PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 7, 2022

Published on May 7, 2022 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Albuquerque Isotopes (12-16) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (17-11)

Game #29 of 150/Home #17 of 75 Pitching Probables: ABQ-RHP Brandon Gold (0-0, 4.60) vs. OKC-RHP Sam Gaviglio (3-2, 5.29) Saturday, May 7, 2022 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT

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

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers try for a third straight win when they continue their series against the Albuquerque Isotopes at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers have won five of their last seven games and six of their last nine games during the current 12-game homestand.

Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored runs in five of the first six innings and racked up 17 hits in a 9-2 win against the Albuquerque Isotopes Friday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Three Dodgers pitchers combined to shut out Albuquerque over the game's final eight innings after the Isotopes scored twice in the first inning. OKC opened the bottom of the first inning with five straight hits, including a leadoff homer by Kevin Pillar. Stefen Romero added a RBI double and OKC took the lead on Andy Burns' RBI single. Pillar homered for the second time in his second at-bat to lead off the second inning. Pillar's sacrifice fly in the third inning and a RBI double by Miguel Vargas boosted OKC's lead to 6-2. OKC loaded the bases in the fifth inning and Zach McKinstry supplied a RBI single. A RBI triple by Jason Martin and RBI single by Omar Estévez in the sixth inning extended OKC's lead to 9-2.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Sam Gaviglio (3-2) is scheduled to make his sixth appearance and second start of the season...Gaviglio last pitched May 1 against Sugar Land in OKC, allowing five runs (three earned) and five hits in 4.2 innings - his longest outing of the season - with one walk and a season-high six strikeouts. He entered the game in the second inning and did not allow a run until the final batter he faced hit a three-run homer...Gaviglio has primarily worked in a tandem and appeared out of the bullpen this season. His one prior start was April 26 against Sugar Land and he took the loss in a 7-4 defeat...Gaviglio signed with LAD as a free agent Jan. 31, 2022 after splitting last year with Triple-A Round Rock and SSG Landers of the KBO in Korea...He spent the entire 2019 season as a member of Toronto's bullpen, making a career-high 52 appearances...He made his ML debut May 11, 2017 with the Seattle Mariners at Toronto, striking out the first batter he faced...He was selected by St. Louis in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Oregon State University...His first appearance of the season was April 8 against the Isotopes in OKC. He allowed two runs and five hits over 3.0 innings with four strikeouts and no walks and earned the win in OKC's 8-3 victory.

Against the Isotopes: 2022: 7-3 2021: 9-9 All-time: 123-102 At OKC: 73-41

The Dodgers and Isotopes meet for their second series in the young 2022 season and second series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...The teams opened the season against one another April 5-10, with the Dodgers winning the series, 5-1, including closing the series with four consecutive wins. The Dodgers outscored Albuquerque, 43-24, in the series and outhit the Isotopes, 62-40, including nine homers. Zach McKinstry had 11 hits in six games, including three triples and three doubles...The teams split their 2021 season series, 9-9. The Isotopes won seven of the first 12 games before OKC won the final series, 4-2, including the final two games between the teams...The Dodgers have not lost a season series to Albuquerque since 2017, going a combined 6-0 against the Isotopes in 2018 and 2019 prior to last season's split...Going back to 2012, OKC is 31-9 at home against the Isotopes over the last 40 games. During the current series, Albuquerque secured its first back-to-back wins in OKC since 2016 and the teams played their first doubleheader since the 2011 season...Five of this season's 10 games have been decided by one run, and going back to last season, 13 of the 28 games between the Dodgers and Isotopes have been settled by one run, with Albuquerque going 8-5.

Pillar of Strength: Kevin Pillar went 4-for-4 with two homers and three RBI last night, and going back to Thursday, he is 7-for-7 with three home runs and a sac fly over his last eight plate appearances. His four hits Friday were a season high and his most since a four-hit outing Aug. 12, 2020 with the Boston Red Sox against Tampa Bay. He became the fourth Dodgers player with a multi-homer game this season and it was his first since hitting two homers Aug. 28, 2021 with the New York Mets at Baltimore. His 10 total bases are the most by an OKC player this season and his highest single-game total since May 12, 2012 with Single-A Lansing at Dayton when he went 6-for-6 with a homer, double and four singles...Pillar leads the Dodgers with seven homers and 24 RBI while his 26 runs scored are tied for the PCL lead. He also ranks among league leaders in OPS (2nd - 1.105), triples (T-2nd - 3), RBI (3rd - 24), OBP (3rd - .423), SLG (3rd - .682), total bases (4th - 58), homers (T-5th - 7), extra-base hits (T-5th - 13) and AVG (7th - .329)...Before the current 7-for-7 stretch, Pillar was 0-for-his-last-11 and 2-for-his-last-19.

