
OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 23, 2021
September 23, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Dodgers (0-0/61-58) at Las Vegas Aviators (0-0/62-58)
Game #120 of 129/Road #61 of 65/Final Stretch #1 of 10
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Aaron Wilkerson (6-5, 4.32)/RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx (10-6, 4.94) vs. LV-RHP Brady Feigl (1-1, 6.62)
Thursday, September 23, 2021 | Las Vegas Ballpark | Las Vegas, Nev. | 9:05 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM AM-1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv
Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers open the Triple-A Final Stretch with a five-game road series against the Las Vegas Aviators at 9:05 p.m. CT at Las Vegas Ballpark. Tonight also begins the team's final road series of the season.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored three runs in the eighth inning to come back and defeat the Round Rock Express, 3-1, Tuesday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. In the regular-season finale for both teams, Round Rock held the Dodgers without a hit through six innings and took the lead in the fifth inning on a bases-loaded walk. The Dodgers only had two men reach base through six innings and did not have a hit until Matt Davidson led off the bottom of the seventh inning by lining a single into right-center field. The Dodgers went on to load the bases with one out but were unable to bring in a run. Sheldon Neuse started the eighth-inning rally with a triple and scored on a RBI single by Zach McKinstry to tie the game, 1-1. Cristian Santana lined a go-ahead RBI double to the wall in left field for a 2-1 lead before the Dodgers brought in another run on a Round Rock fielding error for a 3-1 advantage. Kevin Quackenbush retired the side in order in the ninth inning to close the game.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Aaron Wilkerson (6-5) is set to start tonight's game...Wilkerson last pitched Sept. 17 against Round Rock at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, piggybacking Austin Bibens-Dirkx. He ended up throwing 5.0 scoreless innings and retired 15 of 16 batters faced, including the final 14 in a row. He allowed one single with no walks and six strikeouts...Following a stint on the IL, Wilkerson returned to game action Sept. 6 against Albuquerque in OKC, and in his first three games back, he's thrown 9.0 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks. During that time he's held opponents 3-for-28 and has not allowed an extra-base hit...Wilkerson paces Triple-A West with a 4.32 ERA and is tied for the league lead with 112 strikeouts. He also ranks second with a .246 AVG, 1.12 WHIP and .238 AVG while his 100.0 innings pitched rank sixth...Wilkerson did not face the Aviators earlier this season and tonight will be his second career start at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx (10-6) is scheduled to piggyback Wilkerson...He fell to 1-5 in his last six outings when he took the mound Sept. 17 against Round Rock in OKC, making his 16th start of the season. He tied his season-high mark with seven runs allowed (six earned) over 3.1 innings with nine hits and four strikeouts, and he was charged with the loss in OKC's 7-3 defeat...Bibens-Dirkx became the first Triple-A West pitcher to 10 wins this season Sept. 11 in Salt Lake and is still tied for the league in victories with Tacoma's Logan Verrett...After starting the season 9-1 through his first 17 outings, including a stretch of 14 games (eight starts) without a loss, he is 1-5 in his last six games, with losses each of his last five starts...Bibens-Dirkx currently ranks tied for first in Triple-A West with 105.2 IP, fifth with a 1.43 WHIP and 4.94 ERA and seventh with a .290 AVG...Bibens-Dirkx last recorded 10 wins in a season in 2013 when he finished a combined 12-9 in the Blue Jays organization, including nine wins with High-A Dunedin and three wins with Double-A New Hampshire...Tonight is his second appearance against the Aviators this season. He made the start Aug. 30 in OKC, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing four runs (two earned) and six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He was charged with the loss in OKC's 6-4 defeat.
Against the Aviators: 2021: 1-5 2019: 1-3 All-time: 49-59 At LV: 25-31 Oklahoma City and Las Vegas open the Triple-A Final Stretch with their second series of 2021...The teams last met during a six-game series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Aug. 26-31, with the Aviators winning the series, 5-1. Las Vegas outscored the Dodgers, 36-24, and outhit OKC, 56-50. The Aviators hit 12 homers in the series, while OKC hit seven. Las Vegas opened the series, 3-0...Matt Davidson had a team-high six RBI and Deacon Liput homered three times...The teams last met in Las Vegas during a four-game series Aug. 2-5, 2019. The Aviators won the series, 3-1, and scored 10 runs in each of their three wins during the series, outscoring the Dodgers, 36-29, as the Aviators batted .342. Twice in their three wins, the Aviators trailed in their final at-bat, only to rally and walk off with a win...OKC last won a series against Las Vegas in 2015 (3-1) on the road and last won a home series against Las Vegas in 2014 (3-1)...Entering tonight, Las Vegas has won 10 of the last 12 games against OKC going back to 2018.
That's a Wrap: The Dodgers concluded the 2021 regular season with a win Tuesday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers finished the regular season in a tie with Round Rock for second place in the Triple-A West East Division with identical 61-58 records and 9.5 games behind division-winner Sugar Land (71-49), although the Dodgers hold the tiebreaker over the Express by virtue of winning the season series. Tacoma won the Triple-A West regular-season title with a 73-47 record.
