PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 27, 2022

Published on July 27, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Sugar Land Space Cowboys (40-54) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (56-38)

Game #95 of 150/Home #50 of 75

Pitching Probables: SUG-RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (MLR)/RHP Brett Conine (3-2, 8.45)

OKC-RHP Andre Jackson (0-6, 6.15)/LHP Robbie Erlin (4-2, 7.30)

Wednesday, July 27, 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 will try to tie their longest winning streak of the season when they continue their series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers have won each of the first four games of their current nine-game homestand.

Last Game: The OKC Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings and scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning of 5-4 victory against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers built a 3-0 lead through six innings. Michael Busch connected on a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Ryan Noda hit a two-run home run out to center field. Meanwhile, Dodgers starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot had not allowed a run until Yeiner Diaz hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. Sugar Land's Jose Siri later hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Space Cowboys the lead, 4-3. Trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, Miguel Vargas hit a fly ball that dropped into right-center field, allowing the tying run to score. In the top of the 10th inning, Sugar Land had a runner at third base with none out before Carson Fulmer then retired the next three Space Cowboys batters to escape the jam. With runners at second and third base in the bottom of the 10th inning, a wild pitch by Ronel Blanco allowed Jason Martin to sprint home and score the winning run.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Andre Jackson (0-6) makes his first start following the league all-star break and his team-leading 15th start of the season...Jackson most recently pitched July 16 in Tacoma, allowing two runs and three hits over 4.0 innings with four walks and five strikeouts. He did not factor into the decision of OKC's 8-4 road win...In two starts following a stint on the Development List, Jackson has allowed four runs and seven hits, including three home runs, over 7.0 innings, with four walks and 13 strikeouts...This season Jackson is holding opponents to a .176 clip with runners on base and .212 with runners in scoring position...The Dodgers are 4-10 in his starts this season, with losses in nine of the last 11...Jackson was selected by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Utah and made his Major League debut last season...Tonight is Jackson's third start of the season against the Space Cowboys. In two previous starts versus Sugar Land, Jackson is 0-1, allowing five runs and five hits in 8.0 innings, along with four walks and nine strikeouts.

Robbie Erlin (4-2) is scheduled to follow Jackson in a third straight piggyback appearance...He took over for Jackson in the fifth inning July 16 in Tacoma and allowed two runs and five hits over 3.1 innings with one walk and four strikeouts and was credited with the win in OKC's 8-4 victory...Since throwing 5.0 scoreless and hitless innings June 10 vs. Salt Lake, he has allowed 24 runs and 29 hits over five games, totaling 15.1 innings...The lefty has also made two appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season in early May...Erlin has appeared in 117 games (43 starts) in the Majors, primarily with San Diego, and was selected by Texas in the third round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Scotts Valley High School (Calif.)...In his only previous meeting with Sugar Land April 30 in OKC, Erlin pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and held Sugar Land to two hits and recorded eight strikeouts, marking his highest strikeout total since 2015.

Against the Space Cowboys: 2022: 10-3 2021: 12-12 All-time: 22-15 At OKC: 14-8 The Dodgers and Space Cowboys meet for their fourth of five series this season, including the third series of 2022 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The teams last met in a three-game series June 7-9 in OKC, with the Dodgers sweeping the set. The Dodgers scored at least six runs in each of the three victories, including two walk-off wins...So far in 2022, OKC is 8-2 against Sugar Land at home with wins in seven straight...The Dodgers also won a three-game road series against the Space Cowboys May 20-22 in Sugar Land, 2-1...Including the current series, Miguel Vargas leads OKC with 18 hits, including three homers, in 13 games and Stefen Romero has a team-best 14 RBI in seven games. Pitcher Ryan Pepiot is 3-0 against the Space Cowboys with 25 K's over 22.2 IP and a 1.59 ERA...The teams split their 2021 season series, 12-12. Both teams went 6-6 on their home fields as Sugar Land played its first season as a Triple-A franchise...The Dodgers have won nine of their last 10 games against Sugar Land after they had lost 11 of the previous 15 meetings going back to 2021.

Life At The Top: The Dodgers have now won four straight games for the first time since June 18, and they have won five of their last six games and seven of their last 10 games. They have also won four straight home games for the first time since April 7-10 against Albuquerque during the first series of the season...The Dodgers lead the PCL with a 56-38 record and have a 4.0-game lead ahead of second-place El Paso in the East Division standings. OKC also owns the league's best home record, going 31-18 so far at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The Dodgers last won five straight games April 15-20, winning three games on the road in El Paso followed by two wins in Sacramento. This is the team's fourth four-game win streak since then...The Dodgers have not won five consecutive home games since opening the 2018 season 15-0 in Bricktown.

