OKC Dodgers Game Notes – September 18, 2022
September 18, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Oklahoma City Dodgers News Release
Oklahoma City Dodgers (78-62) at Albuquerque Isotopes (59-79)
Game #141 of 150/Road #69 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-LHP Logan Salow (NR, -.–) vs. ABQ-RHP Brandon Gold (6-6, 6.68)
Sunday, September 18, 2022 | Rio Grande Credit Union Field | Albuquerque, N.M. | 2:35 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv
Today’s Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers close out their six-game road series against the Albuquerque Isotopes at 2:35 p.m. CT at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park. The Dodgers lead the series, 3-2, and have won three straight games after falling behind, 0-2, to start the road trip…The Dodger enter today’s game in second place in the PCL East Division, 1.0 game behind first-place El Paso, while third-place Round Rock trails El Paso by 4.0 games and OKC by 3.0 games. The Dodgers have 10 games remaining on their 2022 schedule.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers continued to stay hot at the plate, picking up 11 runs and 14 hits during an 11-8 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes in another high-scoring affair at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park Saturday afternoon. The Dodgers took their first lead of the contest with three runs in the second inning with a RBI double by Andy Burns and two-run homer by Hunter Feduccia to go ahead, 3-1. After Albuquerque tied the game in the bottom the second inning, the Dodgers went back in front with a RBI double by Michael Busch and RBI groundout by Edwin Ríos. Devin Mann homered in the fourth inning, moving the score to 6-4. The Dodgers scored four runs between the sixth and seventh innings, with three of the runs driven in by Busch and another by Mann to give the Dodgers their largest lead at 10-4. In similar fashion to Friday, the Isotopes started to come back in the late innings, scoring three runs in the seventh inning and another run in the eighth inning to trim the Dodgers’ lead to 10-8. James Outman hit a RBI single in the ninth inning to finish the scoring.
Today’s Probable Pitcher: Logan Salow is scheduled to start a bullpen game for the OKC Dodgers as he makes his first appearance of the 2022 season…Salow joined OKC Sept. 15 after spending the entire season on the Injured List. Today marks his first formal game action in almost one year, as he last pitched Oct. 2, 2021 with OKC against El Paso in the penultimate game of the 2021 season…Salow spent the entire 2021 season with OKC, posting a 3-0 record and 3.73 ERA with 47 K’s in 38 relief outings (41.0 IP). He ranked fourth on the team in appearances and surrendered just two homers during the season and did not allow a homer until Aug. 20 at Sugar Land. It was the first homer he had allowed since May 14, 2019 to end a string of 55 straight appearances without a homer…He was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2019 after splitting time with High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa…Salow was selected by Oakland in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft from the University of Kentucky and joined the Dodgers organization following a trade in April 2018…Salow made five appearances against the Isotopes last season, posting a 0.00 ERA over 5.0 innings and allowing one hit with four strikeouts.
Against the Isotopes: 2022: 11-6 2021: 9-9 All-time: 127-105 At ABQ: 53-63 Today is the final meeting of the season between the PCL East Division teams as the Dodgers and Isotopes finish their third and final series, but the first since May 3-8. The teams played two series within the first five weeks of the season, but had not faced each other since…The teams split their last series in Oklahoma City, 3-3, with the Dodgers winning three of the final four games…The teams opened the season against one another April 5-10, with the Dodgers winning the series, 5-1, including closing the series with four consecutive wins. Through the first two series, the Dodgers outscored the Isotopes, 85-55, and outhit them, 123-88, while hitting 16 home runs through the first 12 meetings…The teams split their 2021 season series, 9-9. The Isotopes won seven of the first 12 games before OKC won the final series, 4-2. The Dodgers went 5-7 at Isotopes Park…The Dodgers have not lost a season series to Albuquerque since 2017, going a combined 6-0 against the Isotopes in 2018 and 2019 prior to last season’s split…During the previous series, Albuquerque secured its first back-to-back wins in OKC since 2016…Six of this season’s 17 games have been decided by one run, and going back to last season, 14 of the 35 games between the teams have been settled by one run.
