PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - June 21, 2021

Published on June 21, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (20-20) at Round Rock Express (23-17)

Game #41 of 120/Road #23 of 60

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Yefry Ramírez (3-2, 4.29) vs. RR-LHP Brock Burke (0-3, 10.45)

Monday, June 21, 2021 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers have won a season-high five straight games and own a 4-0 lead in their current series against the Round Rock Express as they continue the series at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. The Dodgers have opened a series with four straight wins for the first time this season and are 9-2 over their last 11 road games, including 8-1 in the last nine, after starting the season 2-9 on the road...The Dodgers last won six consecutive games July 18-24, 2019.

Last Game: A five-run rally in the top of the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the OKC Dodgers to a 7-2 victory over the Round Rock Express Sunday evening at Dell Diamond, giving Oklahoma City a season-best fifth-straight win. Each of the game's first four runs were via solo homers. Leody Taveras went deep in the bottom of the first inning to give Round Rock a 1-0 lead, but Yoshi Tsutsugo answered on the first pitch of the second inning with the first home run of his rehab assignment to tie the game. Leading off the fourth inning, Luke Raley connected on a long home run to center field to give the Dodgers the lead. Round Rock's Andy Ibáñez hit his second homer of the series in the bottom of the sixth to even the score. The Dodgers scored five runs in the eighth, with Raley providing a go-ahead RBI double. Tsutsugo hit his second homer of the night later in the inning, and Sheldon Neuse and Omar Estévez also contributed RBI's as part of the substantial rally.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Yefry Ramírez (3-2) makes his team-leading eighth start of the season for OKC seeking a third straight win...In his last time out June 15 against El Paso in OKC, Ramírez pitched 6.0 scoreless innings, holding the Chihuahuas to three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. He tied his season highs with 6.0 innings pitched and seven strikeouts in his first scoreless outing of 2021. It also marked his longest scoreless outing since May 16, 2018 with Triple-A Norfolk against Indianapolis (7.0 IP)...In three starts this month, Ramírez has allowed a total of two runs and 11 hits over 16.0 innings (1.13 ERA). He's holding opponents to a .196 batting average with two extra-base hits (both doubles) and has a 1.00 WHIP...Ramírez's 45 strikeouts are third-most in Triple-A West, while his 4.29 ERA is fourth, his .246 AVG and 1.32 WHIP are eighth and his 35.2 innings pitched are tied for eighth...Ramírez signed with the Dodgers as a free agent March 25...He was invited to 2020 Summer Camp with the New York Mets after signing a minor league contract with the organization Jan. 8, but did not see any formal game action in 2020...In 2019, Ramírez made appearances in the Majors with both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, pitching in 13 total games between the Orioles (four games) and Pirates (nine games). He went 0-2 with a 7.40 ERA and notched 27 strikeouts in 24.1 IP...Ramírez is in his 10th pro season after originally signing with Arizona as an international free agent in 2011...His season-opening start was May 7 in Round Rock and he allowed eight runs on seven hits over 4.0 innings, including three homers, two walks and five K's and was charged with the loss. Since then, Ramírez has posted a 2.56 ERA and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his seven outings.

Against the Express: 2021: 5-5 2019: 6-10 All-time: 135-113 At RR: 67-56 The Red Dirt Rumble is back in action as the Dodgers and Express are meeting for their second of five series this season, including their second series in Round Rock...The Express won the first series between the teams May 6-11 as the teams opened the 2021 season against one another. Round Rock outscored OKC, 49-24, in the series and outhit the Dodgers, 70-48. The Dodgers had trouble slowing down the E-Train, who slashed .335/.404/.617 over the six-game set with 14 homers. Round Rock scored at least six runs each game and reached double digits twice. For OKC, Zach Reks collected a team-leading five RBI and tied for the team lead with seven hits, including a double and home run...Only 371 miles separate Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark from Dell Diamond, making it the shortest distance between the Dodgers and any of their Triple-A opponents, as well as a perfect set-up for a rivalry as the teams meet 30 times this season...In 2019, the Express won the season series for the first time since 2014. The Dodgers went 2-6 at Dell Diamond, posting a losing record there for the first time since 2009 and taking their most losses ever in one season at the stadium...The Dodgers have now won four straight games at Dell Diamond after going 3-11 over the previous 14 games in Round Rock. OKC last won five straight in Round Rock during the 2016 season.

Breaking Even: After starting the season 4-13, the OKC Dodgers have climbed back to .500 and currently own a 20-20 record. The Dodgers have posted a 16-7 record over the last 23 games, including an 11-6 record in June...The last time the Dodgers owned a .500 record was when they were 6-6 on April 16, 2019 and they last held a winning record on the final day of the 2018 season when they finished 75-65. OKC has lost in each of the last five chances they've had to achieve a winning record.

