PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 24, 2019

Published on July 24, 2019 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (47-54) vs. Nashville Sounds (42-59)

Game #102 of 140/Road #55 of 70 (27-27)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Brock Stewart (4-7, 7.91) vs. NAS-LHP Wes Benjamin (4-5, 6.37)

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 | First Tennessee Park | Nashville, Tenn. | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The OKC Dodgers seek a sixth straight win when they continue their series against the Nashville Sounds at 7:05 p.m. at First Tennessee Park. The Dodgers are 13-4 over the last 17 games and over their current five-game winning streak have totaled 66 runs, 72 hits and 24 home runs.

Last Game: The OKC Dodgers piled up 16 runs, 19 hits and launched five homers during a 16-1 rout over Nashville Tuesday at First Tennessee Park. The Dodgers scored four runs in their first at-bat. Each of the first three batters walked before DJ Peters stroked a two-run single up the middle. Two batters later, Kyle Garlick hit a two-run homer to center field to make it 4-0. In the second inning, Gavin Lux and Will Smith hit back-to-back home runs, accounting for three runs and a 7-0 lead. The Dodgers added six more runs in the sixth inning. Garlick roped a RBI single with the bases loaded, keeping the bases full. Zach Reks followed with a grand slam to right-center field. Connor Joe then tripled and scored on a RBI single by Jake Peter to put OKC ahead, 14-0. Nashville got on the board in the seventh inning when Patrick Wisdom hit a solo home run. The Dodgers responded with two runs in the eighth inning. Peter picked up his third hit with a RBI double, and Lux delivered a RBI single. On the mound, starting pitcher Dustin May kept the Sounds scoreless over his six innings. May (2-0) limited Nashville to three hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Only two Sounds reached scoring position and none advanced to third base. The OKC bullpen allowed one run and two hits with six strikeouts over the final three innings. Nashville starting pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx (0-3) was roughed up for eight runs and nine hits, including four home runs, over five innings in the loss.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Brock Stewart (4-7) has picked up back-to-back wins and makes his 15th start of the season with the Dodgers tonight - tied with Dennis Santana for the team lead...Stewart earned the win in his last start July 18 at Iowa, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits over a season-high 6.0 innings. He issued four walks and had four strikeouts in OKC's eventual 18-5 victory. After a bit of a bumpy start, Stewart settled in and retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced...Stewart has won each of his last two outings, allowing five earned runs and just eight hits over 11.0 innings. In his three starts before his back-to-back wins, Stewart allowed 25 runs and 27 hits, including six homers, over 11.2 IP and was charged with three straight losses...Earlier this season, Stewart made his first career Major League Opening Day roster and appeared in three games for the LA Dodgers before being optioned to OKC April 7...Stewart was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft from Illinois State University and was named the Dodgers' 2016 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year...Stewart last faced the Sounds July 3 on the road, allowing a career-high 12 runs and tying his career-high with 10 hits allowed, including two homers, over 1.1 innings. He issued two walks and did not record a strikeout.

Against the Sounds: 2019: 4-5 2018: 7-9 All-time: 187-158 At NAS: 91-84 The Dodgers make their second trip of the season to First Tennessee Park to meet Nashville for the third series between the teams in 2019...The teams last met in Nashville June 29-July 3 with the Dodgers opening the series 2-0 before the Sounds won the final three meetings...The Sounds took two of three games in OKC May 7-10, with the finale currently suspended...Zach Reks leads OKC with 11 hits in the series, while Kyle Garlick and Cameron Perkins each have eight RBI. Garlick and Jon Kemmer each have three home runs against Nashville in 2019...The Sounds are now the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers after serving as the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics the past four seasons...Nashville won the 2018 series against OKC, 9-7, winning seven of the final nine meetings. It marked just the second time in eight years the Sounds won the season series...Since First Tennessee Park opened in 2015, the Dodgers are 23-15 in Music City and have not finished with a record below .500 there in any of the four seasons.

