PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

RedHawks vs. Padres - Game Notes - August 15, 2013

August 15, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Today's Game: The RedHawks try to avoid being swept in a series for the first time season when they close out their eight-game road trip in Tucson at 9:05 p.m. central time. Oklahoma City has matched its longest losing streak of the season by dropping the last five games.

Last Game: A walk-off three-run homer run by Tucson's Cody Decker capped an 8-6 comeback win against the RedHawks Wednesday at Kino Stadium. Tucson trailed, 6-5, entering the bottom of the ninth inning before Jonathan Galvez and Jesus Merchan collected hits with none out. Decker's shot over the left field fence off Hector Amrbiz (0-2) followed for the win. The RedHawks had taken a 4-0 lead in the second inning, scoring three runs with two outs on a RBI single by Ruben Sosa and two-run double by Trevor Crowe. OKC went on to build a 6-1 lead in the fourth on RBI doubles by Sosa and Jose Martinez. The Padres scored once in the sixth, then added three runs with two outs in the seventh. RedHawks starting pitcher Bobby Doran turned in a stellar start, allowing two runs and three hits over six innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The bullpen surrendered six runs and six hits over the final two-plus innings.

Today's Probable Pitcher: Jake Buchanan seeks a sixth straight quality start since the All-Star Break...Buchanan allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings in his last start Aug. 10 at Las Vegas. He struck out four and walked two in the loss, marking just the second time this season he's walked more than one batter in a game...In five starts since the All-Star Break, Buchanan is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA. Each start has been a quality start, and he has lasted at least seven innings in four of his last six outings...Including his time with Double-A Corpus Christi, Buchanan has issued just 19 walks all season in 133.0 IP. He averages 1.3 walks per nine innings and owns a 4.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio...Before his promotion, Buchanan went 7-2 with one save and had a Texas League-leading 2.09 ERA in 18 games (13 starts) for Corpus Christi. He ranked first in the league in WHIP (0.93), fourth in average (.226) and fifth in innings (82.0)...He ranks second among Astros farmhands with 11 wins...Tonight is his first career start against Tucson.

Against the Padres: 2013: 0-3 2012: 4-0 All-time: 7-4 In TUC: 3-4

Wednesday marked the third walk-off win between the teams over their last six meetings...The RedHawks have lost more games in this series than they had against Tucson over the past two seasons combined (1). Prior to Monday, the RedHawks had won each of the last five meetings...After scoring a total of 17 runs over a four-game series in OKC last season, the Padres have already scored 28 runs over the first three games of this series...Seven of the last nine games between the teams have been decided by one or two runs, including three of four during last year's series -- a RedHawks' sweep...Oklahoma City hit .319 as a team against Tucson last season and claimed back-to-back walk-off wins on May 13-14. They averaged about six runs per game and hit seven home runs...The RedHawks won three of four games during their only previous series at Kino Stadium, Aug. 7-10, 2011.

Slowing Their Roll: Following a 12-game winning streak, the RedHawks have dropped six of seven on their current road trip. They have lost five straight games for the first time since May 23-26 (@Fresno/@Iowa), tying a season high. The RedHawks have had leads in four of the games and are batting a respectable .279 over the skid, including a .357 mark in the current series.

Late Inning Drama: Wednesday's loss marked the 10th time this season the RedHawks could not hang on to a lead in the final inning, as well as their league-leading sixth loss when leading after the eighth inning. (No other team has more than four.)

Prior to Wednesday, the RedHawks had not lost a game this season in which they led by at least five runs.

Breaking Brooms: The RedHawks have not been swept since Aug. 10-13, 2012 at home against Sacramento. This is the fourth time this season they've been in position to have to avoid a sweep, but it's impressively the first time since May 27 in Iowa (won 4-3).

Deja Vu All Over Again?: There have been some eerie similarities between this year's and last year's August west coast road trips. Just like last year in Tacoma and Salt Lake, the RedHawks have dropped six of the first seven games, with the only win coming in their second contest of the trip. Like last night, one of the losses also included a walk-off home run allowed by Hector Ambriz. Hopefully the similarities stop there, as the RedHawks also lost the finale, with the six straight losses becoming part of a 10-game losing streak.

The Laird Up There: Brandon Laird is 8-for-14 against Tucson with a two-run homer. He is batting .396 (19x48) in August and ranks first in the PCL with 18 RBI this month.

As the Crowe Flies: Trevor Crowe is batting .444 (24x54) with five RBI during a 13-game hitting streak and now is hitting .390 (25x64) over 16 games since rejoining the team. Crowe also had a team-best 15-game hitting streak, April 6-21. He and Jimmy Paredes are the only two RedHawks this season to have two hitting streaks of at least 10 games.

Rough Road: Entering this road trip, the RedHawks had a 2.62 ERA as a team over the first 21 games following the All-Star Break. Over the first seven games of the trip they've posted a 7.74 ERA (49 ER/57.0 IP) and opponents are batting .308 (70x227), including a .333 (28x84) mark with runners in scoring position. They have also walked 33 batters and stuck out 48. The RedHawks had allowed 12 runs in a game twice all season before the trip, but have allowed at least 12 runs in a game twice over their past seven contests, including a season-high 13 Tuesday.

Top & Bottom: The RedHawks' .298 batting average in August paces the PCL, but their 5.51 ERA so far this month is the highest in the league. They posted a 3.54 ERA in July.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

DATE TIME OPPONENT OKC PITCHER OPP. PITCHER

Friday, August 16 7:05 p.m. Albuquerque RHP David Martinez (0-1, 8.31) RHP Red Patterson (6-4, 3.38)

Saturday, August 177:05 p.m. Albuquerque RHP Paul Clemens (2-1, 3.93) RHP Angel Castro (8-3, 3.48)

Sunday, August 18 6:05 p.m. Albuquerque RHP Asher Wojciechowski (7-6, 3.51) RHP Matt Palmer (6-6, 3.63)

Monday, August 19 7:05 p.m. Albuquerque RHP Bobby Doran (1-0, 4.56) LHP Jonathan Sanchez (5-3, 5.05)

Check out the Oklahoma City Comets Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from August 15, 2013


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