The Final Frontier: Oklahoma City opens the Triple-A Final Stretch in Las Vegas tonight. In July, Major League Baseball announced the rescheduling of 10 games postponed at the start of the 2021 Triple-A season and added to the end the season. All 30 Triple-A teams will play five road games and five away games during the Triple-A Final Stretch - a new postseason tournament format. A single 2021 Triple-A Final Stretch Winner will be crowned based on the highest overall winning percentage among all 30 teams during the final 10 games. During the Final Stretch, the OKC Dodgers are set to play five games in Las Vegas and will then host El Paso for five games Sept. 29-Oct. 3 to wrap up the season at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark...All team and individual stats accumulated during the Final Stretch will still be counted toward 2021 season stats, but wins and losses will not affect league standings outside of the 10 games. A champion was named for both the Triple-A West (Tacoma) and Triple-A East (Durham) leagues for the 2021 regular season based on overall winning percentage through the originally scheduled 120-game championship season.
Homers That Help: Each home run hit by the Oklahoma City Dodgers during Triple-A's Final Stretch will benefit Cleats for Kids in Oklahoma City as part of "Homers That Help." For each home run hit by Triple-A teams during the Final Stretch, Minor League Baseball will donate $50 per home run to a local 501(c)3 charity selected by the team. The team with the most home runs hit during the 10-game span will generate an extra $5,000 donation for its charity of choice. The OKC Dodgers chose to benefit Cleats for Kids (C4K), which provides new and used sports equipment free of charge to youth in need, gathering equipment through community drives and drop-off donation sites.
Santana's Greatest Hits: Cristian Santana lined a go-ahead RBI double to the wall in left field in the eighth inning Tuesday in OKC. He has now hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, during which time he is 19-for-50 (.380) with two homers, five doubles, 12 RBI and eight runs scored...Since July 23, Santana ranks second in Triple-A West with a .348 batting average and third with 64 hits...He leads the Dodgers with 95 hits and 28 multi-hit games this season.
Dinger Details: Tuesday marked the 13th time this season (119 games) in which neither team hit a home run. The Dodgers have been held without a homer in back-to-back games for the first time since July 31-Aug. 1 in Round Rock. It's the sixth time they've failed to go deep in back-to-back games this season, but they have yet to record three straight games without a homer. The Dodgers had hit at least one homer in 14 of the first 16 games of September before the recent dry spell... Monday's loss snapped OKC's season-high stretch of 12 consecutive games with a homer. The Dodgers hit 25 homers during the streak, with multiple homers in nine of the 12 games...On the other hand, the Express was held without a homer Tuesday, snapping a streak of eight straight games with at least one home run allowed (10 HR). OKC has surrendered 43 homers over the last 30 games - tied for second-most in the league since Aug. 19, with at least one homer in 24 of the 30 contests.
Runaround Turnaround: After allowing six-plus runs in six straight games (45 R), the Dodgers limited Round Rock to only one run Tuesday. It was the second time this season the Dodgers allowed six-plus runs in six straight games and first since it occurred in each of the first six games of the season. It was also just the second time since Aug. 13 the Dodgers held an opponent to one run or less (a span of 23 games)...After allowing double-digit hit totals in each of the previous six games, OKC held the Express to eight hits Tuesday. Opponents had batted .382 (26x68) with runners in scoring position over the previous six games, but Round Rock was held 0-for-8 Tuesday.
Young Sheldon: Sheldon Neuse finished Tuesday 1-for-3 with a walk and started the eighth-inning rally with a one-out triple - his third triple in six games. He's now 11-for-33 over the his last eight games and has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games, going 23-for-71 (.324) with seven multi-hit games, 18 RBI and 16 runs scored...Neuse returns to Las Vegas for the first time since he spent the majority of 2019 playing for the Aviators. In 62 games at Las Vegas Ballpark that season, Neuse slashed .327/.387/.593 and had 17 homers, 31 extra-base hits and 55 RBI.
Matt the Bat: Matt Davidson recorded OKC's only multi-hit game Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. He's how hit safely in 10 of his 14 games, going 20-for-58 (.345) with nine extra-base hits (5 HR)...In 20 games since returning from the Injured List Aug. 28, Davidson has hit eight homers, collected 12 extra-base hits (8 HR) and tallied 25 RBI...Davidson ranks second in Triple-A West with both a .626 SLG and .968 OPS, while his 26 homers are third and 74 RBI are sixth.
Around the Horn: Tuesday marked the fourth time in the six-game series against Round Rock the game was decided in the winning team's final at-bat. Going back to the series before that in Salt Lake, five of the Dodgers' last 11 games have been decided in a last at-bat. Tuesday was OKC's seventh last at-bat win of the season...The Dodgers were held to seven or fewer hits for a fifth straight game Tuesday. Over the last five games the Dodgers have collected a combined 29 hits after racking up 44 hits in the three games prior...Darien Núñez earned the win Tuesday and has how turned in eight straight scoreless outings. Since Aug. 31, he has allowed three hits and one walk over 8.1 innings, holding opponents 3-for-27. He has struck out 14 of the 28 batters he's faced...Over his last nine appearances, Andrew Schwaab has thrown 7.1 scoreless innings while holding opponents 2-for-24 with eight strikeouts...The Dodgers enter tonight having lost four of their last five series openers.
Pacific Coast League Stories from September 23, 2021
- Top Texas Rangers Prospects Join Round Rock Express for Final Stretch - Round Rock Express
- Aces Notes - Reno Aces
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 23, 2021 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Isotopes Team up with ENlace Comunitario for 'Homers That Help' - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Rainiers Partner with Rebuilding Together South Sound for "Final StretchâÃâ¬Ã - Tacoma Rainiers
- OKC Dodgers Homers to Benefit Cleats for Kids During Triple-A Final Stretch - Oklahoma City Comets
- Aviators Geared up for Triple-A Final Stretch in 2021 Homestand Finale - Las Vegas Aviators
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