OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 6, 2021
Published on May 6, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-0) at Round Rock Express (0-0)
Game #1 of 120/Road #1 of 60
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Josiah Gray (NR, -.--) vs. RR-LHP Wes Benjamin (NR, -.--)
Thursday, May 6, 2021 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 7:05 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio - Alex Freedman
Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers play their first game in 612 days tonight, opening their 2021 Triple-A West schedule at 7:05 p.m. against the Round Rock Express at Dell Diamond. They take the field for the first time since wrapping up the 2019 season Sept. 2, 2019 and following the cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oklahoma City also kicks off its new Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series against its closest geographical Triple-A West foe as the East Division teams open a six-game series.
2019 Season: The 2019 OKC Dodgers hit a team record 203 home runs, eight players went on to make their Major League debuts with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baseball America named Gavin Lux Minor League Player of the Year during Travis Barbary's first season as manager...Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was the team's Opening Day starter while on a Major League rehab assignment...Edwin Ríos went on to pace the team with 31 home runs for the third-most homers in team history...OKC hit the second-most homers in all of professional baseball during July (62), including a streak of 16 consecutive games with a homer and a team-record eight homers July 18 at Iowa...Lux reached base safely in each of his first 37 Triple-A games and compiled a 16-game hitting streak June 27-July 19. He was named Uncle Ray's PCL Player of the Month for July, leading the league with a .435 AVG, .519 OBP and 1.356 OPS with a .837 SLG in 22 games...Dodgers pitchers racked up a league-leading and team record 1,287 strikeouts, as OKC led the PCL in K's for the third time in four seasons...Pitcher Kevin Quackenbush and catcher Will Smith were both named to the Triple-A All-Star Game...The Dodgers' 62-77 record marked the fewest wins for an OKC squad since joining the PCL in 1998 and it was the team's first losing record since 2011...However, OKC also compiled a team-record nine-game road winning streak during a stretch between May and June.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Top Dodgers pitching prospect Josiah Gray makes his Triple-A debut and first career Opening Day start...Gray spent the entire 2020 season at the Dodgers' Alternate Training site and also started the 2021 season there...Made four appearances (5.1 IP) for the Dodgers during 2021 Spring Training as a non-roster invitee...Named the Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year and MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2019, leading all Dodgers farmhands in starts (tie, 25), wins (tie, 11) and strikeouts (147) and ranking third in innings (130.0) across three different levels...Wrapped up the 2019 season at Double-A Tulsa after starting his first professional season with Low-A Great Lakes...Overall, posted an 11-2 record and 2.28 ERA across 130.0 innings, notching 147 strikeouts against 31 walks, a 0.99 WHIP and .207 opponent batting average while allowing just three home runs in 26 total appearances (25 starts)...Acquired by the Dodgers --- on his 21st birthday --- along with Jeter Downs in 2018 from Cincinnati in exchange for Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer and cash considerations...Played college baseball at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., where he made 13 starts on the mound as a junior after spending most of his first two seasons as the team's shortstop before being selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Cincinnati.
Against the Express: 2021: 0-0 2019: 6-10 All-time: 130-108 At RR: 67-52 The Dodgers and Express open their Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series tonight, as well as a six-game series to begin the 2021 season...Only 371 miles separate Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark from Dell Diamond, making it the shortest distance between the Dodgers and any of their Triple-A opponents as well as a perfect set-up for a rivalry as the teams meet 30 times this season...The teams last played one another in 2019, with the Express winning the season series for the first time since 2014...The Dodgers went 2-6 at Dell Diamond, posting a losing record there for the first time since 2009 and taking their most losses ever in one season at the stadium...After spending 2019-20 as the Houston Astros' Triple-A affiliate, the Express is reunited with the Texas Rangers, who previously called Round Rock their Triple-A home from 2011-18.
Fresh Start: OKC is 10-12 overall in season openers since 1998 and 7-4 on the road on Opening Day since 1998...The 2019 season opened in notable fashion for Oklahoma City with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw taking the mound as the team's Opening Day starter while on a Major League rehab assignment. He threw 61 pitches (42 strikes) at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings in front of a sellout crowd of 12,472. The Dodgers went on to lose the game to San Antonio, 5-3...The Dodgers last started on the road in 2018 at Iowa, opening their 2018 schedule with a road doubleheader of two seven-inning games April 5, 2018 due to predicted snow for later in the series. OKC won the season-opening first game, 2-1, before losing the second game, 3-2, in eight innings.
Roster Rundown: Due to new rules to accommodate health and safety protocols as well as the needs of the Major League parent club, Triple-A rosters have been expanded to a maximum of 33 players, although only 28 players will be active per game. Some members of the OKC roster will concurrently serve as part of the official Los Angeles Dodgers Taxi Squad. The OKC Dodgers' Opening Day roster will begin with 29 total players. Fifteen players have previous Major League experience and seven appeared in the Major Leagues in 2020 despite the pandemic-shortened season. Josiah Gray headlines the roster as the consensus top pitching prospect in the organization. Four other players are listed among the organization's top 30 prospects per Baseball America or MLB Pipeline: infielder Omar Estévez along with outfielders DJ Peters, Luke Raley and Zach Reks...Due to the gap between seasons, only Peters, Reks and pitcher Kevin Quackenbush return from the 2019 roster.
It's Time For Dodger Baseball (Through 2030): Dodger baseball will remain in Oklahoma City through at least 2030. The OKC Dodgers were one of 120 Minor League Clubs to accept invitations in early 2021 to become Professional Development League (PDL) license holders, with OKC signing a 10-year partnership with the 2020 World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers to remain their Triple-A affiliate. Oklahoma City has served as the Dodgers' top-level Minor League affiliate since the fall of 2014 and starting with the 2015 season...Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball previously operated separately and worked together via a Professional Baseball Agreement that expired Sept. 30, 2020. MLB has since taken over running affiliated Minor League Baseball and has reorganized the player development system.
Developing Champions: The Los Angeles Dodgers won their seventh World Series championship in 2020, marking the third time in OKC's minor league history the team's parent club won the World Series, as well as the first time since 1980. The Dodgers official 2020 World Series roster had 16 former OKC Dodgers, including eight players who spent time in OKC during the 2019 season. Eight former OKC Dodgers were on the field for the final out of the championship-clinching Game 6, and former OKC shortstop Corey Seager was named World Series MVP.
Welcome to the West: After competing in the now-former Pacific Coast League since 1998 (as well as 1963-68), the 2021 OKC Dodgers will compete in the Triple-A West, which will be made up of 10 teams that represent the Triple-A affiliates of the Major League Clubs in the National League West and American League West divisions. OKC competed regularly against eight of their new league opponents in the former PCL. Triple-A newcomer Sugar Land, which was previously part of the independent Atlantic League, is now the top affiliate of the Houston Astros.
Leading the Charge: Travis Barbary returns for his second season as manager of the OKC Dodgers. He is joined by pitching coach Jamey Wright, an Oklahoma City native and 19-year Major League veteran who enters his first assignment as a team pitching coach. Manny Burriss joins the staff for his first full-season assignment as hitting coach. Former OKC Dodgers manager Bill Haselman, who managed the team from 2016-18, returns as third base and bench coach. Former OKC Dodgers pitcher Justin DeFratus is the team's bullpen coach.
Pacific Coast League Stories from May 6, 2021
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- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 6, 2021 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Skeeters Game Notes, at ABQ - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
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