OKC Dodgers Game Notes – September 23, 2022
September 23, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Oklahoma City Dodgers News Release
Oklahoma City Dodgers (80-64) at El Paso Chihuahuas (82-62)
Game #145 of 150/Road #73 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Andre Jackson (2-7, 5.00) vs. ELP-RHP Pedro Avila (6-2, 4.80)
Friday, September 23, 2022 | Southwest University Park | El Paso, Texas | 7:35 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv
Today’s Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers and El Paso Chihuahuas continue their pivotal series at 7:35 p.m. CT at Southwest University Park. With six games remaining in the season, including three more head-to-head meetings between the teams, the first-place Chihuahuas have a 2.0-game lead ahead of the second-place Dodgers in the PCL East Division standings. El Paso leads the current series, 2-1, after winning each of the last two games.
Last Game: The El Paso Chihuahuas and Oklahoma City Dodgers played another tightly contested game with the Chihuahuas winning by one run again during a 3-2 victory Thursday night. The game was tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the seventh inning. Following a leadoff single, the Dodgers committed an error to put runners at first and second base with none out. Two batters later, a wild pitch put the lead runner at third base with one out, and Matthew Batten gave the Chihuahuas the lead with a RBI single. After El Paso went in front, the Dodgers did not put a runner on base over the final two innings. El Paso led the game for most of the night, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on a Brandon Dixon two-run homer in the first inning. James Outman hit a solo home run in the second inning and later tied the game in the sixth inning with a RBI single. After scoring at least six runs and collecting at least 11 hits in six straight games, the Dodgers were limited to two runs and five hits.
Today’s Probable Pitcher: Andre Jackson (2-7) is scheduled to make his team-leading 20th start and 22nd overall appearance of the season with OKC…His two most recent outings were with the Los Angeles Dodgers, appearing in games Sept. 11 at San Diego and Sept. 18 at San Francisco. Between the two games, he allowed one unearned run and three hits over a combined 2.2 innings with two walks and three strikeouts…He was most recently optioned to OKC Sept. 20 when Tyler Anderson was reinstated from the paternity list…Jackson last pitched for OKC Sept. 4 in Round Rock. He piggybacked Michael Grove and closed out the game with four scoreless innings while facing the minimum, throwing 41 pitches. Jackson allowed one hit and one walk with three strikeouts to earn his first save of the season, as he preserved a 5-3 lead during the duration of his appearance…He last started Aug. 30 in Round Rock, allowing four runs and five hits over 4.0 innings with three walks and four strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of OKC’s 17-8 win…Since July 27, Jackson has posted a 3.26 ERA over 30.1 IP, holding opponents to two runs or less in five of his last seven Triple-A games…Jackson was selected by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Utah and made his Major League debut last season…Tonight is his third appearance and second start of the season against the Chihuahuas. He is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA over 8.0 IP with five walks and six strikeouts against El Paso in 2022. Both runs he’s allowed have been via solo home runs.
Against the Chihuahuas: 2022: 12-12 2021: 14-9 All-time: 40-31 At ELP: 21-18 The top two teams in the PCL East Division meet for the fifth and final series this season and for the third time at Southwest University Park…The teams most recently met for six games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Aug. 23-28, with the Dodgers winning the series, 4-2, including the final three games. The Dodgers scored at least seven runs in each of their four victories…The teams met in El Paso June 28-July 3 with the Chihuahuas winning the series, 4-2. The Dodgers won two of the first three games before the Chihuahuas won the final three of the set while scoring 41 runs. In each of El Paso’s four wins during the series, the Chihuahuas scored at least 11 runs (55 runs total)…After the teams split their first series of the season, the home team has gone 11-6 since (14-9 over the season series)…Miguel Vargas leads OKC with 26 hits in the season series, while Jason Martin has nine homers and James Outman has 21 RBI…Outside of 2018, OKC has won or split each season series against the Chihuahuas since Tucson’s franchise relocated to El Paso for the 2014 season…The Dodgers are 6-9 in El Paso this season. In the six wins, they’ve allowed a total of 12 runs, but in the nine losses they’ve allowed a total of 91 runs, with at least seven runs in seven of the nine games. They’ve dropped five of the last six games in El Paso.
The Final Countdown: With six games remaining in the season, El Paso owns sole possession of first place in the PCL East Division and has a 2.0-game lead ahead of the second-place Dodgers. El Paso can clinch the East Division title with two wins over the next three games, while the Dodgers need to win at least two of the remaining three games in El Paso to earn at least a series split and therefore own the head-to-head tiebreaker in the season series against the Chihuahuas…Entering Sept. 1, the Dodgers led the then-third place Chihuahuas by 5.5 games atop the division. But since then, El Paso has gone 16-4 while the Dodgers have gone 8-11, leading to a 7.5-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 2.0 games back, marking the furthest they have been out of first place since Sept. 14 and tied for the most games they’ve been out of first place this season. Before Sept. 14, OKC had not been 2.0 games out of first place since May 10.
New Territory: Today the Dodgers play their 145th game of the 2022 season. This is first time in the team’s Bricktown era (since 1998) the team has played more than 144 games in a regular season and the Dodgers are scheduled to play 150 games in 2022. The last time an OKC team played at least 145 games in a regular season was in 1990 when the Oklahoma City 89ers played 145 games as a member of the American Association (58-87). The last OKC team to play at least 150 games in a season was the 1984 89ers, who played 154 games as a member of the American Association (70-84).
