OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 31, 2022
May 31, 2022 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Dodgers (28-20) at Round Rock Express (29-19)
Game #49 of 150/Road #22 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Beau Burrows (1-3, 6.41) vs. RR-RHP Tyson Miller (2-1, 4.55)
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 7:05 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv
Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers open a six-game road series against the Round Rock Express at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond as the teams meet for the second time in less than three weeks in Round Rock...The Dodgers have lost four of their last five games overall but have won six of their last eight road games, including wins in four of their last five games at Dell Diamond.
Last Game: A leadoff home run sent the Reno Aces to a quick lead they never relinquished Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Oklahoma City Dodgers, 10-6, in the series finale at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Dominic Fletcher led off the game with a home run out to left field before the Aces went on to build a 9-0 lead through four innings, including a six-run third inning. The Dodgers scored their first runs of the day in the fourth inning via a two-run single by Tony Wolters. Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth through seventh innings before Ryan Noda hit a two-run homer out to left field in the eighth inning to trim Reno's lead to 9-4. The Aces scored their 10th run of the day in the top of the ninth inning before the Dodgers put two more runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth inning with a RBI double by Michael Busch and RBI single by Jake Lamb.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Beau Burrows (1-3) makes his eighth start and 10th appearance of the season for OKC to open the series...Burrows last pitched in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Reno Aces May 26 in OKC. Burrows started for the first time since May 8 and allowed four runs and tied his season-high with eight hits over a season-high 5.2 innings with two walks and five strikeouts. He was charged with the loss in OKC's 9-0 shutout defeat...Burrows has a team-leading 48 strikeouts (T-5th PCL) against 14 walks over his first 39.1 innings. He also leads the team with 10 home runs allowed...Burrows signed with the Dodgers as a free agent Nov. 28, 2021 after playing for Triple-A Toledo and St. Paul last season. He also made five MLB appearances combined for Detroit and Minnesota...He was originally selected by Detroit with the 22nd pick of the first round in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Weatherford High School (Texas)...Burrows pitched against the Express May 15 in Round Rock, allowing five runs on five hits over 5.1 innings. After allowing four runs before recording an out, he then retired 16 straight batters. He recorded six K's and did not issue a walk in OKC's eventual 14-13 loss.
Against the Express: 2022: 4-2 2021: 16-13 All-time: 150-123 At RR: 81-62 The Dodgers return to Round Rock for their second series against the Express in just over two weeks and after a wild first series between the teams May 10-15, which OKC won, 4-2, winning four straight games in the middle of the series...OKC recorded its largest shutout win in the team's Bricktown era (since 1998) with a 19-0 victory May 12 and Yefry Ramírez became the first OKC Dodger and first pitcher throughout the entire PCL to throw a nine-inning shutout since 2018. Six different players homered in that same game for the first time in the team's Bricktown era...For the first time in the team's Bricktown era, the Dodgers allowed 10 walks in back-to-back games May 10-11. The OKC offense also drew 10-plus walks in back-to-back games May 12-13...On May 15, OKC lost a game when scoring at least 13 runs for just the fifth time during the team's Bricktown era and for the first time since 2007...The top two teams in the PCL East Division are scheduled to play a total 30 times in 2022...The Dodgers won the 2021 series, 16-13, as the Dodgers finished with a slight edge in runs (147-146) and homers (40-39) while the Express outhit OKC, 261-225. After losing five of the first six games, the Dodgers went 15-8 over the final 23 meetings, including a 9-3 record at Dell Diamond. The first 18 games of the season between the teams were played at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, with the Dodgers going 10-8. The final 11 games of the series were played at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with the Dodgers going 6-5 in those games...The Dodgers have won five of the last six season series between the teams...Entering today, the Dodgers are 13-5 over their last 18 games at Dell Diamond.
Series Stories: With Sunday's defeat, the Dodgers lost their series against the Reno Aces, 4-2, and lost a series for the first time all season. The Dodgers had won or split each of their first eight series of 2022 and are now 5-1-3 in series this season...The Aces also won their first-ever series in Oklahoma City, as OKC entered 2022 having won or split each of the first seven series between the teams at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark since 2010.
Monthly Matters: Entering the final day of May, the Dodgers have clinched a winning month and will record back-to-back winning months for the first time since June and July 2019. It's also the first time since 2017 they opened the season with winning months in both April and May.
Taking Offense: The Dodgers' offense now has 15 runs and 20 hits over the last two games and went a combined 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position Saturday and Sunday. The boost immediately follows a three-game stretch in which they scored a total of four runs with 13 hits (13x83) and went 2-for-17 with RISP...The Dodgers lead the Minors with a .376 OBP and .840 OPS and rank tied for first with El Paso in runs scored (317), although El Paso has played one more game than OKC. They also rank fifth in the Minors with a .464 SLG and fourth overall with 245 walks.
