PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 29, 2015

Published on July 29, 2015 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (62-40) vs. Memphis Redbirds (55-49)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Game #103 of 144/Road #59 of 73 (35-23)

Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Eric Stults (1-0, 2.89) vs. MEM-LHP Tyler Lyons (6-5, 3.33)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | AutoZone Park | Memphis, Tenn. | 11:35 a.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Dodgers try to even their series against the Memphis Redbirds in a matinee starting at 11:35 a.m. AutoZone Park. Memphis won Tuesday night, but the Dodgers have won seven of nine meetings between the teams this season.

Yesterday's Game: Memphis scored six straight runs over the middle innings and held off a late charge by the Dodgers in the ninth inning to hang on for a 7-6 win Tuesday night at AutoZone Park. Both teams plated a run in the second inning. The Dodgers took the lead when Andy Wilkins hit a solo home run to make it 1-0. In the home half of the inning, Dean Anna sent a RBI single up the middle to tie the game. Corey Seager gave OKC the lead again with a two-run homer in the third inning. Memphis got back within one run in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI single by Nick Martini. The Redbirds plated three runs, all with two outs, in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. Memphis added sacrifice flies by Cody Stanley and Xavier Scruggs in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, to make it 7-3. The Dodgers re-emerged in the ninth inning, scoring three runs. OKC collected four straight hits with one out, including a RBI double by Chris Heisey and a RBI single by Darnell Sweeney. With runners at the corners and one out, Darwin Barney's RBI groundout brought the Dodgers within one run. The rally would end up falling a bit a short, as Sam Tuivailala struck out Seager to end the game for his 13th save. Memphis starting pitcher Zach Petrick (6-5) tossed six innings to earn the win. OKC starter Eric Surkamp (4-3) wound up with a loss for the first time since June 1.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Eric Stults (1-0) looks to pick up in Memphis where he left off with his strong start in Round Rock Friday...He combined with David Huff to one-hit the Express in a 7-1 win Friday. Round Rock's lone hit came from the Express' very first batter - a leadoff single by Ryan Strausborger in the first inning. Stults then retired 20 of the next 21 batters he faced, as well as 21 of the final 23, allowing a only pair of walks in his first win with OKC. He pitched seven innings and finished with six strikeouts...Tonight marks his fourth start with OKC. Two of his first three outings have been quality starts...Stults started the season with the Atlanta Braves, going 1-5 in nine appearances (eight starts) with a 5.85 ERA. He was traded to the Dodgers from the Braves on May 27 as part of a six-player deal. Immediately after he was acquired, Stults was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Double-A Tulsa. With Tulsa, Stults made five appearances (three starts), going 1-2 with a 2.88 ERA...Today marks his sixth career appearance and fifth career start against the Redbirds (2-1, 3.96 ERA). He last faced the Redbirds in 2011 while pitching for Colorado Springs.

Against the Redbirds: 2015: 7-2 2014: 10-6 All-time: 149-133 In MEM: 63-80

Oklahoma City earned the club's first-ever series sweep in Memphis June 30-July 3. The Dodgers bashed nine home runs over the four-game set and won three of the four games by one run. It was also the team's first sweep against the Redbirds since July 22-25, 2011 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...Darnell Sweeney is hitting .421 against Memphis with a team-leading 16 hits, three homers, 10 RBI, and seven runs scored...OKC finished with a winning record in Memphis each of the past two seasons, and is now 15-6 at AutoZone Park since the start of the 2013 season. Prior to 2013, OKC had not finished with a winning record in the Bluff City since 1999.

Winning Waylay: The Dodgers have lost seven of their last nine games, but still pace the PCL with 62 wins this season. They have the third-most wins in the Minors behind Double-A Corpus Christi (65) and Low-A Quad Cities (64).

Rocky Road: The Dodgers are 3-7 on their current 13-game road trip. They began the trip with a nine-game lead in first place, but it has since been whittled down to just four games. It's the team's smallest first-place lead since entering play on April 28...The Dodgers are in the midst of a stretch where 26 of 33 games are on the road (11-12 road; 14-16 overall)...Even with the recent struggles, OKC still owns the league's best road record at 35-23.

Dinger Details: Andy Wilkins and Corey Seager both homered for the Dodgers Tuesday. The Dodgers have homered at least once in 22 of their last 26 games, totaling 37 dingers during that time. Their 35 homers in July lead the PCL, and it's the team's highest monthly home run total since May 2012 (43). The recent power surge has pushed the Dodgers up to a tie for second in the PCL in homers this season with Tacoma (102), trailing only Las Vegas (103)...In four games at AutoZone Park this season, the Dodgers have swatted 11 home runs. And going back to last season, OKC has hit 21 homers over the last 10 games in Memphis,

Barney and Friends: Darwin Barney hit safely in a fifth straight game Tuesday and collected his third extra-base hit in two games. During the five-game streak he's 10-for-23 (.435) with three RBI, four runs scored, and two stolen bases. Since rejoining OKC on June 18, Barney is third in the league in hits (44) and fourth in batting average .367 (44x120).

Wilk-ome Back: After missing the previous three games with a minor heel injury, Andy Wilkins went 2-for-4 with a home run last night. Additionally, he also worked a 14-pitch at-bat in the sixth inning that ultimately resulted in a flyout. Wilkins has collected three straight multi-hit games, going 6-for-12. He's also picked up at least one RBI in seven of his last eight games (9 RBI), including at least one in five straight. Despite not collecting his first RBI with OKC until May 17, Wilkins leads the team 48 RBI and ranks fifth in RBI in PCL during that time. His 13 home runs since May 17 is tied for third-best.

Jensen's July: Over the last two games, Kyle Jensen is 6-for-7 with a RBI and a run scored. He notched hits in six straight at-bats until he flied out to the wall in the sixth inning last night. After batting .203 between May and June, Jensen his batting .333 in July.

Tough Times on the Hill: The Dodgers' recent pitching struggles continued last night, surrendering seven runs and 12 hits. The past two nights, they've allowed 18 runs and 24 hits, and opponents have scored in 11 of 16 innings. Over the last 12 games, the pitching staff has posted a 5.76 ERA (64 ER/100.0 IP) and opponents are batting .307 (122x397). They have allowed at least five runs in nine of the 12 games, and at least seven runs in four of the last eight games. The team's current 3.98 ERA is the highest it's been all season.

Snooze Button: The Dodgers are 0-4 in games that begin before noon this season (0-1 road). Entering the season, OKC had won 13 of its previous 14 games with pre-noon starts.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHER OPP. PITCHER

Thursday, July 30 7:05 p.m. @ Memphis RHP Brandon Beachy (1-1, 3.52) LHP John Gast (5-7, 4.86)

Friday, July 31 7:05 p.m. @ Memphis RHP Joe Wieland (6-4, 5.42) LHP Nick Greenwood (9-3, 5.30)

Saturday, August 1 7:05 p.m. New Orleans RHP Trevor Cahill (0-2, 7.82) TBA

Sunday, August 2 (DH) 3:35 p.m. New Orleans LHP Eric Surkamp (4-3, 4.38)/TBA TBA/TBA

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 29, 2015


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