Mound Turnaround: Last night for the third time in four games of the current series, the Dodgers held the Express to two runs. It was also the ninth time in the last 18 games the Dodgers held their opponent to two or fewer runs, and the 13th time in those 18 games they've allowed four or fewer runs...During the team's current 16-7 stretch, the pitching staff has posted a 3.83 ERA - lowest in Triple-A West since May 25 - and opponents are batting .238. Prior to May 25, the team had a 7.44 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and .293 BAA over the first 17 games...Over the last 16 games, OKC has allowed 56 runs and opponents are batting .238 (125x525) overall...OKC leads Triple-A West with a 3.81 ERA in June after placing eighth in the 10-team league with a 6.53 ERA in May. The Dodgers' 65 runs allowed in June are tied for the fewest among all Triple-A teams...The Dodgers have issued just one walk over the last two games combined.

Dinger Details: Yoshi Tsutsugo notched the seventh multi-homer game by an OKC Dodgers player this season with two homers last night, and Luke Raley also homered as the Dodgers have hit at least one home run in 12 of their last 13 games (21 HR), including a season-best seven straight games (12 HR). The Dodgers have smacked two or more homers in three straight games for the second time this season (June 8-11) and have two-plus homers in four of the last five games...OKC has hit 45 homers in the last 28 games, including 19 homers in the last 11 games. In contrast, the Dodgers hit just 11 homers over the first 12 games of 2021. Sunday was the team's 16th multi-homer game of 2021 and sixth with three or more homers...Meanwhile, the Dodgers pitching staff gave up two home runs last night for just the second time in the last 10 games after keeping their opponent inside the park in seven of the previous nine games. Round Rock has homered five times through the first four games of the current series after OKC had allowed just four homers over its recent 12-game homestand, although all five have been solo shots. Opponents have been held without a homer in 10 of the last 16 games after they had gone deep at least once in 22 of the first 24 games (42 HR)...The Dodgers have allowed just 10 home runs over 17 games in June. The next lowest total among all Triple-A teams is 11 (Buffalo/Gwinnett), and the next lowest total in Triple-A West is 20 (Round Rock).

Reks in Effect: Zach Reks had Sunday off, but on Saturday, added another double to his team-leading total, hitting his 14th of the season and his 10th double in the month of June. His 10 doubles this month are tied for second-most in Triple-A West, while his 14 overall doubles are tied for third-most in the league...Overall this season, he leads the Dodgers with 42 hits, 14 doubles, 32 runs scored and 20 walks. He has reached base in 31 of his 32 starts...Reks is tied for third in Triple-A West with 32 runs scored and 14 doubles, ranks fourth with a .445 OBP, seventh with a .341 AVG, tied for seventh with 19 extra-base hits and ninth with a 1.022 OPS...His 23 runs scored and 12 doubles since May 29 are both tied for most among Triple-A players...In the 13 games Reks has batted in the leadoff spot, the Dodgers are 10-3 and he is slashing .353/.476/.588 with eight RBI, nine doubles and 14 runs scored...Saturday snapped Reks' stretch of four straight multi-hit games, but he still leads the Dodgers with 12 multi-hit games this season and is 9-for-23 (.391) with five extra-base hits during his current five-game hitting streak.

Luke's Using the Force: Luke Raley has homered in back-to-back games for the first time this season, connecting on his eighth homer with OKC last night and hitting a ball to the top of the batter's eye for the second night in a row. His solo shot in the fourth inning traveled an estimated 460 feet and gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. He also added a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning and finished 2-for-5 with two RBI. He leads the team and ranks third in Triple-A West with 34 RBI despite playing in just 22 of OKC's 40 games. He also has an team-leading nine multi-RBI games so far this season. Since May 23, he ranks second overall in the Minors with 33 RBI...Over his last 16 starts with OKC, Raley is 23-for-59 (.390) with five doubles, two triples, six homers, 31 RBI and 20 runs scored...Following his most recent return to the lineup, Raley is 5-for-14 with two homers, a double and five RBI over three games.

Getting Neuse: Sheldon Neuse went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly last night. He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 14-for-32 (.438) with six RBI. Going back to Tuesday's game against El Paso, Neuse is 10-for-19 over his last five games. He has now reached base 12 of his last 21 plate appearances as well as in 13 of his last 23 plate appearances...Prior to the recent hot streak, Neuse was 4-for-29 with 12 strikeouts to begin his time with OKC.

Rehab Recap: Yoshi Tsutsugo played in the fourth game of his Major League Rehab Assignment Sunday and hammered two home runs after going hitless in his first three games with OKC, and the outing marked the first multi-homer game of his U.S. career. In 38 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays this season, Tsutsugo had not homered, although he did hit eight during his rookie campaign with Tampa Bay in 2020...Through four games of the current rehab assignment, Tsutstugo is 2-for-13 with two homers, four walks and three RBI. He was placed on the Injured List June 9 with a right calf strain.

Around the Horn: Last night's five-run eighth inning marked the sixth time OKC has scored five or more runs in an inning this season...The Dodgers have only trailed in two half-innings during the current series. On both Thursday and Sunday, the Express took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first before the Dodgers tied or took the lead in the second inning...After posting a -49 run differential over the first 13 games (3-10), the Dodgers have a +72 run differential over their last 27 games (17-10)...Last night the Dodgers struck out at least 10 times for just the second time over the last 16 games. However, the team still ranks second in Triple-A West with 387 strikeouts this season.

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