PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

Turbulent Ninth Inning Sends Dodgers to 9-4 Loss

Published on June 8, 2019 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


Oklahoma City - Three straight Oklahoma City Dodgers errors followed by a wild pitch in the top of the ninth inning allowed the Fresno Grizzlies to score four runs on the way to a 9-4 win Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

The Dodgers trailed by one run entering the ninth inning before Fresno scored four unearned runs on the way to a 2-0 edge in the series.

Saturday's loss sent the Dodgers to a fourth straight defeat, tying their second-longest losing skid of the season.

The Grizzlies (31-31) took the game's first lead.

Taylor Gushue led off the third inning with a solo homer that landed on top of the Devon Deck in right field to put Fresno in front, 1-0.

Zach Reks tied up the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the inning, connecting on a solo homer out to the Fresno bullpen in right-center field with two outs. The homer was Reks' second in as many games, as he tallied homers in back-to-back games for the second time in 22 games with Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers (23-38) have now homered in a season-best 10 straight games for the team's longest stretch of consecutive games with a home run since homering in 14 straight games in May 2017.

Edwin Ríos followed and lined a double into left field and then scored on a RBI single by Will Smith to put the Dodgers in front, 2-1.

Andrew Stevenson led off the fifth inning with a single for Fresno and came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Yadiel Hernandez to tie the game, 2-2.

Fresno went back in front in the sixth inning.

Matt Reynolds lined a one-out triple to left-center field, then scored on a RBI double by Gushue to put Fresno in front, 3-2.

Brandon Snyder's two-run single in the seventh inning extended Fresno's lead to 5-2.

Connor Joe entered the game as a pinch-hitter for OKC in the seventh inning and lined a double down the left-field line. Jake Peter followed with a RBI double when he hit a fly ball to center field and advanced to third base on an error by Fresno's center fielder to cut Fresno's lead to two runs. Reks followed with a sacrifice fly coupled with a Fresno error to cut Fresno's lead to 5-4.

The Grizzlies broke open the game in the ninth inning, taking advantage of Oklahoma City miscues.

Hernandez and Snyder hit back-to-back singles and Hernandez came around to score when Reynolds reached on a fielding error by Dodgers second baseman Jake Peter. Snyder came around to score when Gushue reached on another fielding error by Peter to extend Fresno's lead to 7-4.

Pinch-hitter Alec Keller entered the game and reached on a throwing error by Dodgers third baseman Angelo Mora, bringing in another run for the Grizzlies and an 8-4 advantage.

A wild pitch by Dodger reliever Luis Vasquez allowed another run to score for Fresno, extending its lead to five runs.

Reks and Ríos opened the bottom of the ninth inning with back-to-back singles, but Fresno pitcher Derek Self retired the next three batters to preserve the win.

Ríos finished the night a game-best 4-for-5 at the plate, notching four hits in a game for the first time since a four-hit outing June 10, 2018 at Fresno. Ríos has now hit safely in a season-best 10 straight games for his longest hitting streak since a 16-game hitting streak in 2016 with High-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Fresno starting pitcher Logan Ondrusek (2-1) held the Dodgers to two runs and allowed eight hits over 5.1 innings with one walk and two strikeouts in the win. Dodgers starting pitcher Justin DeFratus was charged with the loss, allowing three runs and seven hits over 6.0 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.

The series continues at 6:05 p.m. on a Chaparral Energy Family Sunday, featuring many family friendly activities such as pregame player autographs and postgame kids run the bases.

Tickets are available through the OKC Dodgers ticket office located on South Mickey Mantle Drive, by phone at (405) 218-2182, or by visiting okcdodgers.com.

Live radio coverage of each game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 8, 2019


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