PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - May 9, 2021

Published on May 9, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-3) at Round Rock Express (3-0)

Game #4 of 120/Road #4 of 60

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Aaron Wilkerson (NR, -.--) vs. RR-RHP Sam Gaviglio (NR, -.--)

Sunday, May 9, 2021 | Dell Diamond | Round Rock, Texas | 1:05 p.m. CT

Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio - Alex Freedman

Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers meet the Round Rock Express for a Mother's Day matinee at 1:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. The Dodgers seek their first win of the 2021 season as the Express own a 3-0 lead in the Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series. The current six-game series is OKC's first since wrapping up the 2019 season and following the cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Game: The OKC Dodgers took an early two-run lead, but Round Rock continued to show off its power, slugging four more homers in a 6-5 victory Saturday night. After trailing, 3-1, the Express tallied five unanswered runs to take a 6-3 lead. The Dodgers pulled within one run in the eighth inning, but left the tying run at third base and go-ahead run at second base to end the frame. Carlos Asuaje led the OKC offense with a two-run homer and a total of three RBI.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Aaron Wilkerson makes his first start since the 2019 season and his OKC Dodgers debut when he take the mound this afternoon...He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent May 1 shortly before the season began. He originally signed with Rakuten of the Chinese Professional Baseball League during the 2020-21 offseason, but opted out of his contract due to family reasons...Wilkerson was under contract with the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2020 season, but was not part of the team's player pool and did not play due to the canceled Minor League season...In 2019, Wilkerson started the season with Triple-A San Antonio before making eight relief appearances over three stints with the Milwaukee Brewers, totaling 16.0 innings throughout the season and posting a 7.31 ERA with 11 strikeouts and nine walks. He spent the majority of the season with San Antonio, making 17 starts and going 8-2 with a 3.42 ERA over 76.1 innings with 45 strikeouts...He recorded a season-high 10 K's April 7 in a win at OKC...Wilkerson made his ML debut in September 2017 with the Brewers against Miami and has pitched in 14 ML games (three starts) with the Brewers...He last pitched against Round Rock during the 2019 season while with San Antonio Aug. 28, making the start and pitching 3.2 innings in Round Rock. He allowed two runs and five hits with five strikeouts and tied a career high with five walks in a no decision.

Against the Express: 2021: 0-3 2019: 6-10 All-time: 130-111 At RR: 67-55 The Dodgers and Express continue their Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series tonight and meet for the third 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...OKC is now 2-9 over the last 11 games at Dell Diamond, exceeding their losses from the 2016-18 seasons combined (seven). The team went 22-10 at the venue over the first four seasons of the Dodgers affiliation...Including the current series, the Dodgers have started each of their last three series at Dell Diamond by losing three straight.

Down in a Hole: The Dodgers have dropped their first three games, matching their slowest start to a season in the Bricktown era (since 1998), and today look to avoid the first-ever 0-4 start to a season. OKC has started a season 0-3 just twice previously - in 2017 against Iowa in OKC and in 2005 at Memphis. The team had won at least one of its first two games in 13 of the last 14 seasons and in 20 of its first 22 seasons overall. In 2017, the team followed its 0-3 start by winning seven of its next eight games. In 2005, the first three losses were followed by wins in seven of the next nine games...OKC is currently one of three Triple-A West teams still searching for its first win of 2021, along with Albuquerque and Salt Lake.

The Run Around: OKC has allowed the second-most runs in Triple-A West through three games (27 R/26 ER) and has allowed a league-high 11 homers, as the Express have hit at least four homers in each of the last two games. The 27 runs allowed by the Dodgers are the most given up by an OKC team through three games since 1998. OKC's previous high for runs allowed through the first three games of a season was 20 against Salt Lake in OKC in 2001. In previous years, an OKC team had not allowed a combined 27 runs prior to their fourth game of a season (2013 at Memphis)...Going back to Thursday's season opener, the pitching staff has retired the side in order just once over the past 20 innings, allowing 31 hits and 14 walks during that span (2.25 WHIP), including 10 home runs.

On the Board: After being held scoreless through the first 11 innings to begin the season, the Dodgers have scored 11 runs on 17 hits over the 16 innings since. Following a collective 5-for-39 (.128) start, the team is 17-for-65 (.262)...OKC took its first lead of the series in the second inning Saturday on Carlos Asuaje's two-run homer - an opposite-field blast to left field...Although nine of the team's first 22 hits have gone for extra bases, the team is now 3-for-25 with runners in scoring position...After the the leadoff batter reached base just three times total over the first two games combined, the leadoff man reached base three times last night and scored each time.

Strike Hard: OKC pitchers totaled nine strikeouts Saturday after racking up 11 K's Friday and 15 K's in Thursday's season opener. Through the first three games of the season, the Dodgers' pitching staff's 35 total K's rank third-most in Triple-A West, however OKC has pitched fewer innings (24.0 IP) than both league-leader Reno (40 K/27.0 IP) and Tacoma (37 K/30.0 IP)...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. OKC registered 61 games with 10-plus strikeouts.

Stop Those Thieves!: Last night Round Rock swiped six bases (6-for-7) to tie its franchise record for most steals in one game. Through three games the Express is 12-for-14 on stolen base attempts and now leads all of Triple-A with 12 steals despite playing two less games than each of the 20 teams in Triple-A East...On the other hand, OKC, Albuquerque and Rochester are the lone Triple-A teams without a stolen base this season.

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.

Around the Horn: The Dodgers play their first day game of 2021 today. They went 11-13 under the sun in 2019 and posted a 9-12 record on Sundays overall (6-5 on the road)...This is the second straight season OKC plays in Round Rock on Mother's Day, taking a 4-2 loss in 2019...Andy Burns has reached base in seven of his first 12 plate appearances (3 H, 4 BB)...Omar Estévez started in center field Saturday, marking the first game of his career in the outfield (463 games). He recorded two putouts as well as an assist after throwing out Yonny Hernandez at second base in the fourth inning...Cristian Santana made his season debut, coming off the bench for an injured Matt Davidson in the third inning. He hit a double on the first pitch he saw in the 2021 season and finished 2-for-3...Reliever Yaisel Sierra appeared in his first non-rehab game action since 2017 last night after battling several injuries. He did not allow a run or hit over 0.2 IP, but did walk three of the five batters he faced...Outfielder DJ Peters was recalled by Los Angeles prior to yesterday's game and collected his first career ML hit with a double in the seventh inning against the Angels.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 9, 2021


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