PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 20, 2018

Published on May 20, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Nashville Sounds (21-20) vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers (26-13)

Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game #40 of 140/Home #24 of 70 (19-4)

Pitching Probables: NAS-RHP Frankie Montas (1-4, 3.75) vs. OKC-RHP Guillermo Moscoso (1-2, 3.66)

Sunday, May 20, 2018 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 2:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers conclude their four-game home series against the Nashville Sounds at 2:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on a Chaparral Energy Family Sunday. The Dodgers lead the series, 2-1. OKC owns the best overall record in the PCL and best home record in all of the Minors at 19-4.

Last Game: Dennis Santana threw six shutout innings and tied his career-high with 11 strikeouts in his Triple-A debut as the Dodgers defeated Nashville, 4-2, Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Santana (1-0) allowed three singles and did not issue a walk as he earned the win. The Dodgers took the lead in the first inning. Tim Locastro led off with a single, stole second base and scored on Travis Taijeron's RBI single to center field for a 1-0 advantage. In the fourth inning, Jake Peter hit a two-run RBI single to right field to extend Oklahoma City's lead to 3-0. Once Santana exited the game, a two-run homer by Nashville's Jake Smolinski cut the Dodgers' lead to 3-2 in the seventh inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Breyvic Valera led off with a triple into right field. Donovan Solano followed with a RBI double to center to push the Dodgers' lead to 4-2. The Sounds had the tying run at the plate with none out in the ninth, but the combo of Joe Broussard and Edward Paredes (SV, 2) retired the final three batters of the game to close out the win. Nashville starting pitcher James Naile (4-4) was charged with the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) and five hits over 7.0 innings with one walk and two strikeouts.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Guillermo Moscoso (1-2) looks to get back into the win column after taking losses in each of his last two starts...In his last start May 13 in Colorado Springs, Moscoso pitched well, allowing three runs (two earned) and six hits over 6.0 innings, with one walk and five strikeouts in the Dodgers' 4-3 loss...After starting the season in the bullpen, Moscoso has posted a 3.12 ERA as a member of the starting rotation, making five starts...He's averaging a strikeout per inning, with 32 K's against just 10 walks in 32.0 IP for the season...He signed with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent Jan. 28 after spending the entire 2017 season with Bravos de Leon of the Mexican League...Over five MLB seasons with Texas (2009-10), Oakland (2011), Colorado (2012) and San Francisco (2013), he has compiled a 4.28 ERA over 222.2 innings and 70 games (26 starts) with 166 strikeouts and 86 walks...The 2018 season marks his first playing in the U.S. since 2013, following a three-year run in Japan and last year in Mexico...This is Moscoso's second career stint with OKC after appearing in 35 games (33 starts) for the RedHawks between 2009-10...He originally signed with Detroit as an amateur free agent Jan. 16, 2003...Tonight is Moscoso's sixth career start against the Sounds and first since 2013 while with the Iowa Cubs. He's also faced off against Nashville with Colorado Springs (2012), Sacramento (2011) and the OKC RedHawks (2010), amassing a career 1-2 record with a 5.57 ERA.

Against the Sounds: 2018: 2-1 2017: 11-5 All-time: 178-145 At OKC: 94-68

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 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...The Dodgers have won eight of the last nine home games against the Sounds by a combined score of 52-26. Also, the Dodgers have kept the Sounds at three or fewer runs in eight of the last 11 games in OKC.

Santana's Town: Making his Triple-A debut, Dennis Santana earned the win after firing six shutout innings. He retired the first nine Sounds batters of the game, with six via strikeout. After allowing two hits in the fourth inning, the right-handed pitcher retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced. The Sounds only put one runner in scoring position against Santana and did not have a runner advance to third base. The Dodgers' No. 10 prospect, as rated by Baseball America, tied his career-high with 11 strikeouts. It was the highest strikeout total by an Oklahoma City pitcher since Wilmer Font recorded 11 K's over 7.0 innings July 21, 2017 at Iowa.

Home is Where the Hits Are: The Dodgers own the best home winning percentage in the Minors, going 19-4 (.826) to start the season at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and also have the most home wins in the Minors...OKC is slashing .314/.378/.479 at home, scoring an average of 5.9 runs per game on an average of 10.7 hits per game. The team has scored eight-plus runs in seven games and collected 14 or more hits in five games. They've also scored at least four runs in an inning 10 times...Donovan Solano paces the offense with 32 hits at home, batting .421. Henry Ramos has a team-leading 18 RBI in Bricktown this season, while Breyvic Valera has scored 20 runs.

On Strike: Dennis Santana combined with four relievers for 16 total strikeouts Saturday night against the Sounds, setting a team season high. OKC's 16 strikeouts were the most by the Dodgers' pitching staff since a 10-inning, 5-4 win May 21, 2017 in El Paso in which they racked up 18 K's. It was also their highest nine-inning strikeout total since May 15, 2017 against Sacramento at home when they recorded 17 K's.

Dominant Donovan: Including a RBI double last night, Donovan Solano has hit safely in five straight games and has four RBI over the last two nights. During the five-game streak, Solano is 8-for-22 (.364) with six RBI...Solano paces the Dodgers with 48 hits through 35 games and his .356 batting average is tied for fifth-best in the PCL.

Growing Garlick: Kyle Garlick singled and scored a run Saturday, extending his hitting streak to a career-best nine games. Following a 2-for-21 start after his promotion to OKC, Garlick is 13-for-33 (.394) 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.

Rock Steady: Catcher Rocky Gale has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games, batting .383 (23x60) with six extra-base hits (3 HR) and nine RBI while raising his season average from .200 to .326. He's been even hotter over his last 13 games, going 21-for-48 (.438) with eight multi-hit outings...Between Gale, Cael Brockmeyer and Kyle Farmer, Dodgers catchers have combined to bat .355 (50x141) with 22 RBI.

Around the Horn: Alex Verdugo has hit safely in all five games since rejoining the team, going 7-for-21 with a double, three RBI and four runs...Jake Peter notched a key two-run single in the fourth inning last night and has now hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 16-for-46 (.348)...Through his first three games since rejoining OKC, Tim Locastro is 6-for-13 with a double, homer, four RBI and four runs scored.

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