OKC Dodgers Game Notes – September 27, 2022
September 27, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Oklahoma City Dodgers News Release
Salt Lake Bees (70-78) at Oklahoma City Dodgers (82-66)
Game #149 of 150/Home #74 of 75
Pitching Probables: SL-LHP Adam Seminaris (2-4, 5.23) vs. OKC-RHP Tony Gonsolin (MLR)/RHP Bobby Miller (1-1, 3.38)
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 7:05 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv
Today’s Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers have won back-to-back games and play their penultimate game of the 2022 season at 7:05 p.m. against the Salt Lake Bees at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The final Bark in the Park and $2 Tuesday of the season are tonight.
Last Game: Starting pitcher Gavin Stone fired 6.0 scoreless innings and recorded 11 strikeouts in the Oklahoma City Dodgers’ 5-1 win Monday night against the Salt Lake Bees at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers held the Bees scoreless through seven innings and four pitchers combined to record a season-high 17 strikeouts in the game. James Outman hit a solo home run over the tall wall in right field in the second inning to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 advantage. Michael Busch connected on a RBI ground-rule double in the third inning for a 2-0 lead. Drew Avans singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning before stealing both second and third base and then scoring on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Noda for a 3-0 OKC edge. Devin Mann’s two-run homer out to left field in the sixth inning boosted the Dodgers to a 5-0 lead. A RBI single by Dillon Thomas got the Bees on the scoreboard in the eighth inning before Nick Robertson retired the final four Salt Lake batters of the game for his first save with OKC.
Today’s Probable Pitchers: Tony Gonsolin opens a Major League Rehab Assignment with the OKC Dodgers for his first game action since Aug. 23…Gonsolin was placed on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Injured List Aug. 29 with a right forearm strain after making 23 starts this season, going 16-1 with a 2.10 ERA over 128.1 innings pitched with 35 walks against 116 strikeouts. At the time of his injury, Gonsolin led the National League in ERA, batting average against (.169), WHIP (0.86), winning percentage (.941) and was tied for the league lead in wins. He has allowed one run or less in 15 of his 23 starts…During the first half of the season he went 11-0 with a 2.02 ERA to earn a spot in the MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium…In 2021, Gonsolin went 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 15 appearances (13 starts) with LAD after beginning the season on the IL. He made two May appearances for the OKC Dodgers as part of a rehab assignment…In 2020, he finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting and was named MLB Rookie of the Year by Baseball America, going 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA in nine MLB appearances (eight starts) and was part of the World Series champs…Gonsolin was selected by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of St. Mary’s College.
Bobby Miller (1-1) is set to follow Gonsolin…Miller most recently pitched Sept. 21 in El Paso, making his first appearance in 20 days. He threw 2.2 innings in a no decision, allowing one run and one hit with three walks and four strikeouts. He did not factor into the decision of OKC’s 9-8 loss…In his last full start Sept. 1 at Round Rock, Miller struck out 14 batters over six innings, becoming just the third pitcher in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown era to record a game with 14 or more strikeouts. He struck out 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, including the final eight…Over his last three starts, Miller allowed five runs and eight hits over 15.2 IP, and in his last two outings, opponents went 3-for-29 with 18 strikeouts…Prior to his promotion to OKC, he made 20 appearances (19 starts) for Double-A Tulsa, going 6-6 record with a 4.45 ERA over a team-high 91.0 IP with 31 walks against a team-leading 117 K’s with the Drillers…Miller represented the Dodgers in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game and was the starting pitcher for the National League…The Dodgers selected Miller in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft (29th overall) from the University of Louisville…Miller is currently rated as the Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect and top pitching prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Against the Bees: 2022: 6-4 2021: 7-5 All-time: 65-59 At OKC: 34-27 The Dodgers and Bees close out the 2022 season with a three-game series and meet for their third series of the season and second at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark…The teams last played six games in Salt Lake Aug. 2-7, splitting the series, 3-3. The Dodgers won the first two games before Salt Lake won three of the last four, including back-to-back wins to close out the series. In their three wins, the Dodgers allowed just two runs, while allowing 24 runs in the three losses…The teams met at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark for a three-game set June 10-12, with OKC taking the final two games to win the series. Twice in the series, the Dodgers rallied to tie the game or take the lead in the eighth inning or later…Drew Avans and Michael Busch lead the Dodgers with 11 hits apiece against the Bees this season, while Ryan Noda has nine RBI…The Dodgers won last season’s series, 7-5, including wins in five of the last six meetings. The road team went 9-3 during the season series and the Bees won four of six in Oklahoma City for their first series win against OKC since 2013…The Dodgers have won or split the last seven season series with the Bees, posting a 6-0-1 record during that time…Since OKC became affiliated with the Dodgers, the team owns a 26-14 advantage against the Bees in the Triple-A version of the Freeway Series, but are 10-7 at home compared to 16-7 in Salt Lake.
