PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 12, 2018

Published on May 12, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (24-9) vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox (21-13)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Game #34 of 140/Road #14 of 70 (7-6)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Tyler Pill (0-1, 6.30) vs. COS-RHP Freddy Peralta (5-1, 3.63)

Saturday, May 12, 2018 | Security Service Field | Colorado Springs, Colo. | 7 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers open a four-game road series against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at 7 p.m. Central time at Security Service Field. The Dodgers have won back-to-back games and closed out their eight-game homestand with a 5-3 record.

Last Game: Justin DeFratus pitched a shutout for the Dodgers Friday night, leading the way to a 2-0 win against Memphis at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. DeFratus (2-1) allowed four hits, did not issue a walk and recorded three strikeouts. He faced the minimum through five innings, allowing just one hit. Memphis starting pitcher Kevin Herget allowed just one hit to the Dodgers through four innings, retiring 12 straight Dodgers batters at one point before OKC hit back-to-back singles in the fifth inning. The Dodgers' offense broke through in the sixth inning when Breyvic Valera hit a leadoff triple and Donovan Solano followed with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. Kyle Garlick homered for the fourth time in the series against the Redbirds, drilling a solo shot out to left-center field in the eighth inning to extend OKC's lead to 2-0. The Redbirds' offense threatened in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Max Schrock doubled and Tyler O'Neill was hit by pitch to put the tying runs on base. But DeFratus got pinch hitter Wilfredo Tovar to ground out and complete the shutout. Herget (1-4) was charged with the loss, allowing one run and seven hits over 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Tyler Pill (0-1) makes his fifth start of the season for OKC and second against Colorado Springs...He was charged with his first loss of the season May 7 against the Sky Sox at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, allowing a season-high four runs and six hits over 5.0 innings, with one walk and two strikeouts. All four runs and five of the six hits he surrendered occurred in the second inning in a game the Sky Sox won, 5-3, to snap OKC's 15-game home winning streak...Pill started his season in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization with Triple-A Reno and was acquired by the Dodgers in a trade for cash considerations April 17...He signed with Arizona in January and prior to that, spent his entire career in the New York Mets organization...Pill made his MLB debut last season with the Mets May 27, 2017 against Pittsburgh and made seven appearances (three starts) in the Majors (0-3, 5.32 ERA)...He started the 2017 season with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas, not allowing an earned run over his first 29.1 IP. He made 15 starts in the Minors and went 5-3 with a 3.08 ERA...Pill was selected by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton...Today is Pill's third career start against the Sky Sox. Prior to 2018, he last pitched against the Sky Sox in 2015 while with Las Vegas, and he has lost both starts against Colorado Springs.

Against the Sky Sox: 2018: 3-1 2017: 4-12 All-time: 101-83 At COS: 39-49

The Dodgers and Sky Sox meet for their second series in a week starting tonight at Security Service Field...The Dodgers won the first series of the season, 3-1, May 4-7 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers outscored the Sky Sox, 15-9, led by Jake Peter, who went 6-for-16 with four RBI and three runs scored. The Sky Sox were held to a .218 average and five total extra-base hits...Colorado Springs won 12 of 16 meetings last season, taking three of four games in each of the four series. The Sky Sox collected more than eight wins in a season against OKC for the first time since the teams started playing in 1998...Colorado Springs outscored the Dodgers, 96-66, and outhit OKC, 161-139...Alex Verdugo led the Dodgers offense in the series, batting .408 over 14 games with a team-best 20 hits...Since joining the PCL in 1998, the only other instance the team lost 12 games in the same season against one opponent was in 2007, when OKC was 6-12 against Nashville.

Out of the Gates: The Dodgers have won 24 of their first 33 games of 2018 for the best overall record by an OKC team through 33 games since rejoining the PCL in 1998. The Dodgers own the best winning percentage in the Minors (.727) and are tied with Double-A San Antonio (Padres) for the most wins in the Minors.

Justin Case You Missed It: Justin DeFratus pitched his second career complete game and first career shutout Friday night against Memphis, throwing only 89 pitches, including 64 strikes. He never threw more than 14 pitches in an inning and retired the side on nine or fewer pitches five times. DeFratus notched 12 groundouts and held the Redbirds 0-for-5 with runners on base...The only other complete game of his career was June 7, 2008 while pitching for Short-Season Williamsport in the Phillies organization. DeFratus tossed 5.2 innings in a game that was cut short due to rain and ended up with a losing decision...The nine-inning complete game was the first by a Dodgers pitcher since Trevor Oaks Aug. 15, 2016 against El Paso. It was the first nine-inning shutout by an Oklahoma City pitcher since Jake Buchanan May 20, 2014 at New Orleans and the first at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark since Luis Mendoza's no-hitter Aug. 14, 2009 against Salt Lake.

Rock Steady: Rocky Gale extended his hitting streak to 12 games Friday, continuing the longest hitting streak by a Dodger this season. He is batting .435 (20x46) during the streak with five extra-base hits (3 HR) and eight RBI while raising his season average from .200 to .346. He's been even hotter over his last nine games, going 18-for-34 with eight multi-hit games, including the last five straight (11x19)...He has already surpassed his 2017 homer total (3) with four homers through his first 20 games of 2018...Behind the plate, Gale leads the PCL with a 57.9 caught stealing percentage (11x19).

Growing Garlick: Kyle Garlick has swatted three homers over the past two games. Following a 2-for-21 start after his promotion to OKC, Garlick went 7-for-16 with four home runs over the four-game series with Memphis. Due to the recent surge, he is now in a three-way tie for the team lead with four home runs...His nine total homers between OKC and Double-A Tulsa are also tied for the organizational lead.

This Week in Baseball: The team record books and archives have gotten a workout this week, with several notable occurrences taking place:

On Sunday, Colorado Springs' Corbin Burnes became the first OKC opponent since 2010 to strike out 13 batters in one game. Just three days later on Wednesday, Memphis' Jack Flaherty did it as well.

On Thursday, the Dodgers hit six home runs, setting a new home record. It was the first time the team went deep six times in one game since June 18, 2008 at Nashville.

Last night's game was completed in 1 hour, 54 minutes, marking the shortest game OKC has played since Aug. 20, 2006 at Iowa (1:54) and the shortest nine-inning game in Bricktown since Aug. 3, 2006 against Las Vegas (1:52).

Around the Horn: Switch-handed pitcher Pat Venditte has put together nine straight scoreless relief outings totaling 12.1 innings, allowing four hits and one walk with 15 strikeouts. Opponents have gone 4-for-44 (.091) during the stretch...The Dodgers hit 10 homers over their four-game series against Memphis. Fifteen different Dodgers players have accounted for OKC's 34 total home runs this season.

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