PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 24, 2021

Published on September 24, 2021 under Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (1-0/62-58) at Las Vegas Aviators (0-1/62-59)

Game #121 of 129/Road #62 of 65/Final Stretch #2 of 10

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-5, 7.12) vs. LV-RHP Homer Bailey (1-6, 7.06)

Friday, September 24, 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 continue the Triple-A Final Stretch and their final road series of the season against the Las Vegas Aviators at 9:05 p.m. CT at Las Vegas Ballpark. The Dodgers have won three of their last four games overall and six of their last seven games on the road.

Last Game: The OKC Dodgers scored seven runs in the third inning and later hit back-to-back homers in the eighth inning on the way to a 12-5 road win against the Las Vegas Aviators Thursday night at Las Vegas Ballpark. Drew Avans' RBI double began the scoring for the Dodgers in the third inning and Sheldon Neuse followed with a RBI single. Steven Souza Jr. later added a RBI single before Zach Reks belted a three-run homer out to right-center field. A sacrifice fly by Tony Wolters scored Andy Burns, who had tripled, for a 7-0 advantage. Zach McKinstry's RBI double in the sixth inning boosted OKC's lead to 8-0. Once Dodgers starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson exited the game, the Aviators broke through with back-to-back homers in the sixth inning, including an inside-the-park homer. The Dodgers went on to add back-to-back homers of their own in the eighth inning when McKinstry hit a three-run shot before Matt Davidson followed with his team-leading 27th homer of the season for a 12-4 lead. Las Vegas added a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Dodgers went on to take a 1-0 lead in the five-game series.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Ryan Pepiot (1-5) is set to make his ninth start and 10th appearance with OKC...He most recently pitched 2.0 scoreless and hitless innings of relief Sept. 18 against Round Rock when he piggybacked opener Mike Kickham in OKC. He did not issue a walk, recorded three strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of OKC's 8-5 loss...He last started Sept. 12 in Salt Lake and was charged with the loss in OKC's 8-5 defeat. He allowed six runs (five earned) and seven hits over 2.2 innings with two walks and three K's...Leading up to his last outing against Round Rock, Pepiot had allowed 35 runs and 45 hits over 29.2 IP during his previous six starts (0-5). Prior to that stretch, Pepiot had posted a combined 2.92 ERA, .145 BAA and 0.94 WHIP over his first 16 games of 2021 between OKC and Double-A Tulsa...Pepiot was promoted to OKC from Tulsa July 31. The Dodgers' current No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline made 15 appearances (13 starts) for the Drillers and posted a 3-4 record and 2.87 ERA. He allowed 19 runs and 30 hits with 26 walks and 81 strikeouts over 59.2 innings. Pepiot held the opposition scoreless in five of his 15 games and allowed no more than one run in 10 of 15 games. At the time of his promotion, he led the Drillers with 81 K's and had the lowest ERA among regular starting pitchers. His 81 K's ranked fifth-most in the Double-A Central...He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Butler University, becoming the Bulldogs' highest-ever draft pick. Pepiot reached Triple-A after just 28 career games (23 starts) and 83.0 IP...Tonight is his third outing against the Aviators this season. In his previous two starts against Las Vegas in OKC Aug. 26 and Aug. 31, he allowed a combined eight runs (seven earned) and 10 hits over 10.2 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts, going 0-2.

Against the Aviators: 2021: 2-5 2019: 1-3 All-time: 50-59 At LV: 26-31 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 13 games against OKC going back to 2018...So far in the 2021 season series, the road team is 6-1.

The Final Frontier: Oklahoma City opened the Triple-A Final Stretch in Las Vegas Thursday. All 30 Triple-A teams will play five road games and five home games during the 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. 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...So far the Dodgers have hit three home runs during the Final Stretch, equaling $150 so far toward C4K.

