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PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 12, 2023

May 12, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (25-11) at Round Rock Express (21-14)

Game #37 of 150/First Half #37 of 75/Road #22 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Matt Andriese (2-2, 6.54) vs. RR-RHP Robert Dugger (1-1, 4.63)

Friday, May 12, 2023 | 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 three straight games, as well as four of their last five games, as they continue their road series against the Round Rock Express at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Dell Diamond...The Dodgers are in the midst of their longest winning stretch since a season-high seven-game streak April 22-30...The Dodgers own the best record in the PCL and have a 3.5-game lead ahead of Round Rock after taking a 3-0 lead in the current series.

Last Game: For the second time in three games during the current series, the Oklahoma City Dodgers hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning, with Luke Williams providing the key blast in a 9-5 victory Thursday night over the Round Rock Express at Dell Diamond. The teams traded blows throughout the first half of the game. OKC went in front in the third inning when Bradley Zimmer hit a two-run homer. But in the bottom of the inning, Rafael Ortega also hit a two-run homer to tie the game. The Dodgers drew two walks with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to regain the lead. However, the Express answered again in their next at-bat. After a sacrifice fly cut the Dodgers' lead to one run, Dio Arias hit a go-ahead two-run home run. The Dodgers still trailed, 5-4, entering the seventh inning. After each of the first three batters walked, Williams was facing a full count when he sent a home run to the left field berm to the put the Dodgers ahead at 8-5. Ben DeLuzio connected on a home run to start the eighth inning and complete the scoring. The OKC bullpen combined for five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.

Today's Probable Pitchers: Matt Andriese (2-2) makes his team-leading eighth start of the season tonight...In his last start May 6 in El Paso, Andriese had to exit the game in the bottom of the fourth inning after taking a comebacker off his lower body. He had allowed just a solo home run over 3.1 innings and retired 10 of 12 batters faced overall as well as six straight before sustaining the injury...Between his last three starts, Andriese has limited opponents to five runs and 10 hits over 14.1 innings, with no walks and eight strikeouts...He has allowed one or no walks in five of his seven appearances this season, with three walks in his last six starts combined (27.2 IP)...Andriese is in his 13th professional season and first in the Dodgers organization. He signed with the Dodgers Jan. 30 after spending the 2022 season with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, going 5-2 with a 2.86 ERA over 15 games. He notched 56 strikeouts against 14 walks across 63.0 innings...In 2021, he split the season between the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners...Andriese was selected in the third round of the 2011 MLB Draft by San Diego from UC Riverside and he made his ML debut with Tampa Bay April 10, 2015 at Miami. He's made a total of 217 appearances in the Majors with five different teams throughout his career...Tonight is his first career appearance against Round Rock.

Against the Express: 2023: 3-0 2022: 16-14 All-time: 165-135 At RR: 90-68

After playing one another 30 times during the 2022 season and 29 times during the 2021 season, the Dodgers and Express meet for just three six-game series in 2023 and this is the lone series between the teams during the first half of the season as well as the only series in Round Rock. The teams next meet in August and September at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The Dodgers have won back-to-back season series between the teams, going 16-14 against the Express in 2022. After OKC went 12-6 through the first 18 games, the Express went 8-4 over the final 12 games, with half of those wins in games they trailed in the seventh inning or later. The Dodgers went 10-8 at Dell Diamond and started 9-4 before losing four of their final five games...The teams had a wild first series in Round Rock May 10-15, 2022, which OKC won, 4-2. OKC recorded its largest shutout win in the team's Bricktown era (since 1998) with a 19-0 victory May 12 and Yefry Ramírez became the first OKC Dodger and first pitcher throughout the entire PCL to throw a nine-inning shutout since 2018. In the series finale May 15, OKC lost a game when scoring at least 13 runs for the first time since 2007, as Round Rock won, 14-13...On Aug. 14, 2022 against the Express in OKC, the Dodgers won, 20-3, scoring 20 runs for the sixth time in team's Bricktown era (since 1998), and it was the most runs scored by the team at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark since 2013...The Dodgers outscored the Express, 193-144, last season, while the Express had a 35-34 edge in home runs.

Trending Up: The Dodgers lead the PCL with a 25-11 record and their 25 wins are second-most in all of Triple-A, trailing only Norfolk's 26 wins (26-9). Their 25 wins through 36 games are tied for the most wins by an OKC team through 36 games in the Bricktown era (since 1998). The 2015 Dodgers also started 25-11 and then improved to 26-11 through 37 games. The 25-12 2018 Dodgers are the only other OKC team since 1998 to have 12 or fewer losses through 37 games...After a 20-6 start, the Dodgers then lost four of their next five games, including their longest losing streak of the season at three games and their first series loss of the season in El Paso. However, the Dodgers have since rebounded with wins in four of the last five games and in three consecutive contests. OKC has matched its high-water mark of the season at 14 games above .500, last at 21-7.

Down But Not Out: The Dodgers won for a third consecutive night Thursday when trailing after six innings and have now won nine times this season when trailing after six innings. They have trailed at some point during 17 of their 25 wins this season, including eight wins after trailing by at least two runs. OKC has trailed at some point during each of their last seven wins, and in their last five wins combined, have scored a total of seven runs through six innings, but 20 runs between the seventh and ninth innings...Additionally, 16 of OKC's games this season have been decided by one or two runs and the Dodgers are 14-2 in those tight games...During the previous series in El Paso, four of the six games were decided in the eighth inning or later...Ten total games this season have been decided in a final at-bat (OKC - 7; Opp. - 3), and the Dodgers are 10-1 in one-run games this season.

