead. The teams exchanged runs in the fifth inning as Feduccia knocked a RBI double to collect his fifth RBI of the night. A two-run homer by Jason Vosler cut the Dodgers' lead to 9-4 before a RBI single by Amaya in the eighth inning made it 10-4.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Michael Grove looks to rebound after back-to-back losses...He most recently pitched July 14 in Tacoma, allowing two runs and three hits over 2.1 innings with one walk and four strikeouts during OKC's 8-5 road loss. It was his first outing since June 29, as he was placed on the Injured List July 2-13...After winning each of his first three starts, the Dodgers have lost each of Grove's last three starts, with Grove going 0-2...Grove made his team and Triple-A debut May 21 in Sugar Land, six days after making his Major League debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Grove made the jump from Double-A for a spot start with Los Angeles May 15 against Philadelphia and became the first Los Angeles Dodger to make his Major League debut straight from Double-A since relief pitcher Danny Coulombe in September 2014...He's been recalled three times this season by Los Angeles and has made two appearances. He was most recently optioned to OKC June 14...Grove made five starts with Tulsa to open the season and entered the 2022 season ranked as the Dodgers' No. 24 prospect by Baseball America...He was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft from West Virginia University...This will be his first career meeting with the River Cats.
Against the River Cats: 2022: 4-3 2021: 2-4 All-time: 46-52 At OKC: 22-27 The Dodgers and River Cats are meeting for their second series of the season and first in OKC...The teams played a six-game series in Sacramento April 19-24, splitting the series, 3-3. The River Cats closed out the series with back-to-back wins as the teams met in Sacramento for the first time since the 2018 season. Andy Burns led the Dodgers with five RBI in the initial series, tying Eddy Alvarez with two home runs. Sacramento outscored OKC, 34-25, over the six games...The teams last played in OKC May 13-18, 2021 with Sacramento winning the series, 4-2. They outscored the Dodgers, 40-20, and outhit OKC, 55-38...Since OKC became affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the River Cats with the San Francisco Giants in 2015, Sacramento has a 16-14 edge in the Triple-A version of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, including a 10-7 record in Bricktown.
Blue Skies Ahead: The Dodgers will take the field as Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City through Sunday during ¡Celebración Cielo Azul! weekend at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. In addition to players and coaches wearing Cielo Azul jerseys and hats during the three-game series, the gameday environment during ¡Celebración Cielo Azul! will feature Latin music, colorful and festive concourse decorations, unique entertainment and concessions, live performances and a Spanish-speaking public address announcer for select games...Since 2018, the Dodgers have participated in MiLB's Copa de la Diversión, or Fun Cup, which is a season-long event series designed to embrace the culture and values that resonate most with participating teams' local U.S. Hispanic/Latino communities, including creating culturally relevant on-field personas and gameday experiences. The name Cielo Azul - translated to "Blue Sky" - was derived from three key factors: Incorporating the color blue, which is a key component of the Dodgers organization; the vibrancy of Oklahoma's blue skies, and the breadth of the diversity of Hispanic and Latino culture that resides under those skies; and as a tribute to Dodgers legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who looked up at the sky during his windup...¡Celebración Cielo Azul! will also take place Sept. 6-11 in OKC.
Feducciary Duty: Hunter Feduccia connected on Oklahoma City's fifth grand slam of the season Friday night and the team's second grand slam within the last six games. Feduccia extended his hitting streak to seven games, going 3-for-5 with a double, homer and career-high five RBI. The grand slam was also the first of his career...Nine of his last 11 hits have gone for extra bases and during his seven-game hitting streak he is 11-for-28 (.393) with six doubles, three homers, nine RBI, three walks and 10 runs scored. The stretch includes his first career multi-homer game, first three Triple-A home runs and first career grand slam. He also has scored a run in seven straight games.
Code Red: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May started and pitched 2.0 innings with OKC Friday as part of a Major League Rehab Assignment. The right-handed pitcher allowed one run and three hits with three walks and three strikeouts. He faced 12 batters, throwing 49 pitches (24 strikes) and did not factor into the decision...May tore his right ulnar collateral ligament May 1, 2021 at Milwaukee and underwent Tommy John surgery 10 days later.
Drew Point: Drew Avans drew a walk in the seventh inning last night to extend his on-base streak to 30 games, which is the longest on-base streak by an OKC player this season and the longest active streak in the PCL. He is one of four PCL players to have an on-base streak of 30 games or longer this season and he owns the longest on-base streak by a Dodgers player since the 2019 season when Gavin Lux reached base in 37 consecutive games...However, his season-best nine-game hitting streak came to an end Friday. During that streak he went 16-for-40 (.400). He has hit safely in 25 of the 30 games during his on-base streak and has reached base safely in 44 of his last 45 games...From the start of the season through May 31 (31 games), Avans batted .235 (20x85) with seven extra-base hits, eight RBI and 15 runs scored. Since June 1 (39 games), Avans is batting .327 (49x150) with 11 doubles, four triples, three homers, 19 RBI and 33 runs scored. He also has 17 walks during the stretch...He is tied for the league lead with seven triples this season and Avans paces the Dodgers with 18 stolen bases this season.
