PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 7, 2021

Published on May 7, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-1) at Round Rock Express (1-0)

Game #2 of 120/Road #2 of 60

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Yefry Ramírez (NR, -.--) vs. RR-RHP Jason Bahr (NR, -.--)

Friday, May 7, 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 continue their Red Dirt Rumble series in Round Rock at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond looking to even the series after a season-opening loss Thursday. The series is OKC's first 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.

Last Game: Playing their first game in 612 days, the OKC Dodgers were shut out by Round Rock, 6-0, Thursday at Dell Diamond as the teams opened the 2021 Triple-A West season. The Express had four pitchers combine on a five-hit shutout. Charles Leblanc and John Hicks each cranked two-run homers for the Express. Josiah Gray impressed in his Triple-A debut on the mound for OKC, racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts over five innings.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Yefry Ramírez makes his OKC Dodgers debut and his first start since the 2019 season...Ramírez signed with the Dodgers as a free agent March 25...He was invited to 2020 Summer Camp with the New York Mets after signing a minor league contract with the organization Jan. 8, but did not see any formal game action in 2020...In 2019, Ramírez made appearances in the Majors with both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, pitching in 13 total games between the Orioles (four games) and Pirates (nine games). He went 0-2 with a 7.40 ERA and notched 27 strikeouts in 24.1 IP...He also spent time with both organization's Triple-A affiliates, going a combined 2-5 with a 4.19 ERA across 19 games (nine starts), with 82 strikeouts in 63.0 IP...He was acquired by Pittsburgh from Baltimore in exchange for a player to be named later May 27...Ramírez enters his 10th pro season after originally signing with Arizona as an international free agent in 2011 and owns a career 3.57 ERA in the Minors over 137 appearances (103 starts) with a 1.18 WHIP and .226 BAA....He made his ML debut with Baltimore June 13, 2018 against Boston and made 30 total big league appearances with Baltimore and Pittsburgh between 2018 and 2019...Tonight is his first career appearance against Round Rock.

Against the Express: 2021: 0-1 2019: 6-10 All-time: 130-109 At RR: 67-53 The Dodgers and Express continue their Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series tonight and meet for the second time in their 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.

Gray Matter: Los Angeles Dodgers top pitching prospect Josiah Gray took the mound for his Triple-A debut Thursday and instantly made an impact, cranking out 10 strikeouts to set a new career high and pace all Triple-A West pitchers on Opening Day. In his five innings of work, Gray allowed two runs, three hits and two walks. His only hiccup came with two outs in the second inning when Jason Martin worked a 10-pitch walk and Charles Leblanc followed with a homer on the eighth pitch of his at-bat. Gray went on to retire 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, compiling six strikeouts during the stretch and allowing one batter to reach on an infield single.

Strike Hard: Three OKC pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts over eight innings in Thursday's season opener. Josiah Gray paced the team with 10 K's, while James Pazos added two and Andrew Schwaab recorded three. OKC's 15 strikeouts tied with the Tacoma Rainiers for the most strikeouts by a Triple-A West team on Opening Day, although Tacoma pitched 12 innings...In 2019, Dodgers pitchers racked up a league-leading and team record 1,287 strikeouts, as OKC led the Pacific Coast League in K's for the third time in four seasons. The team registered five games with 15-plus strikeouts.

Even Flow: The Dodgers look to even up their season-opening series tonight after being shutout on Opening Day for the fourth time in the last eight seasons, as well as the third time in six seasons as a Dodgers affiliate. Prior to last night, OKC was most recently shut out in their season opener in 2017 against Iowa (1-0) and was also blanked by Round Rock in 2015 (2-0)...Despite notching a win or loss on Opening Day, the Dodgers have started a season 1-1 in 12 of the last 13 seasons. The Dodgers have dropped their first two games of a season just once in their previous 14 seasons, starting the 2017 season with a 0-3 record...OKC is now 10-13 overall in season openers during the Bricktown era (since 1998).

Double, Double Toil and Trouble: Three of the Dodgers' five hits last night were doubles, with two delivered by Rangel Ravelo and another courtesy of Matt Davidson. However, OKC struggled to produce with runners on base all evening, going 0-for-12 with runners on base (5 K), including 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position (2 K). The team only had one runner advance to third base, with none after the second inning.

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' roster currently has 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.

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.

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