Getting Offensive: Yesterday marked the third time in the last five games the Dodgers scored nine or more runs and the team is now tied with Albuquerque for a league-best 178 runs scored this season. The run total also ranks tied for third among all 120 teams in the Minors...OKC's 17 hits Friday fell one shy of the team season high set April 19 at Sacramento. Friday was the team's third straight game with a double-digit hit total and the fourth in the last five games. It was the fourth time this season OKC had 15 or more hits in a game...Going back to the fourth inning of the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, the Dodgers are 39-for-91 (.429) with 25 runs scored and five homers over their last 18 trips to the plate. They were 39-for-83 (.470) until finishing Friday's game 0-for-8...The Dodgers went 6-for-17 with runners in scoring position Friday and are 11-for-30 with RISP over the last two games combined. Over the last six games, they are 24-for-66 (.364) with RISP after being held 5-for-47 (.106) with RISP in the previous eight games combined...For the second straight game, all nine Dodgers batters collected at least one hit with Kevin Pillar, Miguel Vargas, Zach McKinstry, Jason Martin and Omar Estévez each finishing with multi-hit games...Over the team's last five games, the Dodgers have batted .345 (57x165) overall while tallying 44 runs. There have been five individuals within those five games to collect four or more RBI in one game. Prior to Sunday, no Dodger had more than three RBI in a game this season.

Mighty Miguel: Miguel Vargas extended his season-best hitting streak to eight games, going 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and scored a run Friday. During the streak, he is 14-for-31 (.452) with four RBI and 14 runs scored...Friday marked his team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the season. He has three straight multi-hit games as well as five in his last six games and six in his last eight games...He leads the Dodgers with 31 hits and is tied for the PCL lead with 26 runs scored this season. His 31 hits and 17 walks both rank tied for third in the PCL, while his 48 total bases are tied for ninth...Following a 3-for-17 start to begin his season and Triple-A career, the 22-year-old had slashed .322/.419/.483 since April 10 (23 games).

That's My JM: Jason Martin hit his second triple in four games and finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk, RBI and two runs as he has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 11-for-26 (.423) with six RBI and seven runs scored...Going back last Saturday, he has reached based via hit or walk in 12 of his last 20 plate appearances. Overall, he has reached base safely in 22 of his 24 starts this season and his 28 hits are tied for second-most on the team. His .422 on-base percentage is fourth-best in the league as are his 20 runs scored this season.

Three of a Kind: The Dodgers picked up their Triple-A-leading 16th triple of the season last night as well as their fifth triple in the last eight games. Their 16 triples are second-most in all of the Minors, trailing only Single-A Charleston's 17. Six different players have collected a triple, while Zack McKinstry leads the PCL with four triples and Drew Avans and Kevin Pillar each have three triples...Last season, the Dodgers finished with a league-low 23 triples in 129 games. They didn't collect their 16th triple until Sept. 11 in the 110th game of the season.

Omar Comin': Omar Estévez went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored yesterday. It marked his first three-hit game since a four-hit performance July 10, 2021 at El Paso...He has hit safely in a season-best three straight games, going 6-for-13 with three RBI and three runs scored. Over his last five games, Estévez is 8-for-20 with three doubles, three RBI, a walk, four runs scored and has registered three multi-hit games. Prior to April 26, Estévez was 2-for-30 this season.

First Things First: The Dodgers have scored at least three runs in the first inning in three of the last five games, totaling 11 runs in the opening frame, including seven runs over the past two games. Before Sunday, the Dodgers had scored in the first inning in just five of their first 23 games, totaling seven runs. OKC is now 8-0 when scoring in the first inning...Opponents have scored first in 10 of the last 12 games, and during the current homestand, opponents have scored first in eight of the first 10 games. The opposition has scored in the first or second inning in 10 of the last 12 games as well, and the Dodgers have kept their opponent scoreless through the first three innings just once during that 12-game stretch...Albuquerque has scored 11 of their 15 runs this series within the first two innings.

Around the Horn: At 17-11, the Dodgers have matched their high-water mark at six games above .500. However, in the three previous times they've reached it, they lost the next game...Tomás Telis has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, going 15-for-37 (.405) with four multi-hit games, seven RBI and six runs scored...Relief pitcher Justin Hagenman recorded his fourth scoreless outing and first win with OKC last night after joining the team from Double-A Tulsa in late April. He pitched 2.1 scoreless innings Friday, allowing one hit with two K's. In his first five Triple-A games (8.1 IP), Hagenman has allowed one run and four hits and one walk with nine strikeouts...Andy Burns has notched a hit and RBI in three straight games, going 4-for-12 with seven RBI...Jake Lamb did not play yesterday but went a combined 3-for-6 in the doubleheader, scoring three runs with two walks. He's hit safely in seven of his last nine games with five multi-hit games and is 12-for-30 (.400) with two homers, a double, six RBI, six runs scored and seven walks...The Dodgers have homered in nine of their last 10 games...Last night marked the 10th time this season OKC held an opponent to two runs or less (9-1).

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