OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 4, 2021
September 4, 2021 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Albuquerque Isotopes (45-58) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (51-52)
Game #104 of 130/Home #50 of 65
Pitching Probables: ABQ-RHP Dereck Rodríguez (3-4, 7.14) vs. OKC-RHP Yefry Ramírez (4-3, 5.25)
Saturday, September 4, 2021 | 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 series between the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Albuquerque Isotopes continues at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on the third and final OKC 89ers Night of the season. Last night's win for the Dodgers snapped a three-game losing skid and tied the current series between the teams, 1-1. Tonight the Dodgers are looking to win consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 17.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored four runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 5-2 win against the Albuquerque Isotopes Friday night, as they snapped a three-game losing skid at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Trailing, 2-1, the Dodgers loaded the bases in the fourth inning on a hit by pitch and two walks before Gavin Lux hit a RBI single into right field. With the bases loaded again, Steven Souza Jr. lined a two-run double into left field to give OKC a 4-2 advantage. Zack Reks followed and grounded a RBI single into left field for a 5-2 lead. Neither team scored over the final five innings. The Isotopes took the game's first lead on a triple and RBI groundout in the first inning. Reks' RBI double in the third inning tied the game, 1-1. Colton Welker's solo homer in the fourth inning put Albuquerque ahead, 2-1. After OKC took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Isotopes loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but Dodgers pitcher Edwin Uceta (2-3) recorded a strikeout and induced a double play to escape the jam. Albuquerque loaded the bases again in the eighth inning, but a strikeout by OKC pitcher Neftali Feliz ended the inning.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Yefry Ramírez (4-3) is scheduled to make his team-leading 17th start of the season tonight...In his previous outing Aug. 29 against Las Vegas in OKC, Ramírez pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three runs, six hits and one walk with five strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of OKC's 5-4 win...Ramírez's 86 strikeouts are third-most in Triple-A West, while his .256 opponent average is fourth, his 5.25 ERA and 1.48 WHIP are both sixth among qualified pitchers...Entering tonight, the Dodgers have won five of his last six starts, including wins in four straight home starts. The team is 7-1 the last eight times Ramírez has taken the bump at The Brick...Ramírez made his Los Angeles Dodgers debut Aug. 1 at Arizona and pitched 2.0 scoreless and hitless innings with two K's and one walk to close out a 13-0 win. Ramírez was optioned to OKC Aug. 2, designated for assignment when the Dodgers signed four-time All-Star Cole Hamels and subsequently outrighted to OKC Aug. 7...Ramírez was named Triple-A West Pitcher of the Month for June after going 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in five starts. He allowed 20 hits and struck out 27 over 26.0 IP while holding opponents to a .213 average. Ramírez led the league in ERA and opponent average while he tied for the best WHIP (1.12). He also ranked third in strikeouts and innings...Ramírez signed with the Dodgers as a free agent March 25. He is in his 10th pro season, originally signing with Arizona as an international free agent in 2011.
Against the Isotopes: 2021: 6-8 2019: 3-0 All-time: 113-98 At OKC: 63-37 The Dodgers and Isotopes are meeting for their third and final series of 2021, but first of the season at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, as the first 12 games of 2021 between the teams all were played in Albuquerque...The teams most recently matched up Aug. 5-10. The Isotopes built a 2-0 lead in the series before OKC won the next two games and the teams split the final two meetings. OKC scored 15 runs in a 15-10 win Aug. 8, tying their total for the second-most runs scored in a game by the team this season. The Isotopes tallied at least 10 runs in each of the final three meetings of the series. The Dodgers racked up 12 homers during the previous set as well as 33 total extra-base hits...The Isotopes took four of six games, May 20-25, including three of the final four. The Dodgers scored 10 or more runs three times during the series and shut out the Isotopes 12-0 in the series finale...The teams last met in OKC in 2018 when the Dodgers swept a three-game set. Thursday night's win was Albuquerque's first in Bricktown since the 2016 season...Six of the 14 games in the season's series have been decided by one run, with the Isotopes going 5-1 in those games.
Reks in Effect: Zach Reks went a game-high 3-for-4 Friday with two doubles and two RBI. It was his first three-hit game since July 8 at El Paso and just his second multi-hit game since July 31 (19 games)...He has reached base in 11 of his last 12 games, collecting 12 hits, 11 walks, 11 RBI and six runs scored. During that time he is batting .300 (12x40) with a .442 OBP (OB 23/52 PA), with three more walks (11) than strikeouts (8)...Reks leads OKC in hits (77), runs (61), doubles (21) and walks (41) overall this season. He also ranks second on the team with 57 RBI this season and has collected 19 RBI over his last 17 games, with at least one RBI in 10 of the 17 contests...Reks ranks fourth in Triple-A West in OPS (.968), tied for fifth in runs (66), seventh in OBP (.402) and ninth in SLG (.566).
Cool for the Summer: OKC snapped a three-game losing streak last night and is now 51-52 overall. The Dodgers entered Friday night's game with losses in eight of their last nine games and 11 of their last 13 games...Following a win Aug. 17 vs. Round Rock, the Dodgers sat a season-best seven games above .500 at 48-41 and were just 1.0 game out of first place. But since then, the team is 3-11 and has fallen 8.5 games out of first place...The team has a -21 run differential over the last 14 games after posting a +54 run differential for the season leading up to Aug. 19...Six of OKC's 11 losses in the 14-game span have been by one run, and seven of the losses have been by one or two runs.
