PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 23, 2023

Published on May 23, 2023 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (33-12) at Sacramento River Cats (21-24)

Game #46 of 150/First Half #46 of 75/Road #25 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Bryan Hudson (2-0, 1.80)/RHP Andre Jackson (0-1, 2.45) vs. SAC-LHP Kyle Harrison (0-2, 4.73)

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 | Sutter Health Park | West Sacramento, Calif. | 8:45 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: Bally Live, MiLB.tv

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers have won 11 of the last 12 games as they open a six-game road series against the Sacramento River Cats at 8:45 p.m. CT at Sutter Health Park...The Dodgers own the best record in the PCL with five more wins than second-place Reno.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers closed out Sunday afternoon's game with three unanswered runs, including scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, in a 5-4 walk-off win against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers trailed, 4-2, heading into the bottom of the eighth inning before Devin Mann sent a two-run homer out to left field to tie the score, 4-4. After a scoreless top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers drew three consecutive walks to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the frame. After the next two batters were retired and with Patrick Mazeika at the plate, a wild pitch by Sugar Land pitcher Austin Davis allowed Ryan Ward to score the game-winning run from third base. Sugar Land took the first lead of the day on a solo home run by Luke Berryhill in the second inning. The Dodgers grabbed the lead in the bottom of the inning when Mazeika lined a two-run double into right-center field for a 2-1 advantage. A solo home run by Marty Costes in the third inning tied the score, 2-2, before Pedro León's RBI double in the sixth inning and Rylan Bannon's solo homer in the eighth inning made it a 4-2 game.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Andre Jackson is scheduled to be tonight's primary pitcher and will follow opener Bryan Hudson...Jackson most recently pitched May 18 for the Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis. He pitched a season-high 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of LA's 16-8 loss. He did not allow a run through his first three innings before being charged with three runs in his fourth inning of work. He was optioned to OKC the following day (his third option of the season)...Jackson has made six appearances with OKC this season and last pitched with the team May 13 in Round Rock with 2.0 scoreless and hitless innings in OKC's 2-1 win. He issued two walks and recorded one strikeout. He has not allowed a run in his last four outings with OKC (8.0 IP) with 10 strikeouts against four walks, while holding opponents 2-for-25...Jackson has made six relief appearances with LAD this season, going 0-0 with a 7.98 ERA, 13 K's and three walks, along with a three-inning save in his season debut April 1 vs. Arizona...Jackson spent the majority of the 2022 season with OKC, posting a 2-7 record and 5.00 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 21 appearances (19 starts). He led OKC in starts and finished fourth in strikeouts, and during his final seven appearances (five starts) with OKC, went 2-1 with one save and a 3.26 ERA over 30.1 innings...He was recalled six times by LAD throughout the 2022 season and made four relief appearances, posting a 1.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and nine K's in 9.2 IP...Jackson was drafted by the Dodgers from the University of Utah in 2017 as a 12th round selection and made his ML debut in 2021...Tonight is Jackson's third career appearance and second appearance of the season against the River Cats. In Game 2 of an April 30 doubleheader in OKC, Jackson pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on one hit, issuing four walks with two strikeouts and was charged with the loss in the Dodgers' 5-1 home defeat.

Against the River Cats: 2023: 5-1 2022: 6-3 All-time: 53-53 At SAC: 24-25

The Dodgers and River Cats are meeting for their second of three series this season and first of two at Sutter Health Park...The teams met for a six-game series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark April 25-30 that included two doubleheaders due to weather-related postponements. The Dodgers won the series, 5-1, winning the first five games before losing the finale, which was Game 2 of a doubleheader. That also snapped an eight-game winning streak against the River Cats going back to last season...The Dodgers outscored the River Cats, 26-16 in the series, while Sacramento hit four home runs and held OKC without a homer...Yonny Hernández led OKC with eight hits, including two triples, while Ben DeLuzio had six RBI...Following this series, the teams meet for a three-game set July 14-16 in Sacramento...Last season, the Dodgers won their first season series against the River Cats since the 2018 season, going 6-3, including a 3-0 series sweep July 22-24 in OKC during which the Dodgers outscored Sacramento, 30-11. The teams split their first series of the season April 19-24 in Sacramento, 3-3, with the River Cats winning three of the last four games in the set...Since OKC became affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the River Cats with the San Francisco Giants in 2015, the Dodgers have a 21-17 advantage in the Triple-A version of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.

Trend Setters: The Dodgers lead the PCL with a 33-12 record, and their 33 wins are the most among all teams in the Minors...OKC's 33 wins are the most by an OKC team through 45 games in the Bricktown era (since 1998), and no other OKC team since 1998 has had fewer than 14 losses through 45 or 46 games...The Dodgers reached 30 wins faster than any PCL team since Las Vegas in 2014, which also started 30-11. In each of the last seven seasons, a PCL team needed at least 43 games to reach 30 wins - including OKC in 2015 - and at least 45 games in each of the last six seasons. In 2022, Round Rock was the first PCL team to reach 30 wins and did so in 50 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 12 of the last 14 games and in 10 consecutive contests from May 9-19...The 10-game winning streak was the team's second-longest winning streak during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and the 10 consecutive wins were the team's most since a team-record 12-game winning streak July 26-Aug. 6, 2013. There have only been six winning streaks of at least nine games by the team since 1998 and prior to this season was last achieved April 7-17, 2018...After not recording a win streak of at least six games since July 2019, the Dodgers have now put together three such streaks this season, as well as two winning streaks of at least seven games since April 22.