Big Ten: Entering the final 10 games of the season, the Dodgers have won three straight games for their first three-game win streak since a four-game winning streak Aug. 26-30 and their first three-game winning streak on the road since taking four in a row in Reno June 15-18. OKC has now also won four of its last six games after going 2-8 over the previous 10 contests…The Dodgers had a 5.0-game lead ahead of Round Rock and 5.5-game lead ahead of El Paso in the East Division standings entering Aug. 31 but have seen that advantage evaporate after going 6-10 while El Paso has gone 13-4 during the same period, leading to a 6.5-game swing…Following a loss Sept. 9, the Dodgers dropped into a tie for first place, marking the first time since July 17 they did not have sole possession of first place. After a loss Sept. 10, the Dodgers fell out of first place entirely – the first time since June 1 the Dodgers had not held at least a share of first place. Currently, the Dodgers are 1.0 game back…El Paso and Round Rock are meeting head-to-head for six games this week in El Paso and the Chihuahuas have won four of the first five meetings, as well as 12 of their last 14 games overall…The Dodgers and Chihuahuas begin a six-game series in El Paso Tuesday night.
Gearing Up: Yesterday the Dodgers scored at least 11 runs for the second consecutive game, marking the eighth time this season they’ve scored in double digits in back-to-back games. They have collected at least 12 hits in three straight games, totaling 39 hits while scoring 29 runs during that time. Although the Dodgers have several instances of tallying at least 10 or 11 hits in three straight games, this is the first time they’ve registered at least a dozen hits in three straight games. Of the 39 hits, 15 have gone for extra bases, including eight home runs. And of the eight home runs, six have been hit with at least one runner on base…Over the first two games of the series in Albuquerque – a Wednesday doubleheader – the Dodgers batted .180 (9×50) with three runs and nine hits. Since that doubleheader sweep, the Dodgers have batted .339 (39×115) with 29 runs. Over the team’s first 14 games of September, the Dodgers had been held to three or fewer runs eight times…In the last 12 games, the Dodgers are 6-6. They have scored three or fewer runs in each of the six losses, while scoring at least five runs in each of the six wins, including three games with at least 11 runs. Narrowing it down further, over the last eight games, the Dodgers have scored 49 runs in their four wins while batting .361 (57×158), including 13 home runs. In the four losses, they’ve only totaled nine runs while batting .231 (27×117), including one home run.
Dinger Details: The Dodgers have homered in four straight games and have three straight multi-homer games – achieving both for the first time this month. They have hit eight homers over the last three games, nine homers over the last four games and 14 homers over the last six games after hitting just two homers through the first nine games of September – fewest among the 30 Triple-A teams to start the month. Prior to Thursday, OKC had been held without a home run in eight of their first 12 games this month, and from Sept. 4-10, the Dodgers were held without a homer in six consecutive games for the team’s longest stretch without a home run during the Dodgers affiliation (since 2015) and longest since a six-game stretch in 2014…The Dodgers’ four homers Friday marked the eighth time this season the Dodgers have hit four or more homers in a game, and the four dingers accounted for 10 runs, as all four were hit with at least one runner on base…On the other hand, the Dodgers have allowed at least one home run in eight straight games, one game shy of their season long streak set Aug. 6-16. They have given up two or more homers in three of their first five games in Albuquerque for a total of nine home runs.
Buschwacked: Michael Busch went 3-for-6 with two doubles and a game-high four RBI Saturday afternoon, marking his second game with OKC this season with four or more RBI, only trailing a five-RBI performance Aug. 14 against Round Rock. It was also his 10th game with three or more hits. He has hit safely in 12 of his 15 games in September, going 20-for-57 (.351) and has hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 12-for-29 (.414) with five extra-base hits, eight RBI and a trio of three-hit games…Between OKC and Double-A Tulsa, Busch ranks second overall in the Minors with 113 runs scored, fifth with 267 total bases and tied for seventh with 64 extra-base hits. He leads the Dodgers farm system with 145 total hits, including 35 doubles, 64 extra-base hits and 267 total bases, while he is second with 29 homers and 102 RBI…His 14 runs scored and eight extra-base hits in September lead OKC.
