PCL Oklahoma City Comets

OKC Dodgers Game Notes - September 9, 2023

September 9, 2023 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City Dodgers (32-29/82-52) at Sugar Land Space Cowboys (21-40/54-82)

Game #135 of 148/Second Half #62 of 75/Road #68 of 75

Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Tyson Miller (1-0, 1.29) vs. SUG-RHP Brandon Bielak (1-2, 5.14)

Saturday, September 9, 2023 | Constellation Field | Sugar Land, Texas | 6:05 p.m. CT

Radio: 94.7 FM The Ref, 947theref.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv

Today's Game: The OKC Dodgers look to take the lead in their road series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at 6:05 p.m. at Constellation Field. The Space Cowboys evened the series at 2-2 with a win last night and the Dodgers will try tonight to avoid their first back-to-back losses against Sugar Land since August 2021. The Dodgers are 16-6 against Sugar Land this season and have won seven of their last nine games at Constellation Field.

Last Game: The Sugar Land Space Cowboys built an early four-run lead and prevented the Oklahoma City Dodgers' offense from piecing anything together, leading to a 4-1 defeat for the Dodgers Friday night at Constellation Field. The Space Cowboys scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning, including two-out RBI hits by Bligh Madris and César Salazar. Another two-out RBI knock by Shay Whitcomb in the third inning pushed Sugar Land's lead to 4-0. The Dodgers responded with a run in the fourth inning, following a double by Miguel Vargas and RBI single by Jonny DeLuca. But after DeLuca's single, the teams combined for just one hit for the remainder of the game, and the Dodgers did not advance a runner into scoring position.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Tyson Miller (1-0) is slated to open today's game and make his first start of the season...Miller pitched 2.0 innings of relief Wednesday in Sugar Land, allowing a solo home run with one strikeout...The right-handed pitcher rejoined the Dodgers organization after a brief August stint in the Mets organization as he has played for three MLB teams and each of their Triple-A affiliates in 2023...He started the season in the Milwaukee organization, and over four stints with the Brewers, posted a 5.79 ERA over seven relief appearances spanning 9.1 IP, with seven strikeouts and three walks. He also pitched in 15 games with Triple-A Nashville this season, going 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA over 25.2 innings with 10 walks against 27 strikeouts...He was designated for assignment by the Brewers July 8 and was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations July 12...He pitched in two July games with the OKC Dodgers against El Paso before making his LAD debut July 26. He pitched 2.0 innings against Toronto and was optioned to OKC July 30, DFA Aug. 2 and claimed by the Mets off waivers Aug. 4....He played in two August games for Triple-A Syracuse and one for New York before being designated for assignment Aug. 23. He was claimed by LAD Aug. 27 and made one appearance Aug. 29 against Arizona with 2.0 scoreless innings before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and outrighted to OKC Sept. 1...Miller spent most of the 2022 season with Triple-A Round Rock, going 4-7 with a 4.52 ERA and one save in 29 games (16 starts). He recorded 114 strikeouts against 40 walks over 89.2 innings and made four appearances (two starts) with the Rangers in 2022, going 1-2 with a 10.97 ERA, 8 K's and 8 walks in 10.2 innings...Miller was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of California Baptist University and made his ML debut with the Chicago Cubs during the 2020 season on Aug. 17 against St. Louis.

Against the Space Cowboys: 2023: 16-6 2022: 16-8 All-time: 44-26 At SUG: 18-13

The Dodgers and Space Cowboys meet for their fourth and final series and second of the season in Sugar Land...The Dodgers won the first three series of the season April 11-16, 4-2, and May 16-21, 5-1, in OKC as well as the most recent series in Sugar Land June 28-July 3, 5-1. It was the third time this season that the Dodgers won five consecutive games during a single series as they closed out the series with five straight wins. In each of the five wins, the Dodgers limited the Space Cowboys to exactly two runs in each game...Through the first three series of the season, Drew Avans led OKC with 16 hits, 19 runs scored and 20 walks, while Ryan Ward paced the Dodgers with 13 RBI and four homers...The Dodgers outscored the Space Cowboys, 100-61, through the first three series as they held the Space Cowboys to a .200 AVG, but Sugar Land hit 19 homers compared to OKC's 18...The Dodgers won the 2022 series, 16-8, and went 11-4 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers did not lose back-to-back games to Sugar Land at any point last season and have not lost back-to-back games to Sugar Land during the same series since Aug. 23-24, 2021...Of last season's 24 total meetings, nine were one-run games and six of 22 meetings so far in 2023 have been decided by one run...In each of the team's first three series this season, the Dodgers won four of the first five games.

Finding Their Footing: Despite last night's loss, the Dodgers have won four of their last six games, six of their last nine games and seven of their last 11 games. However, the Dodgers have not won three straight games since Aug. 2-4 at home against Round Rock and have lost following each of their last four sets of consecutive wins, including last night...The Dodgers have maintained their 2.5-game lead in the overall Pacific Coast League standings ahead of second-place Round Rock. OKC defeated Round Rock, 4-2, in their previous series in OKC, snapping their first streak of three straight series losses since May 6-25, 2021 and kick-starting their recent winning stretch...The boost follows a 4-15 run from Aug. 5-26 as the Dodgers finished August with 10 wins (10-17), tied for second fewest in the league last month. OKC had not won fewer than 12 games in a month since May 2021 (9-14). It was the team's lowest monthly winning percentage since going 9-19 in August 2019.

