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PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - June 28, 2022

June 28, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (45-27) at El Paso Chihuahuas (40-32)

Game #73 of 150/Road #34 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Ryan Pepiot (6-0, 1.74) vs. ELP-RHP Evan Miller (1-2, 5.82)

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 | Southwest University Park | El Paso, Texas | 7:35 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers open a six-game road series against the El Paso Chihuahuas at 7:35 p.m. CT at Southwest University Park...The Dodgers pace the Pacific Coast League with a 45-27 record and have a five-game lead ahead of second-place El Paso in the East Division.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers closed out their series against the Round Rock Express with a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Miguel Vargas' solo home run in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie to give the Dodgers the lead, and six Dodgers pitchers combined to hold the Express to one run and six hits overall. Over the game's final seven innings, OKC held the Express scoreless and to four hits. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning and runners at first and second base, Round Rock's Zach Reks hit a grounder to OKC shortstop Jake Amaya who fielded the ball and stepped on second base, but the runner was safe. Elier Hernandez - who began the play at second base - rounded third base and was thrown out at home plate to end the game. The Express scored first in the game and recorded their lone run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Oklahoma City answered with a RBI single by Ryan Noda in the second inning to tie the score, 1-1.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Ryan Pepiot (6-0) looks for his seventh win of the season to tie for the league lead...In his last start June 21 in OKC against Round Rock, Pepiot improved to 6-0 after allowing one run, three hits and three walks over 6.0 innings, tying his season high. Pepiot recorded 10 strikeouts for the most strikeouts by an OKC pitcher this season and the most of his Triple-A career (22 games/19 starts). Pepiot last recorded double-digit strikeouts July 4, 2021 with Double-A Tulsa against Arkansas (11 K)... Pepiot's six wins are second-most in the PCL, while his 70 K's lead the team and are eighth in the league. Among PCL pitchers with at least 50.0 IP, Pepiot ranks first with a 1.74 ERA and .178 BAA. He's also second with 12.19 strikeouts per 9.0 IP and third with a 1.05 WHIP...As a team, the Dodgers are 10-0 in Pepiot's starts this season...Over his last over last five outings with OKC, he's allowed four runs and 14 hits over 25.1 IP, with 34 strikeouts and 10 walks. Opponents have gone 14-for-85 (.165)...In three starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he's allowed four runs over 11.1 innings while holding opponents to a .154 average with 13 strikeouts. However, he has also allowed 11 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 as he went 2-0 in five starts with a league-best 1.66 ERA, allowing 14 hits with 29 K's over 21.2 IP and held opponents to a .182 average. He 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 his last meeting with El Paso April 16, he pitched 3.0 innings, allowing two runs and four hits along with one walk and seven strikeouts (ND).

Against the Chihuahuas: 2022: 5-4 2021: 14-9 All-time: 33-23 At ELP:18-12 The Dodgers and Chihuahuas meet for their third series of 2022 and second at Southwest University Park...The Dodgers have won five of the last six games against the Chihuahuas entering tonight...The teams played a three-game series in OKC May 17-19 with OKC winning, 2-1, after the teams split a six-game series in El Paso April 12-17 with OKC winning the final three games of the series...Ryan Noda enters the current series pacing the Dodgers with 10 RBI against the Chihuahuas and has 10 hits, while Eddy Alvarez's 12 hits are most among Dodgers players in the season series. Jake Lamb, Jason Martin and Miguel Vargas each have three homers, as the Dodgers have outscored the Chihuahuas, 60-47...The Dodgers won the 2021 series between the teams, 14-9, including 8-4 in El Paso. OKC hit 37 homers while holding El Paso to 21 home runs over the 23-game season series. Outside of 2018, OKC has won or split each season series against the Chihuahuas since Tucson's franchise relocated to El Paso for the 2014 season...Until the first series this season, OKC had not lost three straight games at Southwest University Park Dodgers started playing at the venue in 2015.

Life At the Top: With Sunday's win, the Dodgers recorded their fifth straight series victory and are now 10-1-3 through their first 14 series of the season. The team still has not lost consecutive games since losing three in a row May 26-27 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers have now followed up each of their last nine losses with a win in the next game...OKC is 45-27 overall this season and has matched their season-high mark at 18 games above .500. The team has not been 19 games above .500 since finishing the 2016 season with an 81-60 record...OKC has won eight of the last 11 games and 14 of the last 19 games, and the Dodgers' 16-7 record in the month of June is the best in Triple-A...The team is 10-4 over its last 14 road games entering tonight.

Gettin' Miggy With It: Miguel Vargas hit his 12th home run of the season in the fifth inning Sunday on a fly ball to left-center field. It was his fifth home run in the month of June - tied for most on the team - and his 12 home runs are second-most on the team overall...Vargas has now hit safely in nine consecutive games, going 13-for-35 (.371) with seven RBI, six walks and six runs scored. He is in the midst of his fourth hitting streak of at least eight games this season and is one shy of tying his season-long hitting streak of 10 games May 28-June 9...Vargas leads the PCL with 59 runs scored this season and ranks second with 136 total bases and 79 hits. His 40 walks and 51 RBI rank third, while his 29 extra-base hits are tied for sixth.

