PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 28, 2021

Published on May 28, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (5-14) at El Paso Chihuahuas (9-9)

Game #20 of 120/Road #14 of 60

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Tony Gonsolin (0-0, 0.00; MLR) vs. ELP-LHP Daniel Camarena (1-1, 3.18)

Friday, May 28, 2021 | Southwest University Park | El Paso, Texas | 8:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers seek to even their road series against the El Paso Chihuahuas at 8:05 p.m. CT at Southwest University Park. Including Thursday's series opener, the Dodgers have lost four of the last five games as well as six of the last eight games...Pitcher Tony Gonsolin is expected to make the second start of his rehab assignment.

Last Game: The El Paso Chihuahuas used a key four-run fourth inning to take the lead and then responded with two go-ahead runs after the OKC Dodgers tied the game in the eighth inning before going on to win, 6-4, Thursday night at Southwest University Park. Elliot Soto opened the scoring with a two-run double in the fourth inning. Dodgers starting pitcher Mike Kickham was sharp and had not allowed a run until he left the game due to an apparent finger injury in the fifth inning. The Chihuahuas rallied against the OKC bullpen in the frame, scoring four runs to take the lead. Rangel Ravelo delivered a game-tying, two-run double in the top of the eighth inning even up the score at 4-4. However, El Paso's Nick Tanielu homered on the second pitch on the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Chihuahuas later added a run on a throwing error by Dodgers catcher Hamlet Marte.

Today's Probable Pitcher: 2020 World Series Champion Tony Gonsolin (0-0) makes the second start of a Major League Rehab Assignment with the OKC Dodgers tonight...In Gonsolin's first outing Sunday in Albuquerque, he completed three scoreless, efficient innings, allowing one hit with three strikeouts. He retired nine of 10 batters overall and 30 of his 38 pitches were strikes...Gonsolin is currently recovering from right shoulder inflammation. He was placed on the 10-Day IL April 4 and transferred to the 60-day IL May 17. He made five appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers during Spring Training, but had yet to pitch during the regular season prior to beginning the rehab assignment...Gonsolin finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2020 and was named MLB Rookie of the Year by Baseball America. He went 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 46 K's in nine regular-season appearances, including eight starts. He had a tremendous 6.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio (46 K/7 BB) in 46.2 IP and held opponents to a .193 average and posted a 0.84 WHIP (32 H, 7 BB). He led all MLB rookies in ERA and WHIP...He made four postseason appearances, starting Games 2 and 6 of the World Series...In 2019, he made 13 starts with the OKC Dodgers and 11 appearances (six starts) with LAD, including his MLB debut and first MLB start June 26 at Arizona...Gonsolin finished 2018 as the Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year, as well as a MiLB.com Organization All-Star and California League Mid-Season All-Star...He was drafted by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of St. Mary's College, where he primarily was an outfielder and relief pitcher.

Against the Chihuahuas: 2021: 0-1 2019: 2-2 All-time: 14-11 At ELP: 7-6

The Dodgers and Chihuahuas meet for the first of three series of 2021 and their first of two series at Southwest University Park...The teams split their 2019 series in Texas, 2-2, as the Chihuahuas outscored OKC, 34-30, but OKC outhit El Paso, 47-46...Zach Reks went 6-for-18 with two homers, four RBI and scored three runs in the series...Outside of the 2018 series, OKC has won or split each series against El Paso since Tucson's franchise relocated to El Paso for the 2014 season, including all three previous series at Southwest University Park (2015, 2017, 2019)...Current OKC Dodgers Carlos Asuaje (2016-18), Kevin Quackenbush (2014-17) and Tim Federowicz (2015) have all played for El Paso during their careers.

Rehab Recap: Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry both continued their Major League Rehab Assignments Thursday in El Paso. Bellinger played in the fifth game of his rehab assignment and played the entire game. He started in center field and went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Bellinger stepped to the plate representing the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning and hit a sharp line drive that was caught in shallow right field by El Paso second baseman Ivan Castillo playing in a shift. Through five games, Bellinger is 4-for-20 with two homers and three RBI. The 2019 NL MVP played in only four games with the Los Angeles Dodgers before being placed on the IL April 6 with a hairline fracture in his left fibula...McKinstry also played the entirety of the game for the first time during his rehab assignment and went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Through five games with OKC, McKinstry is 5-for-16 with two doubles, three walks and five runs scored. McKinstry played in 17 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season before being placed on the IL April 22 with a right oblique strain. At the time of his injury, McKinstry was batting .296 (16x54) with three homers and 14 RBI.