The Rundown: The Dodgers scored 10 runs last night, and the seven runs scored by the Dodgers in the third inning were the most scored by the team in a single inning since May 24 against Reno when the Dodgers scored seven runs in the fourth inning of a 14-7 win. It was the fourth time this season OKC scored seven runs in one inning...Over the last 11 games, the Dodgers are 6-5. In the six wins, they've scored 62 total runs and tallied at least eight runs in each victory. In the five losses, they've scored 17 runs. In seven of their last eight losses, the Dodgers have been held to three runs or less and they have been held to five runs or less in each of their last nine losses...The Dodgers' 576 runs this season are second-most in Triple-A and their .366 OBP ranks second. OKC's .458 SLG and .824 OPS are both third.
All Walks of LIfe: The Dodgers and River Cats combined for 17 walks Friday night with the Dodgers' offense drawing nine walks and OKC pitchers issuing eight walks. It was the team's highest walk total since taking 10 walks June 19 at Reno. The eight walks issued by OKC pitchers Friday were the most by the staff in the last nine games and the 11th time in the last 16 games OKC allowed six or more walks (94 BB)...The Dodgers have drawn the most walks in Triple-A this season (433) but have also issued the most walks in Triple-A this season (450).
Getting Miggy With It: Miguel Vargas drew two walks and scored a run last night to add to his league-leading run total (74). However, his eight-game hitting streak was snapped, going 0-for-3. It was his fifth hitting streak of the season of at least eight games and he went 11-for-33 during the stretch...Last night he struck out two times for the first time this month and for just the second time since June 7...In addition to runs, Vargas leads the PCL with 100 hits and is one of three players in Triple-A with at least 100 hits. He ranks tied for second in the PCL with 50 walks, third with 64 RBI and 168 total bases, tied for fourth with 21 doubles, tied for fifth with 38 extra-base hits and 10th with a .385 OBP...Vargas has hit safely in 22 of his last 25 games, batting .340 (34x100) with 10 doubles, three homers, 20 RBI and 21 runs scored.
Long Days at the Office: Last night's game lasted 3 hours, 29 minutes. It was the team's longest home game of the season and OKC's second-longest game of the season in which the bottom of the ninth inning was not played. The Dodgers played a game that lasted 3 hours, 30 minutes May 10 in Round Rock during which the Express won, 13-7. Only two other games overall this season have lasted longer, and both went nine full innings (May 15 in Round Rock: 3:48; April 19 in Sacramento: 3:34)...The teams combined to throw 389 pitches last night for an average of nearly 23 pitches per inning. There was not a single 1-2-3 inning and the only time the first two batters of any inning were retired was in the top of the first...The Dodgers and River Cats combined to leave 24 runners on base.
Around the Horn: Ryan Noda and Michael Busch each finished with multi-hit games and each drew a walk last night. Noda hit his 13th home run of the season and Busch snapped an 0-for-13 skid...Jake Amaya went 1-for-3 with two RBI Friday. Over his last seven games, Amaya is 10-for-25 (.400) with four multi-hit games, four RBI and three walks. He's also hit safely in six of his last eight games (11x29, 5 RBI)...Jason Martin has hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 8-for-26 with two homers and 10 RBI. He's picked up at least one RBI in five of the last seven games and has four multi-RBI games...OKC has 10 stolen bases over the last four games and 12 steals over the last six games, going 12-for-12 in their attempts...The Dodgers are in the midst of a stretch of 15 straight games against West Division foes (6-7). OKC is 17-17 against the West Division this season, including just 7-9 at home...The Dodgers turned three double plays last night to tie their season-high mark, last set May 19 against El Paso in OKC.
Pacific Coast League Stories from July 23, 2022
- Space Cowboys Continue Homer Spree in Win at Albuquerque - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- OKC Dodgers Postgame Notes: July 23, 2022 - Oklahoma City Comets
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- Five-Run Rally Boosts Bees over Rainiers - Salt Lake Bees
- Krizan's 2 Homers Extend Hitting Streak to 10, On-Base Streak to 17 in Saturday Defeat - Sacramento River Cats
- Ragans Leads Express to 2-0 Shutout over Aviators - Round Rock Express
- Space Cowboys Game Notes at ABQ - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 23, 2022 - Oklahoma City Comets
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