Getting Offensive: The Dodgers broke out for 12 runs and 16 hits Thursday after combining for four runs and nine hits in the previous two games. It's the fourth time this month OKC has scored 12 runs in a game...The seven-run third inning was the team's fifth inning of the season with seven or more runs and second of the month (Sept. 7 vs. Albuquerque, fourth inning). The Dodgers have now scored at least four runs in an inning in 10 of the last 18 games for a total of 12 frames of four-plus runs, including 10 in last 15 games...Last night was the team's seventh game of the season with at least 16 hits, but the third in the last 15 games. In their previous five games they had been held to seven hits or less each game, for a total of 29 hits. Five Dodgers finished with multi-hit nights, led by Zach Reks' four hits and Drew Avans' three hits...Eight of OKC's hits went for extra bases for their most extra-base hits in a game since compiling 10 extra-base hits Aug. 8 in Albuquerque. It was their sixth game of 2021 with eight or more XBH.

Reks In Effect: Zach Reks finished the night 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and two RBI. Thursday was his second four-hit game of the season and first since May 30 in El Paso. It was also his second game with three extra-base hits this season along with June 8 vs. Sugar Land when he tallied three doubles. Entering Thursday's game, Reks was 6-for-39 (.154) in his previous 11 games...Reks leads the Dodgers with 24 doubles and 67 runs scored this season. The homer was his first with OKC since Sept. 6 and just his second with the team since Aug. 19 (23 games) after he hit 16 homers through his first 59 games of the season with OKC. His 18 total homers this season are tied for second-most among Dodgers players...Reks is currently one of three players in Triple-A West to rank in the top 10 in OBP (.387, 7th), SLG (.553, 6th) and OPS (4th, .940).

Matt the Bat: Matt Davidson picked up his 24th multi-hit game of the season Thursday, going 2-for-4 with his team-leading 27th homer, a walk and two runs scored. His .634 SLG leads Triple-A West, while his .998 OPS is second, his 27 homers rank third, his 75 RBI are tied for sixth and his 45 extra-base hits are tied for ninth. He has now hit safely in 11 of his last 15 games, going 22-for-62 (.355) with 10 extra-base hits (6 HR)...In 21 games since returning from the Injured List Aug. 28, Davidson has hit nine homers, collected 13 extra-base hits and tallied 26 RBI.

Young Sheldon: Sheldon Neuse went 2-for-5 with a RBI and run scored Thursday. He's now 13-for-38 (.342) over the his last nine games and has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games, going 25-for-76 (.329) with eight multi-hit games, 19 RBI and 17 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.

Inside Out: Luis Barrera's inside-the-park home run in the sixth inning for Las Vegas was incredibly the fourth inside-the-park homer hit against the Dodgers this season. He joins Albuquerque's Danny Edgeworth (May 24), Round Rock's Carl Chester (June 21) and El Paso's Taylor Kohlwey (July 11) as opponents who have hit inside-the-park homers against the Dodgers this season. Prior to Edgeworth's homer in May, the last inside-the-park home run hit against OKC was Aug. 3, 2018 by Andrew Aplin in Tacoma...Barrera now has hit two homers since May 14 (85 G/335 PA). Not only have both home runs been hit against OKC, but they have both been off the same pitcher (Austin Bibens-Dirkx).

How He Drew It Up: Drew Avans tied his season-high mark for hits Thursday, going 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and a game-high three runs scored. It was his second three-hit outing of the month, as he is batting .327 in September with 18 hits in 18 games, including five doubles, a homer, 11 RBI and is tied for the team lead with 15 runs scored...He also recorded his 17th stolen base of the season last night - tied for seventh most overall in Triple-A West.

Around the Horn: Starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson tossed 5.0 scoreless innings Thursday, allowing five hits and one walk and with six strikeouts. Wilkerson leads Triple-A West in ERA (4.11) and strikeouts (118), while ranking second in both WHIP (1.12) and BAA (.240)...Reliever Andrew Schwaab turned in a scoreless eighth inning last night. Over his last 10 appearances, Schwaab has thrown 8.1 scoreless innings while holding opponents 2-for-27 with 10 strikeouts...Cristian Santana has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games with an at-bat, going 19-for-50 (.380) with two homers, five doubles, 12 RBI and eight runs scored...Zach McKinstry went 2-for-5 with two extra-base hits and four RBI, tying his overall season high previously set June 27 with LAD when he hit a grand slam against the Chicago Cubs. He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 10-for-35 with four homers, three doubles, eight RBI and eight runs scored.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from September 24, 2021


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