Dinger Details: The Dodgers hit five more home runs Tuesday and have now homered in a season-best 15 consecutive games. Since the streak began during Game 2 of a doubleheader July 5, they have hit an incredible 41 homers during the stretch - most in all of professional baseball and six more than the next-highest total (Salt Lake Bees) - including 24 over the last five games...The Dodgers have collected eight straight multi-homer games (32 HR), reaching at least three homers in the last five games and at least five homers in three of the last five games...Back-to-back home runs by Gavin Lux and Will Smith in the second inning last night marked the eighth time this season the team has collected back-to-back homers and fourth time in seven games...Zach Reks' grand slam in the sixth inning was OKC's fourth of the season and third in seven games.

Boom Goes the Dynamite: Oklahoma City has compiled 66 runs and 72 hits - including 24 homers and 35 extra-base hits - over the last five games and has also recorded 11 or more runs five times in seven games. Over the 12 games following the All-Star Break, the Dodgers are batting .325 with a PCL-leading 110 runs, 37 home runs and .657 SLG...The Dodgers are 6-1 over the last seven games and have outscored their opponents, 84-36, while batting .347 (96x277) with 30 home runs...The Dodgers' 15-run margin of victory Tuesday was the largest of the season for OKC and was just the seventh time in the team's modern PCL history (since 1998) OKC won a game by 15 or more runs.

Luxury Tax: Reigning PCL Player of the Week Gavin Lux hit his eighth home run since joining the Dodgers Tuesday, going 2-for-5 with three RBI, two runs scored and a walk...Lux has reached base safely in each of his first 19 Triple-A games and hit safely in 18 of those games. Since joining OKC, Lux is batting .481 (39x81) with a .548 OBP, .963 SLG and 1.511 OPS. The shortstop has 11 multi-hit games, 20 extra-base hits, 26 RBI and 31 runs scored so far with OKC...Since his promotion June 27, Lux's OPS, AVG, OBP, SLG, hits, extra-base hits and runs scored are either the most or tied for the most among all players in the domestic Minors or Majors...The 21-year-old also leads Dodgers full-season minor leaguers with a .353 AVG and 120 hits...Entering today, he has scored at least one run in 11 straight games (19 R) and in 14 of his last 15 games (25 R).

Garlick Press: Kyle Garlick led all players with four hits to go along with three RBI, three runs and a home run Tuesday night. Garlick has tallied a multi-hit game in four straight starts, going 14-for-25 (.560) with six homers, nine extra-base hits and nine RBI. He's gone deep at least once in each of his last four starts (6 HR)...Since his return to OKC July 11, Kyle Garlick is batting .452 (19x42) with 12 extra-base hits, including six home runs, and 13 runs scored over 12 games.

CoJo's Bite: Connor Joe tied his season high with three hits last night, including his first triple of the season, and scored a run...Over the last 23 games, Joe is batting .373 (31x83) with eight homers, seven doubles, a triple, 25 RBI, 26 runs scored and 20 walks. Since June 27, Joe paces the PCL in walks, is second with 26 runs, third in OBP (.500), tied for third in RBI, fourth with 64 total bases and tied for fourth with 16 extra-base hits...He leads OKC's qualified players with a .435 OBP (third in PCL), 62 runs and 53 walks (t-fifth in PCL).

Starters Beware: Over the last seven games, the OKC lineup has ran roughshod over opposing starting pitchers, batting .394 (54x137) with 54 runs, 20 home runs, 31 extra-base hits, 25 walks and 22 strikeouts over just 27.1 innings. Five of the seven have not lasted past 4.0 innings.

Around the Horn: The Dodgers are 18-8 over their last 26 road games...DJ Peters has reached base in each of his first 23 Triple-A games, slashing .345/.477/.714 so far with OKC. He's currently tied with Nashville's Willie Calhoun for the longest active on-base streak in the PCL...Going back to June 12, Will Smith has 12 home runs over his last 18 games with OKC, accounting for 12 of his 18 hits during that span. Six of his last seven hits have left the ballpark...Dodgers pitchers notched 10 strikeouts yesterday for their 49th double-digit strikeout game of the season, while OKC hitters drew seven walks, marking the third straight game with five or more walks...Edwin RÃ-os has homered in back-to-back games and in four of his last six games.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 24, 2019


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