Sports stats

PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 18, 2018

May 18, 2018 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Nashville Sounds (20-19) vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers (25-12)

Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game #38 of 140/Home #22 of 70 (18-3)

Pitching Probables: NAS-RHP Kendall Graveman (1-0, 6.00) vs. OKC-RHP Justin DeFratus (2-1, 2.76)

Friday, May 18, 2018 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers try for a fourth straight home win when they continue their series against the Nashville Sounds at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Tonight is the first Hometown Heroes Military Celebration Night of the season and fireworks are scheduled to follow the game, presented by Oklahoma Blood Institute.

Last Game: The Dodgers built an early lead then added eight more runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 13-3 win Thursday night against Nashville at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI groundout by Alex Verdugo and RBI single by Kyle Farmer. Tim Locastro hit a double to bring home Jacob Scavuzzo for a 3-0 Dodgers lead in the second inning. Nashville loaded the bases in the fourth inning on three walks, and B.J. Boyd hit a two-run single to cut OKC's lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers erupted for eight runs and eight hits to deliver an early knockout blow. Travis Taijeron started the party with RBI, and three batters later, Locastro belted a three-run homer for a 7-2 Dodgers lead. A RBI single by Verdugo, two-run double by Kyle Farmer and RBI double by Taijeron pushed OKC's lead to 11-2. Taijeron's RBI single in the sixth inning put the Dodgers ahead by 10 runs. Dustin Garneau hit a solo homer in the eighth for the Sounds, but Kyle Garlick answered with a RBI double in the bottom of the inning. Dodgers reliever Joe Broussard (2-0) pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Nashville starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (1-2) was charged with the loss, allowing seven runs and seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts over 3.1 innings.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Reigning PCL Pitcher of the Week Justin DeFratus (2-1) takes the mound tonight...DeFratus pitched his second career complete game and first career shutout May 11 against Memphis, throwing 89 pitches (64 strikes). DeFratus notched 12 groundouts and held the Redbirds 0-for-5 with runners on base...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 OKC pitcher since Jake Buchanan on 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...The 30-year-old veteran started the season with Double-A Tulsa, where he made two starts and went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 11.1 innings and was named the first Texas League Pitcher of the Week of the season...He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent Feb. 17...DeFratus made his MLB debut Sept. 18, 2011 with Philadelphia and has appeared in 191 MLB games with the Phillies...He was originally drafted by the Phillies in the 11th round of the 2007 MLB Draft from Ventura (Calif.) College...Tonight is his third career appearance against the Sounds. DeFratus made two relief appearances against the Sounds in June 2016 while with the Round Rock Express (2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K).

Against the Sounds: 2018: 1-0 2017: 11-5 All-time: 177-144 At OKC: 93-67

The Dodgers and Sounds are meeting for their first series of the season...In 2017, the Dodgers won the season series, 11-5, posting at least 10 wins against the Sounds in a season series for the third straight year. The Dodgers went 6-2 at home and 5-3 in Music City...The teams split their final series of 2017 - a four-game series in Nashville June 30-July 3, 2017...OKC outscored the Sounds, 85-54, last season, led by Willie Calhoun, who collected 24 hits and 14 RBI in 16 games, along with 10 runs scored and three homers...Dodgers pitchers racked up 158 strikeouts in 16 meetings with the Sounds in 2017 for an average of 9.9 per game...Entering tonight, the Dodgers have won seven straight home games against the Sounds by a combined score of 44-16.

Home is Where the Hits Are: The Dodgers own the best home winning percentage in the Minors, going 18-3 (.857) to start the season at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and have the most home wins in the Minors. The Dodgers have won three straight home games after three consecutive home losses ended their stretch of 15 straight home wins to start 2018...Last night's 13-run outing marked the team's second-highest run output in a game this season, trailing only a 19-1 win against Round Rock April 11. OKC is slashing .316/.382/.492 at home, scoring an average of 6.1 runs per game. The team has scored eight-plus runs in seven games and collected 14 or more hits in five games, including last night's 17-hit outing. They matched their season high with five doubles in the series opener with Nashville and they've scored four or more runs in an inning 10 times, including an eight-run fourth inning Thursday...Donovan Solano paces the Dodgers' offense with 29 hits at home, batting .433. Henry Ramos has a team-leading 18 RBI in Bricktown this season, while Breyvic Valera has scored 18 runs.

Locastro Lowdown: In his first game with OKC since May 1, Tim Locastro drove in a season-high four runs Thursday night, going 2-for-4 with a RBI double, three-run homer and two runs scored. His four-RBI night marked his highest single-game total since also collecting four RBI May 3, 2016 while with High-A Rancho Cucamonga against Bakersfield...Overall this season, Locastro has 27 hits and 22 runs through 22 games with OKC, including nine multi-hit efforts. In 53 career games with OKC over the past two seasons, Locastro is slashing .372/.449/.550.

Growing Garlick: Kyle Garlick went 2-for-4 last night with a RBI double to extend his hitting streak to eight games, which ties his career high, last accomplished June 19-26, 2016 with Double-A Tulsa. Following a 2-for-21 start after his promotion to OKC, Garlick is 12-for-29 (.414) with six home runs and nine RBI. He paces the Dodgers with six homers, and his 11 total homers between OKC and Double-A Tulsa lead all Dodgers minor leaguers this season. Additionally, his six homers since May 8 are tied for the most in the Minors along with High-A Inland Empire's Jared Walsh...Prior to Tim Locastro's three-run homer last night, Garlick had hit each of the team's last four dingers.

Feeling 22: Alex Verdugo celebrated his 22nd birthday Tuesday. In his four games since returning to the OKC Dodgers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, he is 6-for-16 with a double, two RBI and four runs. Despite his tender age, Verdugo has slashed .310/.379/.442 in 140 career games at the Triple-A level with OKC.

Dominant Donovan: Donovan Solano collected two more hits Thursday and scored two runs. He paces the Dodgers with 45 hits total and 15 multi-hit games through 33 contests. His .357 batting average ranks fourth-best in the PCL.

"Pen Pals: C.C. Lee pitched a scoreless and hitless ninth inning Thursday night, including two strikeouts. Entering tonight, Lee ranks second among PCL relievers with an average of 16.76 strikeouts per nine innings and second with a .108 opponent average. He has multiple strikeouts in eight straight appearances, whiffing 23 of the 44 batters he's faced during that span (52.3 percent)... Edward Paredes pitched a scoreless seventh inning and has put together six straight scoreless relief appearances for OKC (8.1 IP). Paredes has allowed just two earned runs this season (four total runs) and carries a 1.29 ERA. He has 15 total strikeouts over 14.0 IP.

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from May 18, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Oklahoma City Comets Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central