Home Field Advantage: Tuesday was the Dodgers' fifth walk-off victory, matching their total from the last two seasons combined. Three of OKC's last four games against Sugar Land have been walk-off wins and the Dodgers' last three walk-off victories overall have come against the Space Cowboys. In all three games, the Dodgers trailed in the eighth inning or later before winning...All four of OKC's extra-inning games have been played at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark this season and Tuesday was the team's first extra-inning game since June 10 against Salt Lake. Both of OKC's wins in extra innings this season have been against Sugar Land...Last night was the sixth time this season at home the Dodgers when trailing in the seventh inning or later and fourth time they've won when trailing in the eighth inning or later.

Drew Point: Drew Avans finished with a game-high three hits Tuesday, going 3-for-5 with a run scored to extend his on-base streak to 33 games. It is the longest on-base streak by an OKC player this season and the longest active streak in the PCL. He is also one of two players in the league this season to have an on-base streak of 31 games or longer, trailing only El Paso's Nomar Mazara, who reached base in 35 consecutive games April 12-May 29...Avans has hit safely in 18 of the last 20 games, as well as 28 of the 33 games during the on-base streak, and over his last 13 games, he is batting .375 (21x56). He has reached base safely in 47 of his last 48 games and owns the longest on-base streak by a Dodgers player since the 2019 season when Gavin Lux reached base in 37 consecutive games...Tuesday was the sixth time this season Avans posted a season-high three hits. He also recorded his team-leading 22nd stolen base...Avans is tied for first in the PCL with seven triples, while his .300 average is sixth, .392 OBP is eighth and his 22 stolen bases rank tied for eighth...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 (42 games), Avans is batting .333 (54x162) with 11 doubles, four triples, three homers, 19 RBI, 20 walks and 36 runs scored.

Bogo at J-Mart: Jason Martin scored two runs Tuesday, including the winning run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning. His 70 runs scored this season are second-most in the PCL, trailing only teammate Miguel Vargas' 77 runs scored. He has scored a run in four straight games...Martin leads the Dodgers with 73 RBI and 21 home runs this season - totals that rank second and tied for second in the league, respectively. Martin's 175 total bases rank third and his 43 extra-base hits are tied for third, while his .956 OPS is fourth and his .585 SLG fifth in the PCL...The 26-year-old is nearing his single-season career highs of 23 homers and 75 RBI, set in 2016 with High-A Lancaster in the Houston Astros organization...Martin has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, going 12-for-38 (.315) with four homers and 16 RBI. He's picked up at least one RBI in seven of the last 10 games and has six multi-RBI games during the stretch.

Getting Miggy With It: Miguel Vargas added to his PCL-leading hit total, going 2-for-4 with a double, walk and RBI Tuesday as he recorded his team-leading 32nd multi-hit game of the season and team-best 23rd double. He leads the league with 104 hits and has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 15-for-47 (319). Vargas also leads the league with 77 runs scored and ranks among the PCL's top five players in doubles (T-2nd, 23), walks (3rd, 53), total bases (4th, 174), RBI (4th, 67) and extra-base hits (T-5th, 40)...He's hit safely in 25 of his last 28 games, batting .342 (38x111) with 12 doubles, three homers, 23 RBI and 23 runs scored.

The Rundown: Last night marked the Dodgers' fewest runs in a win since defeating Round Rock, 2-1, June 26. They had scored at least eight runs in each of their previous eight wins and at least six runs in each of their previous 10 wins...Over the last 14 games, the Dodgers are 9-5. In the nine wins, they've scored 87 total runs and tallied at least eight runs eight of nine games, including five games with least 10 runs. In the five losses, they've scored 17 runs total. 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' 601 runs and .369 OBP this season are second-best in Triple-A. OKC's .461 SLG and .830 OPS are both third.

Around the Horn: Dodgers starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot matched his career high with 7.0 innings last night and did not allow a run until his final frame. He gave up one run and three hits, with three walks and six strikeouts, becoming just the second OKC pitcher this year to complete at least 7.0 innings...The Dodgers are looking to start a series 2-0 for the third straight series. They are 4-6 in Game 2 of a series after a win in the series opener...After going 6-for-10 with three multi-hit games against Sacramento, Michael Busch was held 0-for-3 Tuesday but recorded a sac fly and a walk. Busch has hit safely in 10 of his last 14 games, batting .321 (18x56)...OKC has 16 stolen bases over the last seven games and has 18 steals over the last nine games, going 18-for-19 in their attempts. Prior to July 13, the Dodgers' previous 18 stolen bases occurred over a span of 31 games between June 6-July 12...The Dodgers drew six more walks Tuesday and have taken 33 walks over the first four games of the homestand. They lead all Triple-A teams with 457 walks this season...Over his last 10 games, Jake Amaya is 12-for-35 (.343) with four multi-hit games, four RBI, six walks and has a .432 OBP (OB 19/44 PA)...Tuesday was the fourth straight game the Dodgers allowed four runs or less. They have won 12 of the last 13 games they've allowed no more than four runs.

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