PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - July 31, 2022

July 31, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Sugar Land Space Cowboys (42-56) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (58-40)

Game #99 of 150/Home #54 of 75

Pitching Probables: SUG-RHP J.P. France (2-4, 4.39)/RHP Brandon Bielak (2-3, 3.27)

OKC-RHP Dellin Betances (0-2, 8.71)/RHP Ryan Pepiot (7-0, 2.24)

Sunday, July 31, 2022 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 6:05 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers wrap up a six-game series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, as well as a nine-game homestand, at 6:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers lead the series, 3-2, and have a 6-2 record during the homestand, but have lost two of the last three games after starting the homestand, 5-0.

Last Game: The Sugar Land Space Cowboys shut out the Oklahoma City Dodgers, 6-0, Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers were held without a hit until Omar Estévez grounded a single into right field with two outs in the eighth inning to break up the no-hit bid. The Space Cowboys scored two runs in the third inning on a RBI double by David Hensley and a RBI single by Jose Siri for a 2-0 lead. Corey Julks and Taylor Jones hit two-run homers in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, for a 6-0 advantage. The Dodgers bullpen held Sugar Land to one hit over the game's final 3.2 innings. Sugar Land pitchers Peter Solomon and Chad Donato combined to blank the Dodgers' offense and hold OKC to two hits and four walks.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Dellin Betances (0-2) is slated to be an opener for OKC tonight and make his first start with the team...Betances has made 12 relief appearances with OKC since joining the roster in mid-June. Although opponents are only batting .184, he has walked 10 batters in 10.1 innings...Betances has made two appearances against Sugar Land this series, most recently pitching Thursday with 1.0 inning of scoreless and hitless relief...He signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles April 4 and appeared in four games for the ACL Dodgers before making his first appearance with OKC June 22...He has 322 Major League appearances with the New York Yankees and Mets, owning a 2.53 ERA and was the first reliever to register at least 100 strikeouts in five consecutive seasons...Betances was a four-time MLB All-Star with the Yankees from 2014-17 and was originally selected by the Yankees in the eighth round of the 2006 Draft...Tonight is his first start in a non-rehab capacity since 2013.

Ryan Pepiot (7-0) makes his second appearance of the current series with the Space Cowboys...Pepiot started Tuesday and matched his career high with 7.0 innings. He allowed one run and three hits with three walks and six strikeouts and did not allow a run through his first six innings. Although he left with a 3-1 lead, he did not factor into the decision during OKC's eventual 5-4 win in 10 innings. With Tuesday's victory, the Dodgers improved to 13-0 in his starts this season...Pepiot owns a 2.24 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) this season with OKC. His seven wins are tied for third-most in the PCL and his 89 strikeouts are eighth-most. Among league pitchers with at least 68.0 innings, he paces the circuit in ERA, WHIP (1.05) and opponent batting average (.176). He's also second with 11.72 strikeouts per nine innings...In four starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he's allowed five runs over 16.1 innings while holding opponents to a .175 average with 19 strikeouts. However, he has also allowed 12 walks. Pepiot made his ML debut in Pittsburgh May 11 with 3.0 scoreless innings...He was named PCL Pitcher of the Month for April and also received weekly PCL honors after making two starts during OKC's first series of the season versus Albuquerque...Pepiot was selected in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Butler University, becoming the program's highest-ever draft pick...In four games against Sugar Land this season, Pepiot is 3-0, allowing four runs and 15 hits over 22.2 innings with six walks and 25 K's.

Against the Space Cowboys: 2022: 12-5 2021: 12-12 All-time: 24-17 At OKC: 16-10 The Dodgers and Space Cowboys meet for their fourth of five series this season, including the third and final series in OKC...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 10-4 against Sugar Land at home with wins in nine of the last 11 games, including four walk-off wins in the last eight games. In each of the walk-off wins, the Dodgers trailed in the eighth inning or later...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 22 hits, including five homers, and 16 RBI in 17 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 11 of their last 14 games against Sugar Land after they had lost 11 of the previous 15 games going back to 2021...The teams next meet Aug. 16-21 in Sugar Land.

Life At The Top: The Dodgers lead the PCL with a 58-40 record and have a 4.0-game lead ahead of second-place El Paso in the East Division standings. Tonight the team will try to tie its high-water mark for the season at 19 games above .500 (previously 46-27; 47-28; 57-38; 58-39)...OKC also owns the league's best home record, going 33-20 so far at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark this season. The Dodgers have already exceeded their home win totals from both the 2021 and 2019 seasons when the team went 30-34 in OKC in 2021 and 30-39 in OKC in 2019, marking the only time in the ballpark's history the team has had consecutive losing records at home...The Dodgers have lost two of the last three games, but are still 7-3 in the last 10 games. Since starting the month of July 0-5, the Dodgers are 11-7. Now at 11-12 in July, the Dodgers will not finish the month with a winning record for the first time this season regardless of today's result.