Noda-ry Public: Ryan Noda went 3-for-4 with a RBI and stolen base Sunday for his fourth game of the season with three or more hits and his first since going 4-for-5 May 31 in Round Rock. Noda went 7-for-19 with two homers during the previous series for his highest hit total in a series since May 31-June 5 in Round Rock when he also had seven hits over the six-game set...Noda collected his second multi-homer game of the season June 24, becoming the first Dodger this season with two multi-homer games...He has 10 home runs this season and his 41 walks pace the Dodgers - second-highest total in the PCL...Prior to June 24, Noda had been held 12-for-63 (.190) with two RBI over his first 18 games of June with 11 walks and 12 runs scored.

Mound Matters: Six Dodgers pitchers combined to hold the Express to one run Sunday for the third time in the series, and it was also the fifth time in the last eight games the Dodgers allowed three runs or less. During that time, the team has a 3.42 ERA (27 ER/71.0 IP)...Sunday was also the fifth time during the six-game series that Round Rock was held to six hits or less, as the Express batted just .179 (34x190) for the series, including 6-for-37 (.162) with runners in scoring position...Dodgers pitchers also racked up 12 strikeouts Sunday for their fourth double-digit strikeout total in the last seven games and their 12th game of 2022 with a dozen or more K's...The bullpen had to cover all nine innings Sunday, with appearances by Justin Hagenman, José Adames, Yadier Álvarez, Justin Bruihl, Carson Fulmer and Daniel Zamora. Álvarez tossed a season-high 2.1 innings and earned the win. Zamora recorded the final out to earn his first save. During June, the bullpen has combined for a 3.49 ERA and .213 BAA. They've also stranded 25 of 33 inherited runners...The team's 4.00 ERA in June is best in the league by 0.62 and their .223 opponent batting average this month is second-best among all Triple-A teams.

Busch League: Michael Busch went 1-for-3 Sunday with a walk, run and stolen base. Busch has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games and since June 7, he is 20-for-68 (.294) with five doubles, five homers, 14 RBI and 16 runs scored...Over his last 14 games, Busch is 17-for-55 (.309) with nine extra-base hits and has tallied at least one extra-base hit in eight of his last 12 games...His five home runs this month are tied for the most by an OKC player and his 18 total homers overall between Double-A Tulsa and Oklahoma City lead all Dodgers minor leaguers. He's gone deep in three of his last six games and five of his last 11 games.

On the Lamb: One day after his career-best 14-game hitting streak ended, Jake Lamb picked up another hit Sunday and has how hit safely in 18 of his 20 games during June, batting .342 (26x76) with nine doubles and four homers, 16 RBI, 12 walks and 15 runs scored...His 14-game hitting streak June 5-23 was the longest by an OKC player this season and longest hitting streak by an OKC Dodgers player since Edwin Ríos hit safely in 14 straight games in August 2019...Lamb has reached base in 29 of his last 31 games and in 44 of his last 47 games. Since April 24 (47 games), Lamb is slashing .322/.431/.598 with 12 homers, 12 doubles, 33 walks, 41 RBI and 35 runs scored...Lamb's 15 homers are tied for third in the PCL, while his 50 RBI are fourth and his 39 walks are tied for fourth.

Clearance at JMart: Jason Martin recorded a hit and walk Sunday and has how hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games, batting .322 (19x59) with five home runs, two triples, four doubles and 17 RBI, 10 walks and 13 runs scored...He is tied for the OKC team lead with five homers this month...Martin ranks tied for first in the league with five triples, while his 30 extra-base hits are fifth and his 46 runs scored are tied for fifth. His 48 RBI and .555 SLG each rank sixth in the league.

Dinger Details: The Dodgers have now hit a home run in 13 of the last 14 games (20 HR) and in 19 of the last 21 games (30 HR)...On the other hand, the Dodgers held the Express without a home run Sunday after Round Rock hit two home runs in each of the previous two nights, marking just the second time since April 20 (57 games) an opponent had hit two or more homers in consecutive games and the first time it had happened at home this season (38 games). The Dodgers have allowed a league-low 22 home runs in the month of June so far and have allowed a league-low 69 homers overall this season.

Around the Horn: The Dodgers lead all of Triple-A with 356 walks, while their .369 OBP is tied for first with El Paso. OKC's 459 runs scored rank second among the 30 teams behind El Paso's 480 runs. El Paso leads Triple-A with a .288 AVG, .487 SLG and .856 OPS. Over the last five games the Dodgers have scored just 15 runs while batting .196 (30x153), including .125 (4x32) with runners in scoring position. They have not had a multi-run inning in three straight games...Sunday was the second time this season OKC won a game while scoring two or fewer runs, joining a 1-0 win April 22 at Sacramento...The Dodgers are 7-7 in series openers this season, but just 2-4 on the road and have lost three of their last four road openers...Drew Avans drew a walk Sunday and has now reached base in 27 of his last 28 games with a plate appearance.

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