I Love the 80s: OKC has reached at least 80 wins for the seventh time in 24 seasons during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and for the first time since 2016. The Dodgers’ current 82 wins mark the fourth time the team has won at least 82 games and are the most wins for the team since recording a team-record 86 wins in 2015, going 86-58 as part of a 144-game schedule…However, all six previous teams to notch at least 80 wins won its division. This marks the first time since 1964 an Oklahoma City team will win at least 80 games but not advance to the postseason. The El Paso Chihuahuas clinched the PCL East Division title with a win Saturday night against the Dodgers, and while the Dodgers can still technically tie El Paso’s overall record, El Paso owns the head-to-head tiebreaker…OKC will finish the season second place in the division, and the team has finished first or second in its division in six of the seven seasons during the Dodgers affiliation. Going back to 2012, the team has finished first or second in eight of the last 10 seasons.
Stone Cold Stunner: OKC starting pitcher Gavin Stone (2-1) allowed three hits over 6.0 scoreless innings Monday on the way to his second win in as many appearances. He did not issue a walk and recorded 11 strikeouts, retiring 18 of the 21 batters he faced. It was his fifth game of the season with at least 11 strikeouts and his first in Triple-A after his promotion from Double-A Tulsa in mid-August. Monday was also his fourth scoreless outing of the season of at least 6.0 innings this season overall…Over his final two starts of the season, Stone allowed one run and six hits over 12.0 innings with one walk and 18 strikeouts…The Los Angeles Dodgers 2022 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year will finish the season with a 1.48 ERA over 121.2 IP across three levels of the Minors to go along with 168 strikeouts, a 1.12 WHIP and a .206 BAA.
Dinger Details: The Dodgers hit two home runs Monday and have now homered in 11 of their last 12 games, hitting 28 homers during that span, and have knocked seven homers in the last two games combined. Six different players have hit the Dodgers’ last seven home runs with James Outman homering in back-to-back games…OKC’s 33 home runs over the last 14 games are the most in Triple-A since Sept. 11…The Dodgers also held Salt Lake without a home run last night and have not allowed a homer in back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 7-8 against Tacoma in OKC. Between Sept. 9-24, the Dodgers allowed at least one homer 14 straight games.
Drew Point: Drew Avans went 2-for-4 Monday, scored two runs and recorded two stolen bases. Over the last three games, Avans is 6-for-13 with a double, triple, homer, four RBI, six runs scored and three stolen bases…Last night was his ninth multi-steal game of the season. He’s up to 39 stolen bases this season, which are fourth-most in a single season by an OKC player during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and the most since Esteban German recorded 50 steals in 2010. Avans ranks fourth among current PCL leaders in steals and Avans also ranks among the league’s top-10 players in triples (1st, 12), runs (6th, 92), OBP (7th, .379), AVG (9th, .284), hits (10th, 121) and walks (10th, 59)…Avans’ 12 triples are an OKC single-season team record during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and are tied for most in the Minors this season.