On the Lamb: Jake Lamb finished with two hits and a RBI Sunday and has now reached base safely in 25 of his last 26 games, hitting safely in 20 of those games. However he did not draw a walk Sunday, snapping a stretch of six consecutive games with a walk (10 walks total)...Since April 24, Lamb has played in 26 games and is slashing .323/.448/.613 with eight homers, three doubles, 25 RBI, 20 runs scored and 21 walks...Lamb leads OKC and is tied for fourth in the PCL with 11 homers while his 34 RBI are also tied for fourth in the league and his 27 walks are tied for sixth.
All Walks of Life: The Dodgers' offense drew four more walks Sunday and now has 97 walks over the past 17 games (5.7 per game). OKC leads all Triple-A teams and is fourth overall in the Minors with 245 walks this season, trailing only Single-A Lake Elsinore (258), fellow Dodgers affiliate Single-A Rancho Cucamonga (256) and Double-A Corpus Christi (250)...On the other hand, the OKC pitching staff allowed nine walks Sunday. They have allowed 63 walks over the last 11 games (5.7 per game), with at least five walks in seven of the 11 games. They also have allowed 98 walks over the last 18 games (5.4 per game), including five games with eight or more walks.
Omar Comin': Omar Estévez did not play Sunday but compiled a career-high six RBI Saturday as he posted his second career game with two home runs. The two homers he hit Saturday were his first and second home runs of the 2022 season and marked the first time since July 5, 2018 with High-A Rancho Cucamonga he went deep twice...His six RBI tied for the most by a Dodgers player this season, as Stefen Romero first hit the milestone May 1 against Sugar Land in OKC. He also became the fifth OKC player with a multi-homer game in 2022...Following a 2-for-30 start to the season, Estévez is batting .326 (14x43) with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBI over his last 12 games.
When In Romero: Stefen Romero did not play Sunday, but went 1-for-4 with a walk Saturday and has now hit safely in 14 of his 17 games (16 starts), batting .323 (21x65) with 11 extra-base hits...In his last five starts, Romero is 10-for-20 with two homers, four doubles, six RBI and four multi-hit games...On Friday, he struck out in his lone at-bat as a pinch-hitter to snap a 15-game on-base streak - the third-longest by an OKC player this season...Since April 30, Romero has 18 RBI in 15 games (14 starts) during that time.
J Mart Special: Jason Martin has hit safely in four of his last five games, going 6-for-16 with three extra-base hits and six RBI, along with three walks and three runs scored...Martin leads the team this season with 19 extra-base hits and ranks second in RBI (31) and tied for second in runs scored (32).
Up and Down on the Mound: After allowing a combined five runs over the previous two games and nine runs over the previous three games, OKC allowed 10 runs Sunday, marking the seventh time this season an opponent has reached double digits. Over the three games leading up to Sunday, the Dodgers held Reno 15-for-89 (.169) overall and 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. On Sunday, the Aces went 13-for-40 (.325) overall and 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position...Over the last 22 games, the Dodgers are 13-9. In the 13 wins, they've allowed 42 runs total. In the nine losses, they've allowed 79 runs total, with at least nine runs in six of the nine games...The Aces scored six runs in the third inning Sunday, marking the third time this season an opponent has had an inning of six or more runs. The Dodgers have allowed 42 percent of their season run total within the first three innings of games (103/248). They've kept their opponents scoreless through the first three innings in just five of the last 32 games.
Ferg is the Word: Caleb Ferguson appeared for a second straight game Saturday and struck out the only batter he faced to strand the bases loaded in the fifth inning. On Friday, Ferguson recorded an immaculate inning, striking out all three batters he faced on a total of nine pitches. His four strikeouts over the last two games have been on a total of 13 pitches...Since returning to OKC May 20, Ferguson has made four appearances and recorded all eight of his outs via strikeout. He's struck out eight of the 10 batters he's faced during that time with one walk and one hit batter.
Around the Horn: The Dodgers are 4-5 in series openers but have won two of the last three. They are just 1-3 road series openers this season...On Sunday, Drew Avans doubled and drew a walk and has now hit safely in a season-best four straight games. During the stretch, he is 4-for-10 with a double, RBI, five walks and three runs scored...Marshall Kasowski retired the only batter he faced Sunday. He has allowed just one run and seven hits in the month of May, posting a 0.84 ERA in eight appearances (10.2 IP) with three walks and seven K's...Miguel Vargas' streak of 46 consecutive starts and games played ended Sunday...Eddy Alvarez has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games, going 22-for-59 (.373) with six doubles, two triples, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored and nine walks. He's third in the league with a .430 OBP...Zach McKinstry ranks second in the PCL in both batting average (.345) and OBP (.435)...OKC has struck out at least 10 times in four straight games (52 K) and in five of the last six games (67 K).
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 31, 2022
- Albuquerque Drops Series Opener, 10-3 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Space Cowboys Game Notes vs. ABQ - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- Tacoma Rainiers Game Notes: at Reno (6:35 p.m. PT) - Tacoma Rainiers
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 31, 2022 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Hunter Brown Named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- National Transplant Games Athlete and Liver Recipient to Run Bases at June 3 Reno Aces Game - Reno Aces
- Liberato's Slam Helps Chihuahuas Take Series Opener - El Paso Chihuahuas
- Bees Fall in Series Opener to Chihuahuas - Salt Lake Bees
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.