Power Switch: The Dodgers hit three home runs last night, accounting for seven of their nine runs. Thursday was the first time the team hit more than one home run in a game since April 20 at Albuquerque (17 games) and the first time OKC went deep three times in one game since April 14 vs. Sugar Land (22 games)...Entering Thursday, the Dodgers had been held without a home run in 11 of their previous 17 games and had hit a total of six homers during that span. Even with last night's bump, OKC's nine home runs since April 21 are still the fewest in Triple-A...The Dodgers have hit four home runs during the current series in Round Rock, two of which were the team's first grand slams of the season - Tuesday by David Freitas and last night by Luke Williams...On the other hand, the Dodgers allowed two home runs last night and have now allowed at least one home run in a season-high 11 straight games (18 HR). The last time OKC allowed a home run in more than 11 straight games was during a 14-game span Sept. 9-24, 2022 (20 HR). El Paso hit 12 home runs during OKC's last six-game series - the most homers allowed by the Dodgers in a series this season - and the Express have homered in each of the first three games of the current series (4 HR). During the current road trip, the Dodgers have allowed 16 home runs over nine games, with two or more homers in five of the last eight games...OKC has given up 56 home runs through 36 games, which are the most in the Minors...Last season, the team did not allow its 56th home run until its 58th game of the season June 10 against Salt Lake, and even during the year of the home run in 2019, the team did not surrender its 56th home run until May 19 in its 42nd game...Over the last 30 games (46 HR), 76 of the 145 total runs allowed (52.4 percent) have scored via home runs, including seven of Round Rock's 10 runs so far this series.

Holding It Down: Relievers Justin Hagenman, Adam Kolarek, Nick Robertson and Bryan Hudson combined for five scoreless innings with two hits, two walks and four strikeouts Thursday. Only one runner advanced as far as second base during those five innings, and that did not occur until a runner took second base on defensive indifference with two outs in the ninth inning...Over the last six games, the OKC bullpen has been forced to cover 29.1 innings but has allowed only two runs and 14 hits, holding opponents 14-for-96 (.146) with 34 strikeouts. Thursday marked the 10th time this season the bullpen threw 4.0 or more scoreless innings in one game...Overall, OKC's 154 walks allowed so far in 2023 are fewest in the PCL and the team's .241 opponent average is lowest in the league. OKC's 284 hits allowed are tied with Round Rock for fewest in the league, while the Dodgers' 184 runs allowed and 4.79 ERA are second-lowest in the PCL behind league-leading Round Rock.

What a Mighty Good Mann: Devin Mann had Thursday off, but on Wednesday picked up a hit, walk and scored two runs as he extended his hitting streak to six games - the longest active streak for an OKC player. He has also reached base safely in seven consecutive games. During the hitting streak, Mann is 7-for-20 with five extra-base hits and five RBI...Mann paces the Minors with 19 doubles and he has 16 doubles in his last 20 games, while hitting safely in 17 of the 20 games, going 23-for-68 (.338) with 14 RBI and 13 runs scored...Mann and Matt Chapman (17) of the Toronto Blue Jays are the only two players to have more than 14 doubles in the Minors or Majors and Mann's doubles total leads the Minors by five. Mann's 20 extra-base hits are tied for third in the PCL...Last season, Mann finished with 21 total doubles (118 games) in Double-A (16) and Triple-A (5) and his career-high mark for doubles in a season is 27 (110 games) with Tulsa in 2021...This is the first time he has gone consecutive games without hitting a double since April 14.

Flashback Friday.: One year ago today, the Dodgers also played the Express in Round Rock and had a record-setting 19-0 win at Dell Diamond for largest shutout win in team history and tied for second-largest overall margin of victory during the Bricktown era (since 1998). The team finished with 19 runs, 19 hits, 11 extra-base hits and six home runs. Six different players homered, marking the first time in team history that had been accomplished (a feat repeated later in the 2022 season). On the mound, Yefry Ramírez pitched a three-hit shutout while facing one batter over the minimum. He became the first OKC pitcher to record a shutout since current co-pitching coach Justin DeFratus in 2018 and the first PCL pitcher for any team to throw a nine-inning shutout since Aug. 2018.

Around the Horn: Luke Williams hit the team's second grand slam of the season and series Thursday, as well as his first career grand slam while playing in his 649th game between his MiLB/MLB career. He went 3-for-5 and tied his career high with four RBI - his highest total since June 19, 2018 with High-A Clearwater...Bradley Zimmer tied his season high with three RBI Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a bases-loaded walk. Over the last two games, Zimmer is 4-for-6 with two extra-base hits and five RBI while reaching base in six of eight plate appearances...Ben DeLuzio notched a season-high three hits yesterday, including his first home run of the season to go along with a double. DeLuzio entered Thursday hitless in his previous six games (0-for-19) and he had not homered since July 22, 2022 with Triple-A Memphis...Last night the Dodgers had two separate leads slip away in the game, marking just the second time that has happened this season and the first time since April 1 against Tacoma during the second game of the season...Tonight is an ABS Challenge Game and the Dodgers have been successful in eight of their first 10 challenges this season.

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