Another Patient: The list of current players on ML Rehab Assignment is expected to officially grow by one in the coming days. Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol, who has been on the Injured List since April 29 due to right forearm tightness, has joined the OKC Dodgers in El Paso. He is scheduled to throw live batting practice today and his first game will follow later in the series.

Raging Ravelo: Rangel Ravelo recorded his team-leading seventh multi-hit game of the season last night, including a game-tying, two-run double in the top of the eighth inning to even up the score at 4-4. Ravelo now has nine hits over his last four games and is 9-for-13 during the stretch with two doubles, two homers, six RBI and three runs scored...He paces the Dodgers' offense with 23 hits, 15 RBI, seven doubles and four homers while his 10 walks are tied for second on the team...Ravelo's .486 OBP and 1.198 OPS both rank second among Triple-A West leaders, while his .390 batting average and .712 SLG each rank third. His seven doubles are tied for fourth in the league, while his 11 extra-base hits are tied for fifth, his 23 hits and 42 total bases are both tied for sixth and his 15 RBI are tied for ninth-most in the 10-team league.

Getting Offensive: The OKC offense took a bit of a step back Thursday, scoring four runs but on just five hits. The team has now scored at least four runs six times in the last seven games...Through the first 13 games of the season, the Dodgers scored 48 runs (3.7 rpg). But over the last six games, the team has scored 47 runs (7.8 rpg)...The team has gone 26-for-71 (.366) with runners in scoring position during the last six games after starting the season 25-for-110 (.227) with RISP...Thursday was just the second time in the last six games the Dodgers tallied fewer than 11 hits in a game and fewer than four extra-base hits in a game.

Free Soto: Elliott Soto connected on a two-run double in the fourth inning Thursday and has now hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles, six RBI and two runs scored. He has four RBI over the last three games...In 2019 while playing with Albuquerque, Soto batted .358 (19x53) with six extra-base hits and five RBI over 13 games against El Paso.

The Run Around: After posting their first shutout of 2021 Tuesday, the Dodgers allowed six runs Thursday, marking the 17th time in the first 19 games of the season the Dodgers allowed at least five runs in a game and the 14th time they've given up at least six runs...The team's 6.93 ERA is fourth-highest in Triple-A and fifth-highest among the 120 teams in the Minors...The 34 home runs allowed by OKC are the second-most in Triple-A West, and Thursday marked the sixth time in seven games the Dodgers have allowed at least two homers in a game...The Dodgers carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Chihuahuas scored four runs. It marked the ninth time in 19 games this season an opponent scored four or more runs in one inning and at the time snapped a 14-inning scoreless streak for the OKC pitching staff...After allowing six runs in 3.1 innings yesterday, the bullpen is now carrying an 8.81 ERA, .327 BAA and 2.08 WHIP.

Picking Up Steam: Carlos Asuaje went 0-for-1 with a walk off the bench last night, but has hit safely in eight straight starts, going 10-for-30 (.333)...Andy Burns walked twice, scored a run and stole his team-leading fourth base last night. He's tallied 10 hits in his last nine games, with five doubles, a home run, six RBI and 10 runs scored...Steven Souza Jr. is batting just .214 (6x28) through his first 10 games, but he has a .436 OBP thanks to 10 walks and one HBP.

Around the Horn: With Thursday's loss, the Dodgers dropped to 2-5 on their current road trip, 3-10 on the road overall and 0-4 in series openers...Prior to this season, the team's previous low win total through 19 games was seven in the 2019 and 2011 seasons...The Dodgers' seven total stolen bases this season are the fewest in Triple-A West and fourth fewest in all of the Minors. On the other hand, El Paso recorded one SB last night and OKC has now allowed a league-high 26 stolen bases this season...Last night was the seventh game this season OKC was held without a homer in 2021 and their 20 homers through 19 games are second-fewest in Triple-A West. In 2019, the Dodgers hit a team record 203 homers...Last night's game clocked in at 3 hours, 25 minutes. Fifteen of the team's 19 games have lasted at least three hours, with 11 games going at least 3:20.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 28, 2021


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