PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

Sixth Inning Sparks 3-2 Win

Published on May 28, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Nashville, Tenn. - The Oklahoma City Dodgers rallied for five straight hits with two outs in the sixth inning, providing all the offense the team needed in a 3-2 win over the Nashville Sounds Sunday night at Frist Tennessee Park.

The Dodgers trailed, 1-0, after five innings. Before the Dodgers (30-17) rallied in the sixth inning, they had collected two hits all game and had not scored in 16 straight innings going back to Friday night. Rocky Gale and Tim Locastro each hit the ball hard to start the inning, but both plays resulted in outs.

Breyvic Valera was the first to single, and Edwin Rios followed suit, prompting a pitching change by Nashville. Raul Alcantara replaced starting pitcher Kyle Friedrichs, and on the first pitch by Alcantara, Kyle Farmer lined a game-tying RBI single to center field.

Kyle Garlick came up next and also sent a RBI single to center field. Matt Beaty provided the fifth and final hit of the inning with another RBI single, giving OKC a 3-1 lead.

The Sounds (25-24) scored in the seventh inning to make it a one-run game. Melvin Mercedes tripled with one out and scored on a RBI groundout by Jorge Mateo. Nick Martini singled and Ramon Laureano walked, putting the tying run at second base and go-ahead run at first base. OKC reliever J.T. Chargois averted the threat and kept the Dodgers in the lead by getting Anthony Garcia to ground out.

Pat Venditte struck out all three batters in the eighth inning, and Brian Schlitter retired the side on eight pitches in the ninth to seal the win and earn his ninth save.

The start of Sunday's game was delayed 1 hour, 14 minutes due to rain - the first time all season the Dodgers had any kind of pre-game or in-game weather delay.

After leaving runners at first and second base to end the first inning, Nashville took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Martini hit a two-out RBI single. Following a double steal to put runners at second and third base, Dodgers starting pitcher Manny Bañuelos induced an inning-ending groundout off Laureano's bat to keep the deficit at one run. It marked the fifth consecutive game the Dodgers' opponent scored firs.t.

Although five of the first 10 Sounds that came to the plate reached base against Bañuelos, he settled down thereafter and retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced, including the last seven straight. Bañuelos (5-3) earned the win Sunday night, snapping a string of three straight losses. The lefty allowed one run and four hits, with two walks and six strikeouts over five innings.

Similar to Friday night, the Dodgers pitching staff shut down the Sounds after the second inning, allowing one run and two hits over the final seven frames.

Friedrichs got off to an impressive start in his Triple-A debut, retiring 12 of 13 batters through four no-hit innings. After running into trouble in the sixth inning, he ended up with the loss. Over 5.2 innings, Friedrichs (0-1) was charged with two runs and four hits, with one walk and one strikeout.

The Dodgers and Sounds next square off Monday during a Memorial Day matinee beginning at 12:05 p.m. Live coverage begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com, or through the free iHeartRadio mobile app.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 28, 2018


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