The Big Picture: The Dodgers picked up their 82nd win of the season Thursday night, becoming fifth OKC team during the Bricktown era (since 1998) to reach the 82-win mark and third team during the Dodgers affiliation (since 2015). Only three OKC teams have gone on to win at least 83 games since 1998 (1999, 2015, 2022)...The Dodgers (82-52) are tied for the second-most wins in the Minors with High-A Cedar Rapids (82-48) and trailing only Triple-A Norfolk (83-52)...The Dodgers have had at least a share of first place in the PCL overall standings for all but seven days this season, holding first place from April 1-Aug. 25 and again since Sept. 2...OKC (32-29) trails first-place Las Vegas and Round Rock (36-25) by 4.0 games in the PCL second-half standings, but also has two other teams ahead of them in the standings and are tied with Albuquerque...This season's OKC squad became the fastest PCL team to reach 50, 60 and 70 wins since at least 2005, as data from 2004 and earlier is not available. They also became the second-fastest PCL team to reach 75 wins (117 games) since at least 2005, with the 2017 Memphis Redbirds doing it two games earlier (115 games). The fastest PCL team to reach 80 wins was also the 2017 Memphis Redbirds, who reached the milestone in 121 games (80-41)...During the Bricktown era (since 1998), OKC's best previous record through 134 games was in 2015 when the Dodgers went 81-53...OKC won the PCL's first-half title (50-23) and will host a best-of-three PCL Championship Series Sept. 26-28 against the winner of the second half.

Fork in the Road: The Dodgers own the most road wins in the Minors with a 43-24 record. They now have the second-most road wins during the team's Bricktown era (since 1998) and are just the fourth OKC team to reach at least 40 road wins in a season. The 2015 Dodgers hold the single-season record with 44 road wins, as they went 44-28 on the road, although this year's team still has eight road games remaining...Prior to their current 4-3 stretch on the road, the Dodgers had won just one of their previous nine road games and two of their previous 11 road games as OKC is 6-12 in their last 18 road games. For comparison, prior to the current 6-12 stretch, the Dodgers went 26-5 over their previous 31 road games between May 9-July 28.

Getting Miggy With It: Miguel Vargas went 1-for-3 with a double and run scored last night. Over his last six games, Vargas is 9-for-19 with seven RBI and seven walks, reaching base in 16 of 26 plate appearances...Over his last 21 games, Vargas is 29-for-74 (.392) with 15 RBI and 19 walks. Since Aug. 15, his 19 walks are tied for most in the PCL, while his .511 OBP ranks second in the league. During the same span, his .392 AVG, 15 RBI, .554 SLG, 1.065 OPS, 29 hits, 41 total bases, OBP and walks all pace the OKC Dodgers.

Jonny Be Good: Jonny DeLuca went 1-for-3 with a RBI Friday night and has now hit safely in eight of his last nine games, going 12-for-32 (.375) with six doubles, a triple, two homers and nine RBI. He has also hit safely in five straight games, going 7-for-19 with five extra-base hits and six RBI and has reached base in 10 consecutive games...Since rejoining the team Aug. 24, DeLuca leads OKC with nine extra-base hits...In 28 Triple-A games this season, DeLuca is slashing .318/.394/.600 with 17 extra-base hits and 29 RBI.

Hot and Cold: The OKC offense was limited to one run and five hits last night as the team went 1-for-13 with runners on base. The Dodgers collected one hit over the final five innings, as the Sugar Land pitching staff retired 15 of the final 16 batters as well as 17 of the final 19 batters...During the current series, the Dodgers have scored 14 runs on 20 hits over their two wins (20x71, 10 XBH), but one run on nine hits in their two losses (9x59, 3 XBH)...During the last seven games, the Dodgers are 4-3. In the four wins, they've scored 30 total runs, with at least six in each game. In the three losses, they've scored three total runs...Going back further, OKC has been held to two runs or less in four of the last five losses totaling 14 runs over the five-loss span.

Mound Matters: The OKC bullpen combined to pitch 5.1 scoreless and hitless innings last night, with three walks and six strikeouts. James Jones retired all six batters he faced with two strikeouts, while Bryan Hudson retired six of seven batters faced with two strikeouts...Last night was the eighth time in the last 11 games that the Dodgers held an opponent to four runs or less. The 39 runs allowed by the Dodgers over the last 11 games are fewest in the PCL during the span and the team has posted a 3.53 ERA over that time frame. For comparison, El Paso has allowed a league-high 93 runs over the same span...The Dodgers have not allowed a home run in eight of the last nine games (2 HR) as well as nine of the last 11 games (3 HR) - fewest in the league during the last 11 games.

Better Call Dahl: David Dahl had Friday night off, but picked up another double Thursday and has now hit safely in eight straight games. During the streak that started Aug. 25, Dahl is 8-for-30 with five doubles and five RBI. It is the longest active hitting streak by an OKC player and Dahl's longest hitting streak of the season...Since joining OKC June 20, his 20 doubles lead the league, and his 25 doubles overall this season are his most in a season since 2019 with the Colorado Rockies (28).

Around the Horn: Justin Yurchak is 5-for-9 over his first three games of September with a double, walk and two runs scored. He is 13-for-30 (.433) over his last 10 games, since Aug. 9 he is batting .377 (20x53) across 17 games, raising his season batting average by 32 points from .244 to .276...Drew Avans has hit safely in seven of his last nine games, going 9-for-28 (.321)...The Dodgers are 15-for-78 (.192) with RISP over the last eight games...Sugar Land swiped five bases last night, marking the ninth time an opponent has recorded five or more stolen bases this season. It was also the fourth time in the last 16 games an opponent tallied four or more steals, totaling 33 stolen bases in the 16-game stretch (33-for-41). The 194 stolen bases allowed by OKC this season are a team record are most in Triple-A. On the other hand, the Dodgers are just 7-for-15 in their stolen base attempts between the last two series.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from September 9, 2023


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