Outstanding: James Outman went 2-for-4 with a homer and double Monday. He’s gone deep in each of the last two games and has four homers in the last seven games and five homers in the last 11 games. Including his time with Double-A Tulsa, OKC and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Outman is up to 32 home runs and 109 RBI this season…Since joining Triple-A OKC June 30, Outman leads the PCL with 61 RBI and a .620 SLG, while his six triples are second and his 34 extra-base hits and 1.005 OPS are third during the span…Among Dodgers minor leaguers this season, Outman is first with a .582 SLG and .972 OPS. He’s sixth overall in the Minors with 273 total bases and tied for seventh with 68 extra-base hits.
Buschwacked: After entering Monday on an 0-for-14 slide, Michael Busch connected on two doubles, going 2-for-4 with a RBI. Including his time with both OKC and Double-A Tulsa, his 117 runs scored this season rank second in the Minors, while his 69 extra-base hits are tied for third, his 281 total bases are fourth and his 107 RBI are tied for fifth. He leads all Dodgers minor leaguers in RBI, with 150 hits, 38 doubles, 69 extra-base hits, 281 total bases and 117 runs scored this season.
Pitching Prowess: Along with starting pitcher Gavin Stone, relievers Victor González, Daniel Zamora and Nick Robertson combined to allowed one run last night and tally a season-high 17 strikeouts. It’s the team’s most strikeouts in a game since registering 18 punchouts April 6, 2019 against San Antonio…Yesterday was the second time in seven games the Dodgers allowed only one run, although before Sept. 20 at El Paso the Dodgers had not allowed a little as one run since Aug. 19 at Sugar Land. The pitching staff has allowed three or fewer runs in five of the last seven games, four of the last five games and in three straight games for the first time all season. They’ve also allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of 23 games this month after it happened a total of 11 times between July and August combined (50 games).
Rundown Lowdown: The Dodgers have outscored their last two opponents, 21-4, scoring five runs last night in OKC and 16 runs Sunday afternoon in El Paso. The Dodgers have 27 hits (14 XBH) over the last two games after being held to a total of six runs and 16 hits (6 XBH) over the previous three games…Over the last 16 games, the Dodgers have scored 97 runs in their eight wins while batting .361 (113×313), including 26 home runs. In the eight losses, they’ve only totaled 23 runs while batting .217 (54×249), including four home runs.
Rewriting Records: The Dodgers have scored 943 runs this season, breaking OKC’s single-season team runs record of 893 runs by the 2005 team (143 games) during the Bricktown era (since 1998). OKC’s season run total ranks second among the 30 Triple-A teams. The Dodgers lead all of Triple-A this season with a team record 721 walks during the Bricktown era and the team also paces Triple-A with a .370 OBP. The last PCL team with at least 721 walks in a season was Sacramento with 732 walks in 2004 (144 games).
Around the Horn: Edwin Ríos’ six-game hitting streak came to an end last night after going 9-for-27 with seven extra-base hits. He has 59 career home runs with OKC, putting him one shy of tying Jason Hart for OKC’s career home runs record during the Bricktown era. His 20 RBI pace the Dodgers in September and are tied for second-most in the league this month…Ryan Noda drew his league-leading 90th walk of the season Monday. He has set a new team single-season record during the Bricktown era (since 1998), surpassing Cliff Brumbaugh’s 85 walks in 2000…Jason Martin leads the PCL with his team-record 107 RBI this season and his 32 home runs are tied for most in the league. He has hit the most home runs in a season by an OKC player during the Dodgers affiliation (since 2015) and the most by any OKC player since Mike Hessman hit 35 home runs in 2012…Tomás Telis is currently on a team-best eight-game hitting streak, going 13-for-34 (.382) with a double, homer and seven RBI. It’s his third hitting streak of the season of at least eight games.
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