The Runaround Turnaround?: The two runs allowed by the Dodgers Friday snapped a stretch of 16 straight games in which opponents scored at least four runs. The Dodgers have allowed at least five runs in each of their last 11 losses, and over the last 14 games, the pitching staff has allowed a total of 96 runs (6.8 rpg) and posted a 6.25 ERA (84 ER/121.0 IP). Opponents have batted .285 (142x498) with a total of 58 extra-base hits, including 26 home runs over the last 14 games and have homered at least once in 12 of the games...Since this spell began Aug. 19, the Dodgers have allowed the second-most runs in Triple-A - two less than current opponent Albuquerque (98) - and tied for fifth-most runs allowed in all of the Minors during the span. The 26 home runs are tied for third-most allowed in the Minors.
The Winning (and Losing) Formula: In the Dodgers' last 14 wins, they have allowed a total of 53 runs (3.8 rpg), with four or fewer runs allowed in 12 of the 14 games. In the team's last 16 losses, they've allowed 121 runs (7.6 rpg), with at least seven runs allowed in nine of the 16 games, including Thursday night's series opener.
Kings of K's: OKC's pitching staff recorded eight more strikeouts last night for the team's second straight strikeout total under double digits, but the Dodgers still rank second in Triple-A West in K's this season. OKC's 994 K's only trail Sugar Land's 1,008 strikeouts, but the Skeeters have played one more game than the Dodgers. OKC has at least nine K's in five of the last seven games and at least 10 K's in four of the last seven games. The Dodgers have 52 double-digit strikeout games this season...OKC is aiming to lead the league in strikeouts for the fourth time in the last five seasons (2016, 2017, 2019).
Quack Attack: Kevin Quackenbush pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning last night, earning his 16th save in 17 chances this season. He's now tied for second in Triple-A West in saves, just one behind Sugar Land's Ronel Blanco. With 27 saves over the 2019 and 2021 seasons with OKC, he's second all-time on the team's career saves list during the team's Bricktown era (since 1998)...Among all Triple-A relievers with at least 35 appearances this season, Quackenbush's 1.05 ERA is over a half-run lower than the next best ERA, and he has allowed two fewer runs than the next closest reliever.
Matt the Bat: Matt Davidson drew a season-high three walks last night, tying for the most walks in a game by an OKC player this season (7x). It was his highest walk total since also drawing three walks May 24, 2019 while with Triple-A Nashville against Memphis...Over the first two games of the current series, Davidson has a homer, three RBI, three walks and a run scored...Davidson leads the Dodgers with 58 RBI and 21 homers this season, and his home run total ranks seventh in Triple-A West...Since June 29, Davidson ranks second in Triple-A West with 17 homers and third with 47 RBI...He has hit at least 20 homers for the ninth time in his 11 full pro seasons.
RISPy Business: The Dodgers went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position last night after going 2-for-21 in the previous two games and 6-for-44 in the previous four games...Over the last five games, the team is now batting .164 (9x55) with RISP and have left 47 runners on base, including 31 runners in scoring position...Leading up to Aug. 29, the Dodgers batted .345 with RISP over the first 23 games of August.
Trial and Error: The Dodgers did not commit an error last night after being charged with a season-high four errors Thursday. OKC leads Triple-A West with 89 total errors this season and ranks tied for second in all of Triple-A. Entering Friday, the Dodgers had committed at least one error in four straight games (7 E) and in nine of the previous 10 games (13 E)...Since Aug. 5, the Dodgers have committed 31 errors over 25 games and have not completed back-to-back games without committing an error...As a team, the Dodgers have been charged with 24 unearned runs over the last 21 games.
Around the Horn: The Dodgers are seeking back-to-back home wins for just the fourth time in 33 games in Bricktown. The team is 3-10 when following their last 13 home wins. With last night's win, the Dodgers are now 14-21 over their last 35 home games...Tony Wolters went 3-for-4 Thursday with a double, walk and RBI. It was his second three-hit game overall this season and first since June 4 while playing for Triple-A Iowa at Omaha. Going back to Monday, Wolters is 4-for-his-last-7 with a home run and a double...The Dodgers drew seven more walks last night and rank second in the league in walks this season (432), six behind Tacoma for the league lead...The Dodgers are 5-11 on Saturdays this year, including 1-6 at home...Norman, Okla. native and Norman High School product Jake Jewell made his team debut Thursday night, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Pacific Coast League Stories from September 4, 2021
- Nelson Gonzalez Ties All-Time Isotopes Record for Games Pitched - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Late Las Vegas Homer Fells Skeeters - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 4, 2021 - Oklahoma City Comets
- One and the Same: Blake Lalli - Reno Aces
- Aces Game Notes - Reno Aces
- Reno Takes First Two of Series, Two-Game Lead in Division - Tacoma Rainiers
- Four Sacramento pitchers combine to throw first 9-inning no hitter in River Cats' history - Sacramento River Cats
- Aces Win Explosive Game Two of Six-Game Series with Tacoma - Reno Aces
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