PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 23, 2018

Published on May 23, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (28-14) vs. Memphis Redbirds (27-19)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Game #43 of 140/Road #19 of 70 (8-10)

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Justin DeFratus (2-2, 4.03) vs. MEM-RHP Kevin Herget (1-4, 4.15)

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | AutoZone Park | Memphis, Tenn. | 6:35 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers continue their series against the Memphis Redbirds at 6:35 p.m. at AutoZone Park. The four-game set is tied, 1-1. The 28-14 Dodgers own the best winning percentage in the PCL and their 28 total wins are tied for the league lead.

Last Game: The Dodgers exploded for eight runs and seven hits in the 10th inning on the way to a 10-3 victory over Memphis Tuesday afternoon at AutoZone Park. The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate and had seven hits during the rally, including six straight with one out. Jacob Scavuzzo hit a go-ahead RBI single - the Dodgers' first hit since the first inning. Two batters later, Travis Taijeron hit a RBI double to make it 4-2. Jake Peter stepped up next and connected on a two-run single. Breyvic Valera followed with a two-run homer, and two batters later, Kyle Farmer hit another two-run dinger. In the bottom of the inning, Memphis scored a run on a RBI double by Patrick Wisdom. The Dodgers took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run double by Farmer. The Redbirds rallied for a run in the second inning after having the bases empty with two outs. After Farmer's double, Memphis pitcher Ryan Helsley retired the final 20 Dodgers batters he faced. The Tahlequah, Okla. native ended up pitching seven innings, allowing one run and two hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts in a no decision. Still down, 2-1, Memphis pulled even in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI double by Oscar Mercado. OKC reliever Yimi Garcia (1-0) claimed his first win after escaping a ninth-inning jam. Edward Mujica (2-2) was charged with seven of the eight runs in the 10th inning and took the loss.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Justin DeFratus (2-2) returns to the mound tonight for OKC looking to rebound after a loss...In his last start May 18 against Nashville at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, DeFratus allowed a season-high eight runs (seven earned) and 10 hits over 5.1 innings. He issued a season-high three walks and matched his season high with six strikeouts...DeFratus was named PCL Pitcher of Week for May 7-13 after pitching his second career complete game and first career shutout May 11 against Memphis, throwing 89 pitches (64 strikes). It was the first nine-inning shutout by an OKC 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...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 appearance of the season against the Redbirds and fourth career appearance against Memphis. In addition to his shutout May 11 against the Redbirds, he was defeated at AutoZone Park May 1 after allowing five runs and eight hits over 6.0 innings in a 5-4 loss.

Against the Redbirds: 2018: 5-5 2017: 8-7 All-time: 173-156 At MEM: 76-91 The Dodgers and Redbirds are meeting for their third series of the season and third of the month of May...The teams have split each of their first two series of 2018, April 30-May 3 in Memphis and May 8-11 in OKC. The Dodgers have now won or split 10 straight series against the defending PCL champion Redbirds...The Dodgers have outscored the Redbirds, 44-37, through 10 meetings...The Dodgers have pitched shutouts in three of the four wins...The Dodgers won the 2017 series, 8-7, and have won five consecutive season series against Memphis. OKC has not lost a season series to the Redbirds since 2011, and the Dodgers were the only team in the PCL last season to have winning record against the 91-win Redbirds...OKC went 4-3 at AutoZone Park in 2017 and has finished with a winning record in Memphis each of the past five seasons, going 25-14 over that span.

They're Soooo Extra: Yesterday's eight-run rally in the 10th inning marked the second time in the last six games OKC had an eight-run inning (fourth inning, May 17 vs. Nashville), and it was the team's fourth inning this season with seven or more runs. What made yesterday's rally so peculiar was that the Dodgers had not had a hit since the first inning and were 0-for-the-last-26 before Jacob Scavuzzo's go-ahead RBI knock...The Dodgers have now played six extra-inning games, and under the new extra innings rules, the Dodgers have gone 17-for-29 (.586) as a unit and scored 20 runs after totaling eight runs over their 11 games in extras last season. The team has scored more runs in extras than they have in the first, second, sixth, seventh and ninth innings this season...The Dodgers had scored four runs on 14 hits in their previous 27 innings at AutoZone Park prior to yesterday's 10th inning.

On the Farm: Kyle Farmer doubled and homered Tuesday afternoon in Memphis, collecting four RBI and scoring one run. It was his first home run at any level since Aug. 18, 2017 at Omaha and his first four RBI game since Aug. 21, 2017 at Colorado Springs...In his five games since joining OKC after being optioned by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Farmer is 8-for-20 (.400) with eight RBI and four runs scored.

Jake-Up Call: With a two-run single Tuesday, Jake Peter has now hit safely in a season-high eight straight games, going 12-for-31 (.387) with nine RBI. He has also now hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games, going 19-for-55 (.345) while accumulating 13 of his 18 RBI for the season.

Teach Me How to Dougie: Alex Verdugo has hit safely in all seven games since rejoining the team from the Los Angeles Dodgers, going 10-for-27 (.370) with a double, three RBI and five runs. Verdugo has 29 hits through 25 games with OKC this season, along with 18 RBI and 17 runs scored. His current hitting streak is a season high for the outfielder.

Dominant Donovan: Donovan Solano entered Tuesday's game as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 10th inning and was held without a hit in his two at-bats, but did score a run. He snapped his season-high seven-game hit streak, during which he went 14-for-31 (.452) with eight RBI and five runs scored...Solano ranks tied for fifth in the PCL with 54 hits, and his .370 batting average ranks third in the league.

"Pen Notes: Joe Broussard turned in another perfect inning yesterday. In his last 13 appearances, Broussard has only been scored upon twice. During the stretch he's allowed three runs (two earned) and eight hits, with two walks and 16 strikeouts over 15.2 IP...Yesterday Yimi Garcia earned his first win since June 12, 2015 against the San Diego Padres while with the Los Angeles Dodgers...The bullpen had a blown save yesterday for the first time since April 20 at Round Rock...C.C. Lee ranks first among PCL relievers with both a .111 opponent average and an average of 16.45 strikeouts per nine innings.

Around the Horn: Tuesday's win snapped a four-game road losing skid for the Dodgers...Travis Taijeron has hit safely in his last five games, going 8-for-18 (.444) with eight RBI and four runs scored, establishing a season-high hitting streak.

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