Shifting Gears: After scoring at least six runs and collecting at least 11 hits in six straight games, including at least eight runs in five straight games, the Dodgers were limited to two runs and five hits Thursday night, going 5-for-30 with one extra-base hit. Over the previous six games, the Dodgers had batted .341 (79×232) with 64 runs, 34 extra-base hits and 17 home runs. They had scored at least 11 runs in four straight games (50 R) for the first time in the team’s Bricktown era (since 1998), and the six-game streak with at least 11 hits was the team’s longest since 2017…It was the first time since July 30 against Sugar Land the Dodgers had as few as two at-bats with runners in scoring position during a nine-inning game.
Dinger Details: The Dodgers homered in an eighth straight game Thursday night via a solo home run by James Outman in the second inning and are one game shy of tying their season-long streak of consecutive games with a home run set June 11-21. The Dodgers have 19 homers during the stretch and have hit 24 home runs over the last 10 games – second-most in Triple-A – after hitting just two homers through the first nine games of September. Prior to last Thursday (Sept. 15), 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 since a six-game streak in 2014…Michael Busch, Ryan Noda and Jason Martin have each hit 20 homers, marking the second time during the team’s Bricktown era there have been a trio of 20-home run hitters. The other instance was in 2019 (Kyle Garlick, Edwin Ríos, Will Smith)…On the other hand, the Dodgers have allowed at least one home run in a season-high 12 straight games (17 HR), including four by El Paso during the current series.
Outstanding: James Outman drove in both of OKC’s runs Thursday and had the team’s only multi-hit game, going 2-for-4. Outman homered for the third time in seven games and for the second time in three games. He has started the current series in El Paso 5-for-11 with two homers, a triple, four RBI and four walks. Over his last nine games against the Chihuahuas, Outman is 17-for-32 (.531) with 13 extra-base hits (4 HR) and 18 RBI…Outman has hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 10-for-28 (.357) with four multi-hit games, seven RBI and eight runs scored. He is tied for the team lead with four homers this month…Including his time with both OKC and Double-A Tulsa, Outman leads all Dodgers minor leaguers with a .581 SLG and ranks second with a .975 OPS, 65 extra-base hits and 263 total bases, tied for second with 133 hits and third with 29 homers, 102 RBI and 98 runs scored…Since Aug. 23 (27 games), Outman is slashing .363/.441/.755 and leads the PCL with 21 extra-base hits and 31 RBI while ranking second in OPS (1.196) and third in each of the three slashline categories.
Phys. Ed: Edwin Ríos had Thursday night off but went 2-for-5 Wednesday with a three-run homer. Over his first eight games of the current road trip, Ríos is 9-for-32 (.281) with two homers, three doubles and nine RBI. He has collected an extra-base hit in each of the last three games…The home run was the 58th of Ríos’ Oklahoma City career, breaking a tie with Scott Sheldon for second place on the career home runs list during OKC’s Bricktown era (since 1998). He is now two home runs away from tying Jason Hart’s team record of 60 career home runs…Ríos’ 17 RBI pace the Dodgers in September and are tied for fourth-most in the league this month, while his four home runs are tied for the OKC team lead in September.
Walking Into A Record: Ryan Noda reached base three times Thursday, as he singled and was hit by a pitch twice. He also scored one of the team’s two runs. Over the last four games, Noda is 6-for-12 with two home runs, a double and five RBI, five walks and three HBP, reaching base in 14 of 20 plate appearances…He drew two walks Wednesday to bring his PCL-leading season total up to 87 and set a new team single-season walks record during the Bricktown era, surpassing Cliff Brumbaugh’s 85 walks in 2000. It was the second time in four games Noda drew three walks, and he has drawn 11 walks in his last eight games…Noda has homered in four of the last seven games and is up to 24 total homers this season. He also has 19 steals, putting him one stolen base away from recording OKC’s first 20/20 season since Nelson Cruz tallied 37 homers and 24 steals in 2008.
Close Calls: The Dodgers lost by one run for a second straight day Thursday. They have lost seven of their last eight one-run games overall after starting the season 19-13 in one-run games…Thursday also marked the fourth time in 19 games this month the Dodgers lost a game when allowing three or fewer runs. From April-August, the Dodgers were 40-3 when allowing three runs or less. They are 3-4 in such games this month.
Winding Road: The Dodgers are 7-9 over their last 16 road games. Of their nine defeats during that span, all have been by one or two runs, with seven one-run losses. Over the last 23 road games, the Dodgers are 10-13 with six walk-off losses and eight last at-bat losses.
Around the Horn: Tomás Telis extended his current hitting streak to seven games, going 1-for-3 Thursday. He is 12-for-30 with a double, homer and six RBI during the stretch, which is the longest active hitting streak by an OKC player…Andy Burns picked up a hit last night and has now hit safely in nine of his 10 games this month with an at-bat, including four multi-hit games. Burns is batting .375 (12×32) in September and has reached base in nine straight games with a plate appearance…Victor González continued his Major League Rehab Assignment last night and pitched for the second time in three games. He retired all three batters he faced and recorded two strikeouts during an 11-pitch sixth inning…At 2 hours, 8 minutes, Thursday’s game was the team’s quickest nine-inning game this season…OKC has reached 80 wins for the seventh time in 24 seasons during the Bricktown era and for the first time since 2016…Michael Busch (seven games) and Jake Amaya (six games) each had their hitting streaks end Thursday after both going 0-for-4…Busch ranks second overall in the Minors with 116 runs scored, fourth with 277 total bases and tied for seventh with 67 extra-base hits…The Dodgers drew just one walk last night, matching their season low in a nine-inning game. The Dodgers lead all of Triple-A this season with a team-record 707 walks during the Bricktown era (since 1998).
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