Saturday Night Shutdown: The Dodgers suffered their fourth shutout loss of the season last night and first since a 1-0 defeat June 22 against Round Rock at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. OKC was not shut out through the team's first 43 games of the season, while last night was OKC's fourth shutout loss in the last 55 games...The Dodgers were held to a season-low two hits and did not collect a hit until Omar Estévez grounded a single into right field with two outs in the eighth inning. Last night marked OKC's lowest hit total since July 29, 2021 in Round Rock when the Dodgers also finished with two hits in a 3-1 road loss. It was OKC's fewest hits in a game at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark since Aug. 10, 2019 against Reno when the Dodgers were held to one hit during a 6-1 loss.

Drew Point: Drew Avans drew a walk in his first plate appearance Saturday to extend his on-base streak to 37 games. The on-base streak is the longest by a PCL player this season and the longest in the league since El Paso's Brian O'Grady reached base in 38 straight games June 3-Aug. 28, 2021. It is also the longest on-base streak by an OKC Dodgers player since the 2019 season when Gavin Lux reached base in 37 consecutive games. The last OKC player with an on-base streak longer than 37 games was Alex Verdugo during the 2017 season when he reached base in 41 consecutive games June 4-July 25...Avans has also reached base in 51 of his last 52 games and has hit safely in 20 of the last 24 games. Despite being held without a hit last night, Avans has hit safely in 14 of the last 17 games, batting .329 (24x73)...He ranks second in the PCL with seven triples, while his 22 stolen bases rank tied for ninth...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 (46 games), Avans is batting .318 (57x179) with 12 doubles, four triples, three homers, 20 RBI, 22 walks and 39 runs scored. During that span he ranks third in the PCL with 57 hits, tied for fourth with 39 runs and 15 stolen bases, sixth with a .403 OBP and seventh in AVG.

Buschwacked: Michael Busch connected on a double in the ninth inning last night for OKC's lone extra-base hit. Over his last eight games, Busch is 13-for-29 (.448) with five extra-base hits, five multi-hit games and six walks. He has also hit safely in 14 of his last 18 games, batting .347 (25x72)...He leads the Dodgers with 29 hits in 23 games this month, including eight doubles and four home runs, 13 RBI, 11 walks and 16 runs scored...Busch ranks third among Dodgers minor leaguers with 23 total home runs this season including his time with Double-A Tulsa.

Getting Miggy With It: Miguel Vargas went 0-for-4 Saturday, ending his six-game streak with a hit and RBI. During the streak, Vargas went 8-for-24 with five extra-base hits and eight RBI. He has homered twice in the last four games, with both homers putting the Dodgers in the lead in the seventh inning or later...Last night marked just the fourth time in his last 32 games he was held without a hit. He's batting .326 (42x129) with 13 doubles, five homers, 28 RBI and 26 runs scored over the 32-game stretch...Vargas leads the PCL with 108 hits and 80 runs scored. He ranks tied for second in the league with 24 doubles, third with 185 total bases, fourth with 72 RBI, as well as tied for fourth with 53 walks and 43 XBH...In 17 games against Sugar Land, Vargas is slashing .328/.416/.627 with 22 hits, five homers and 16 RBI.

The Rundown: Last night marked the 13th consecutive game the Dodgers have lost when allowing at least six runs. And in the team's last 13 losses overall, they've allowed 128 total runs. On the other hand, the Dodgers have won 14 of their last 15 games when allowing four or fewer runs...The Dodgers' 6.40 ERA this month is second-highest among Triple-A teams and fifth-highest among the 120 full-season Minor League teams. It's the team's highest monthly ERA since May 2021 (6.49)...Since scoring six runs in the third inning Thursday, the Dodgers have scored four runs over the last 25 innings, going 13-for-82 (.159) overall, including 5-for-31 with runners on base.

On the Clock: Saturday's game lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes - tied for OKC's quickest game of the season that lasted a full nine innings (June 22 vs. Round Rock). It was also the team's 14th nine-inning game to be completed under 2 hours, 30 minutes. That only happened twice in 118 nine-inning games last year...Last season, OKC and Sugar Land played 18 nine-inning games with only one completed under three hours. Through the first 14 nine-inning games this year, 10 have been completed in under three hours.

Around the Horn: The Dodgers are 6-3 in series finales when aiming for a series win, but that drops to 3-3 in six-game series finales. The team is 7-3 in home series finales, with wins in four of the last five...Jason Martin and Miguel Vargas are the only teammates across the Majors or Minors with at least 70 RBI this season...OKC homered in each of the first seven games of the homestand (12 HR) prior to last night. They have surrendered at least one homer in seven of the eight games, totaling 13 HR, including seven with runners on base...James Outman was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday and is in today's starting lineup at Colorado. He will become the second player this season to make his ML debut directly from the OKC roster along with Ryan Pepiot.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from July 31, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central