The Take on Jake: Jake Amaya registered his second consecutive three-hit game yesterday, going 3-for-6 with a run scored. He has now hit safely 16 of his last 18 games, going 28-for-66 (.424) with five doubles, a triple, four homers, 16 RBI and 19 runs scored. Over his last 10 games, Amaya is 17-for-37 (.459) with five extra-base hits and 10 RBI…He leads OKC with 22 hits so far in September – tied for third-most in the league this month, while his .431 AVG and .474 OBP are second in the PCL this month…Between June 18-Aug. 19, Amaya did not hit a home run over 50 games, but since Aug. 20, he has gone deep five times in 24 games. His 16 home runs between OKC and Double-A Tulsa this season have set a career high (previously 12).
Mannsplained: Devin Mann also collected a three-hit game Saturday to tie his season high, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Mann homered for a second straight game, marking the third time this season between OKC and Double-A Tulsa he has gone deep in consecutive games. Over his last four starts, Mann is 8-for-14 with three homers, a triple, eight RBI and eight runs scored, including two three-hit games. His three homers are tied with Edwin Ríos for most by an OKC player this month.
Noda-ry Public: Ryan Noda drew three walks Saturday and has six walks in his last four games. Noda moved into the PCL lead with 82 walks this season and has the most walks in a season by a player during OKC’s Dodgers affiliation (2015) and second-most walks in the team’s Bricktown-era (since 1998). Noda now only trails Cliff Brumbaugh, who drew a team record 85 walks during the 2000 season…In addition to walks, Noda ranks among league leaders with a .386 OBP (4th), 81 RBI (6th), 22 homers (T-9th) and 79 runs scored (10th)…Noda has 22 homers and 19 steals this season, putting him one stolen base from recording OKC’s first 20/20 season since Nelson Cruz tallied 37 homers and 24 steals in 2008.
Walking Papers: The Dodgers drew nine more walks yesterday and lead all of Triple-A this season with a team-record 686 walks during the Bricktown era (since 1998), which currently ranks third in the Minors overall. As a result, OKC also leads all Triple-A teams with a .370 OBP – third among full-season teams in the Minors…The last PCL team with at least 686 walks in a season was Sacramento with 732 walks in 2004 (144 games)…On the other hand, the Dodgers pitching staff has allowed a team-record 666 walks this season – most in Triple-A. The previous team record was 591, set in 2000. It’s the most walks allowed by any Triple-A team since the 1992 Tacoma Tigers issued 696 walks over 143 games
Finish the Fight: The Dodgers have won three straight series finales, and today, they have a chance to win their first road series since June 14-19 in Reno. They have gone 0-2-3 in their five road series since then. OKC is only 4-7 in road series finales this season, but they did manage a victory in the previous one Sept. 4 at Round Rock…When the Dodgers enter a six-game series finale with a chance to win the series, they have gone 5-5, but that includes just a 1-4 mark on the road.
Around the Horn: Reliever Keegan Curtis made his team debut yesterday and pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win. Curtis pitched the fourth through sixth innings and retired nine of 11 batters faced with two hits and four strikeouts…Drew Avans reached base three times with a single and two walks yesterday. He also stole two bases, running his total up to 34 this season. It’s the most steals by an OKC player during the Dodgers affiliation (since 2015) and the most by any OKC player since 2012 when Jimmy Paredes recorded 37 steals…Over the last six games, the Dodgers are batting .380 (27×71) with two outs, including an impressive 13-for-28 (.464) with runners in scoring position…The Dodgers are 13-12 in day games this season, including 3-1 so far in September…Andy Burns reached base four times Saturday with two hits and two walks, going 2-for-3 with a RBI double and two runs scored Saturday. Burns has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 11-for-28…Hunter Feduccia connected on his sixth home run with OKC last night and 14th homer overall of the season. He also reached base via walk and hit by pitch and is now 8-for-25 over his last seven games, hitting safely in six of them…Today is pitcher Beau Burrows’ 26th birthday.
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