PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

Oklahoma July 3 notes

July 3, 2005 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


July 3 - Oklahoma RedHawks (42-41) vs. Iowa Cubs (38-45) SBC Bricktown Ballpark - 7:05 p.m. - Radio: SuperTalk 930 WKY, Oklahoma RedHawks.com, SportsJuice.com Headlines: Heroics from Conti, Gonzalez; Tejera solid out of the pen; RedHawks get another shot at Rich Hill

TODAY'S OPPONENT: The Iowa Cubs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They have been a member of the Pacific Coast League since 1998. Last year, Iowa went 79-64 and finished first in the PCL Central. They beat the RedHawks in five games in the opening round of the playoffs and were swept by Sacramento in the PCL Championship series.

TODAY'S GAME: The RedHawks finish their four-game series with Iowa . The RedHawks are going for their first three-game winning streak since June 12-14. The RedHawks are 10-2 on Saturdays, losing their last two Sunday games. They are 12-8 in the last game of a series and 2-5 on holiday fireworks nights at SBC Bricktown Ballpark. They have won their last two holiday fireworks games at home. Angie McNeil will sing the national anthem Paula Huss will sing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. The RedHawks' annual holiday fireworks show will take place after the game.

STANDINGS: The RedHawks are in second place, four games behind Albuquerque .

LAST GAME: First baseman Adrian Gonzalez drove in the tying and winning run in the 10th inning to give the RedHawks a 7-6 win. RedHawk reliever Michael Tejera gave up one run in 3.1 innings. Jason Conti went three-for-four, including a game-tying home run in the ninth inning.

VS. IOWA: The RedHawks have already finished their season series at Iowa . Oklahoma swept the first series at Iowa and then were swept by the Cubs in their return visit. Marshall McDougall is 9-for-26 [.346] with a home run and nine RBIs in seven games against Iowa. He has a hit in all seven games against the Cubs this year.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Oklahoma 's Josh Rupe makes his sixth start this year for the RedHawks. He has lost his last two starts, giving up 16 runs in 9.1 innings [15.43 ERA]. Rich Hill starts for Iowa. In his last start against Oklahoma, Hill took the loss, going 6.2 innings and giving up four runs on four hits, including a home run by Marshall McDougall. He also struck out 14 batters.

STREAKERS: Outfielder Jason Conti is on a six-game hitting streak dating back to June 26. He is 10-for-25 [.400] with three RBIs during the streak.

ADRIAN GONZALEZ: First baseman Adrian Gonzalez is 11-for-23 [.448] with a double and three RBIs in seven games since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for 12 games.

MARSHALL MCDOUGALL: In his last 10 games, Marshall McDougall is 12-for-38 [.316] at the plate with two home runs and 13 RBIs.

BULLPEN: In the last five games, the RedHawks bullpen has allowed three earned runs in 15.2 innings [1.72 ERA]. The bullpen has allowed five walks and struck out seven the last five games.

NINTH INNING HEROICS: The home run by Jason Conti in the ninth inning last night was the first ninth inning run by the RedHawks since June 19 against New Orleans in a game the RedHawks lost 7-4. Last night's game was also the RedHawks' first win when trailing after eight innings since their first win of the year, April 10 at Memphis . The RedHawks trailed 4-3 into the ninth and got a run on a home run by Gerald Laird. They scored five runs in the 12th inning to win 9-4.

DOT-DOT-DOTS: RedHawks Esteban German, Ian Kinsler, and Gerald Laird have been selected to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team and will play in the Triple-A All-Star Game July 13 in Sacramento , Calif. ... Manager Bobby Jones was named a coach for the World team for the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game July 10 in Detroit. He will also be the Pacific Coast League hitting coach for the Triple-A All-Star Game ... Last night was the second time this year the RedHawks won one-run games in back-to-back games. They won one-run games May 3 and 4 in Albuquerque .

PROBABLES

Sun, July 3 Iowa RH Josh Rupe (1-2, 9.11) vs. LH Rich Hill (1-1, 4.34)

Mon, July 4 @Albuquerque LH Ryan Snare (1-2, 5.15) vs. RH Jeff Fulchino (6-6, 5.99)

Tue, July 5 @Albuquerque LH Derek Lee (0-1, 2.08) vs. LH Donovan Osborne (0-0, 3.00)

Wed, July 6 @Albuquerque RH R.A. Dickey (1-3, 6.34) vs. RH Frank Castillo (7-4, 4.35)

Thu, July 7 @Albuquerque RH John Hudgins (2-4, 4.62) vs. RH Ariel Prieto (4-4, 5.53)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 3, 2005


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