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OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (1-4) at Round Rock Express (4-1)

Game #6 of 120/Road #6 of 60

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Josiah Gray (0-1, 3.60) vs. RR-RHP Collin Wiles (NR, -.--)

Monday, May 10, 2021 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 6:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers wrap up their first series of the 2021 season against the Round Rock Express at 6:05 p.m. looking to close out the six-game road set at Dell Diamond with back-to-back wins. After the Dodgers secured their first victory of the season last night, Round Rock holds a 4-1 edge in the series. The current six-game series is OKC's first since wrapping up the 2019 season and following the cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season.

Last Game: A huge second inning gave the OKC Dodgers an early 7-0 lead and the Dodgers then withstood a late Round Rock rally to capture their first win of the season, 8-6, Monday night at Dell Diamond. It was the team's highest scoring game of the season and highest single-game hit total as well (11). Starting pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx held Round Rock to one run over five innings in his team debut. After the Express scored five runs with two outs in the eighth inning and had the tying runs on base, Kevin Quackenbush notched the final four outs to close out the win.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Top Dodgers pitching prospect Josiah Gray makes his second start of the season and second in the current series with the Express...In his season debut Thursday, Gray cranked out 10 strikeouts to set a new career high and pace all Triple-A West pitchers on Opening Day. In his five innings of work, Gray allowed two runs, three hits and two walks. His only hiccup came with two outs in the second inning when Jason Martin worked a 10-pitch walk and Charles Leblanc followed with a homer on the eighth pitch of his at-bat. Gray went on to retire 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, compiling six K's during the stretch and allowing one batter to reach on an infield single...Gray spent the entire 2020 season at the Dodgers' Alternate Training site and also started the 2021 season there...He made four appearances (5.1 IP) for the Dodgers during 2021 Spring Training as a non-roster invitee...Gray was named the Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year and MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2019, leading all Dodgers farmhands in starts (tie, 25), wins (tie, 11) and strikeouts (147) and ranking third in innings (130.0) across three different levels. He wrapped up the 2019 season at Double-A Tulsa after starting his first professional season with Low-A Great Lakes...He was acquired by the Dodgers, along with Jeter Downs, in 2018 from Cincinnati in exchange for Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer and cash considerations...Gray played college baseball at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., before being selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Cincinnati.

Against the Express: 2021: 1-4 2019: 6-10 All-time: 131-112 At RR: 68-56 The Dodgers and Express meet for the sixth and final time of their current series and wrap up their first set of the Red Dirt Rumble tonight...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...The teams last played one another in 2019, with the Express winning 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...Even with last night's win, OKC is now 3-10 over the last 13 games at Dell Diamond, exceeding their losses from the 2016-18 seasons combined (seven). The team went 22-10 at the venue over the first four seasons of the Dodgers affiliation...To start the current series, OKC lost four straight games in the same series at Dell Diamond for just the second time since the teams started playing in 2005 (May 1-4, 2006).

Fire Starter: The Dodgers scored seven runs in the first two innings Monday night en route to scoring a season-high eight runs. OKC scored in the first inning on a RBI single by Carlos Asuaje, marking the first time this season the Dodgers cracked the scoreboard in their first at-bat. OKC then erupted for six runs in the second inning to take a 7-0 lead. The team had scored 14 runs total over the first four games combined and had only scored as many as six runs in a game once. The team sent nine batters to the plate in the second inning, which featured a two-run double by Omar Estévez, RBI single by Rangel Ravelo and a three-run homer by Zach Reks. The Dodgers added another run in the eighth inning when Drew Avans collected a RBI single...After going 3-for-31 with runners in scoring position through the first four games, the Dodgers went 6-for-10 with RISP Monday.

Trending Up: The Dodgers grabbed their first win of the season Monday night after starting the season 0-4 for their slowest start in the Bricktown era (since 1998). OKC started a season 0-3 just twice previously - in 2017 against Iowa in OKC and in 2005 at Memphis. In 2017, the team followed its 0-3 start by winning seven of its next eight games, and in 2005, the first three losses were followed by wins in seven of the next nine games. Both teams also finished the regular season with a winning record.

The Run Around: OKC has allowed the second-most runs in Triple-A West through five games (39 R/37 ER) and has allowed a league-high 13 homers. The 39 runs allowed by the Dodgers are the most given up by an OKC team through five games in the Bricktown era. OKC's previous high for runs allowed through the first five games of a season was 30 (2010, 2002, 2001), and in previous years, an OKC team had not allowed a combined 39 runs prior to their seventh game of a season (2001, 39 R)...The Dodgers led, 8-1, Monday with two outs in the eighth inning before Round Rock scored five runs, as the Express have scored at least six runs in each of their first five games against OKC...Going back to Thursday's season opener, the pitching staff has retired the side in order just five times over the past 37 innings, allowing 53 hits and 18 walks during that span (1.92 WHIP), including 12 HR.

Big Flies: Zach Reks hit his first home run of the season in the second inning Monday night, connecting on a three-run homer after hitting a combined 28 dingers between Double-A Tulsa and OKC in 2019...The Dodgers have now gone deep in four straight games, totaling six homers with each hit by a different player...In 2019, the OKC Dodgers smashed a team-record 203 HR.

Steady As They Go: Through the first five games, Rangel Ravelo is 5-for-18 with a team-best four extra-base hits and 12 total bases, while his four RBI are tied for most among OKC players through five games...Carlos Asuaje has hit safely in each of his first four games of the season (4x13) and is tied for the team lead with four RBI. He is also tied with Andy Burns for the team lead with four walks.

Bee-Lieve It!: Today marks the five-year anniversary of one of the more peculiar games ever played between the OKC Dodgers and Round Rock Express. On May 11, 2016, the Dodgers and Express had their game at Dell Diamond halted twice due to a swarm of bees that starting nesting behind home plate. The initial stoppage occurred in the first inning, causing a 25-minute delay. After a temporary respite, the buzz only grew, leading to another 15-minute delay in the third inning. Fortunately a professional beekeeper from a local honey purveyor stepped up to take the sting out of the situation. The game went uninterrupted after that, and the Dodgers eventually won, 9-5.

Around the Horn: Of the four times last night the OKC leadoff batter reached base, the runner eventually scored three times. Through the first five games, when the leadoff man has reached base, he's scored in nine of 11 instances...Last night outfielder Drew Avans became already the ninth OKC player this season to make his Triple-A debut (without appearing previously the in Majors). He went 2-for-4 with a RBI...Pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx - who signed as a free agent last week - earned the win Monday, allowing one run and six hits over five innings, with no walks and four strikeouts. He retired nine of the final 11 batters he faced and held the Express 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position...Omar Estévez has started in center field each of the last three days after playing each of his first 462 career games in the infield.

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