Never Say Die Dodgers: The Dodgers secured their sixth walk-off win of the season through 21 home games Sunday, as well as their second walk-off win of the series against Sugar Land (May 16). It was OKC's 10th last at-bat win of the season through 45 games and the team now has nine wins when trailing after seven innings and 10 wins after trailing in the eighth inning or later...OKC has now trailed at some point in 23 of the team's 33 total victories this season as well as in each of the last six wins and in 13 of the last 15 wins. The Dodgers have won 13 times this season after trailing by at least two runs, seven times after trailing by at least three runs - including in three of the last seven games - and four times after trailing by five runs...Last season, OKC had eight walk-off wins, which were the most for the team in a single season since 2015 when OKC had 11 walk-off wins, and the 2022 team had a total of 11 last at-bat wins throughout the 150-game schedule.

Close Calls: Seven of the Dodgers' last eight games have been decided by one or two runs, including each of the last four games, with three straight games decided by one run. For the season, 23 of 45 games have been decided by two runs or less, with OKC going 20-3 in those games. With Sunday's win, the Dodgers improved to 14-2 in one-run games and 20-3 in games decided by one or two runs...Over the last 18 games, eight have been decided in the eighth inning or later and 14 total games this season have been decided in a final at-bat (OKC - 10; Opp - 4).

Series Scoop: The Dodgers won their six-game series against Sugar Land, 5-1, winning at least five games in a series for the fourth time this season, including in three of the last four sets. Overall, the Dodgers have won seven of their eight total series of 2023. They also completed the team's first-ever six-game sweep May 9-14 in Round Rock...The Dodgers won their first series of the season against the River Cats, 5-1, winning the first five games in OKC before losing the series finale, which was Game 2 of a doubleheader. Prior to that, OKC had never won five straight games in any six-game series since switching to that format in 2021...Between the 2021-22 seasons, the team won five games in a series a total of four times.

Fever Pitch: The OKC pitching staff leads the PCL with a 4.24 ERA, 212 runs allowed, 336 hits allowed, a .228 opponent average and 182 walks, while their 429 strikeouts are second-most in the league...Dodgers pitchers recorded 13 strikeouts Sunday and have finished a game with 12 or more strikeouts 11 times this season, including in each of the last two games...Michael Grove opened a Major League Rehab Assignment Sunday. The right-hander pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on solo home runs over 4.1 innings with three total hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. He faced 17 batters and threw 64 pitches, including 41 strikes and retired the last seven batters he faced...Reliever Alex Vesia pitched 1.1 scoreless innings Sunday, allowing one hit with four strikeouts. He has now posted seven straight scoreless outings, allowing four hits and four walks with 16 strikeouts over 7.1 innings...The Dodgers bullpen has now allowed seven total runs (4 ER) and 26 hits in 64.2 innings over the last 15 games, holding opponents 26-for-209 (.124) with 74 strikeouts. The unit has allowed just five runs (3 ER) over 48.0 innings going back to the start of the series in Round Rock (12 games)...Over the last 12 games, OKC pitchers have allowed a total of 38 runs and 72 hits, while producing a 2.45 ERA (30 ER/110.0 IP), .187 BAA (72x386) and 1.05 WHIP (115 H+BB).

Off on Offense: The Dodgers were held to four hits, including one for extra bases, and two runs through six innings Sunday before they collected five hits over their final three at-bats, including four hits in the eighth inning alone, and scored three runs in the eighth and ninth innings combined. The Dodgers collected nine total hits Sunday, hitting the mark for just the second time in the last six games and for the fifth time in the last 23 games...OKC finished with two extra-base hits Sunday for their highest total in four games. Entering Sunday, the team had no extra-base hits over the previous 18 innings and were held to one extra-base hit or less in three straight games and in seven of the previous 10 games (17 XBH)....OKC's .248 average overall this season is lowest in the PCL and OKC's 365 hits are also a league low. Since April 27, the Dodgers are batting a league-low .218 and have 153 hits in 23 games (6.7 hits per game)..Devin Mann's game-tying homer in the eighth inning Sunday was OKC's first homer in four games and the team has homered in just four of the last nine games. OKC's 14 homers since April 21 (26 G) are fewest in Triple-A by six...During the Sugar Land series, the Dodgers went 10-for-71 (.141) with runners in scoring position, including 2-for-20 between the last two games, and 19-for-105 (.181) with runners on base against the Space Cowboys.

Around the Horn: Devin Mann's two-run homer in the eighth inning was OKC's first home run in a four-game span and Mann's second game-tying homer in the eighth inning in one week (May 14 at Round Rock). Mann extended his on-base streak to 13 games - the longest current on-base streak by an OKC player. His 19 doubles lead the PCL, while his 22 extra-base hits are tied for fifth...Drew Avans went 2-for-3 with two walks Sunday. Avans has now hit safely in eight straight games for his longest hitting streak of the season and the longest active streak by an OKC player (10x32). His 35 walks this season are third-most in the league, while his 33 runs are tied for ninth...The Dodgers drew eight walks Sunday and their 259 walks so far this season are second-most in the PCL. They have at least five walks in 16 of the last 21 games (128 BB)...Yonny Hernández has hit safely in five consecutive games (7x19)...The Dodgers have won four straight series openers and are 6-2 in openers so far this season, including 3-1 on the road.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 23, 2023


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