OKC Dodgers Game Notes – September 3, 2022
September 3, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Oklahoma City Dodgers News Release
Today’s Game: The Oklahoma City Dodgers look to snap a three-game losing streak when they continue their series against the Round Rock Express at 6:35 p.m. at Dell Diamond. The Express lead the six-game series between the top two teams in the PCL East Division, 3-1…The Dodgers lead the PCL East Division with a 72-55 record and have a 2.0-game lead ahead of second-place Round Rock and a 4.5-game lead ahead of third-place El Paso in the division standings with 23 games remaining in the regular season.
Last Game: Following a game-tying home run by Michael Busch in the top of the ninth inning, Davis Wendzel hit a walk-off homer leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Round Rock Express to a 3-2 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers Friday night at Dell Diamond. Trailing, 2-1, with one out in the top of the ninth inning, Busch hit a line drive to the right field berm to even the score. Wendzel led off the bottom of the inning for the Express and sent a 3-2 pitch into the Round Rock bullpen in left-center field for a game-winning home run. The Express took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when they loaded the bases with two outs, and Dio Arias singled home a pair of runs. The Dodgers were held without a hit for five innings but rallied in the sixth inning. Jake Amaya provided OKC’s first hit with a triple and later scored on a RBI single by Drew Avans. The score stayed 2-1 until the ninth inning.
Today’s Probable Pitcher: Jon Duplantier (4-3) is scheduled to make his 30th appearance and 10th start of the season after allowing one run over his last two outings (9.0 IP) and holding opponents to two runs or less in each of his last four appearances…Duplantier last started and pitched 4.0 innings Aug. 28 against El Paso in OKC. Although he allowed seven hits, they were all singles, and he limited the Chihuahuas to one run. He issued two walks with four strikeouts and did not factor into the decision of OKC’s 13-4 win…Aug. 21 in Sugar Land, he threw a season-high 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks with a season-high nine strikeouts and did not factor into the decision. The nine strikeouts tied his career-high mark and was the first time since Sept. 4, 2017 with High-A Visalia he had nine strikeouts at Modesto…Duplantier moved into the starting rotation in mid-June. He is 0-2 with a 4.50 as a starter (34.0 IP) with 17 walks and 44 strikeouts. As a reliever, he is 4-1 with a 6.35 ERA (34.0 IP) with 23 walks and 33 strikeouts…Right-handed batters are hitting .213, but lefties are hitting .312…Duplantier was selected by the Dodgers from the Giants in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft Dec. 8, 2021 after he had signed with the Giants just four days prior as a minor league free agent…He was selected in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft by Arizona out of Rice University…Tonight is Duplantier’s third start and sixth appearance against Round Rock in 2022. He owns a 2-0 record and 3.95 ERA over 13.2 innings with six walks and 16 strikeouts against the Express.
Against the Express: 2022: 15-13 2021: 16-13 All-time: 161-134 At RR: 86-67 The Dodgers and Express meet for their fifth and final series this season and first in Round Rock since early June…Round Rock won the most recent series between the teams Aug. 9-14 in OKC, 4-2, after the Dodgers took each of the first three series by 4-2 margins…The Dodgers won the finale of the last series between the teams, 20-3, scoring 20 runs for the sixth time in team’s Bricktown era (since 1998) and for the first time since a 20-9 win at El Paso May 30, 2021. It was the most runs scored by the team at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark since tying the team record with 24 runs Aug. 3, 2013 against Colorado Springs…The teams had a wild first series in Round Rock May 10-15, which OKC won, 4-2. OKC recorded its largest shutout win in the team’s Bricktown era (since 1998) with a 19-0 victory May 12 and Yefry Ramírez became the first OKC Dodger and first pitcher throughout the entire PCL to throw a nine-inning shutout since 2018. Six different players homered in that same game for the first time in the team’s Bricktown era. In the series finale May 15, OKC lost a game when scoring at least 13 runs for the first time since 2007, as Round Rock won, 14-13…After the Dodgers started the season 11-5 against Round Rock, the Express has won eight of the last 12 games and is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings…Last series, Round Rock won four straight games within the same series at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark for the first time since April 19-22, 2011…This the first time in the last five series in Round Rock the Dodgers have lost consecutive games. Prior to this Tuesday, the Dodgers had won four consecutive series at Dell Diamond, going 17-7.
Close Calls: The Dodgers’ last three losses have been by a combined four runs, as Friday’s defeat joined a 7-6 loss Wednesday and 2-0 rain-shortened loss Thursday. The Express have notched two last at-bat wins over the three games, and last night’s walk-off home run was the third allowed by the Dodgers this season and sixth walk-off loss for OKC overall…Entering Thursday, the Dodgers had lost just three games all season when allowing three or fewer runs (40-3) before it happened on back-to-back nights. Three of the Dodgers’ five losses when allowing three or fewer runs have been against Round Rock.
Amayazing: Jake Amaya went 1-for-3 with a triple and scored a run last night as he notched his first triple since joining OKC. He extended his hitting streak to six games, going 8-for-21, as he owns the longest active streak by an OKC player. Over the last five games, Amaya is 7-for-17 with five extra-base hits, four RBI and six runs scored…Since his first game with OKC June 14, he leads the Dodgers and is second in the PCL with 41 walks. He has a combined 73 walks between OKC and Double-A Tulsa and his walk total ranks fifth among Dodgers minor leaguers this season…Amaya has hit two home runs in his last five games and is up to 14 homers between OKC and Tulsa, setting a career high…Today is Amaya’s 24th birthday.
Buschwacked: Michael Busch pulled through with a game-tying home run in the ninth inning last night for his 17th home run with Oklahoma City and 28th home run overall this season. He finished the game 1-for-3 with a walk, and in his last five games against Round Rock, Busch is 9-for-22 with two home runs and nine RBI…Among Dodgers minor leaguers this season, Busch ranks tied for first with a combined 57 extra-base hits and 100 runs scored, second with a combined 28 homers, 127 hits, 240 total bases, tied for second with 29 doubles and third with 92 RBI…Busch is one of six players across the Minors to have scored at least 100 runs this season.
The Rundown: The Dodgers were held to two runs and three hits Friday night, marking the sixth time this season they did not register more than three hits in a game and first time since collecting a season-low two hits July 30 against Sugar Land. The Dodgers have scored only two runs over the past two games combined, which is tied for their lowest two-game run total this season. It’s the first time it’s happened since scoring two runs across a doubleheader May 26 against Reno when the team scored just two runs over both games. Over the last two nights, the Dodgers have gone 10-for-55 (.182) with two extra-base hits. They did not collect their first hit Friday until the sixth inning and were held without a hit in seven of nine innings. Entering Thursday’s game, the Dodgers had scored 52 runs with 31 extra-base hits and 12 home runs over the previous five games, scoring at least six runs in each contest…OKC still ranks second among all 30 Triple-A teams and fifth overall in the Minors with 802 runs scored this season. It’s the third time in the team’s 24 seasons during the Bricktown era to score at least 800 runs and the first time it’s happened since 2005 (893 R)…Over the last 12 games, the Dodgers are 6-6. In the six wins, they’ve scored 68 runs on 81 hits, batting .367 (81×221) overall and .435 (37×85) with runners in scoring position. In the six losses, they have combined for 18 runs and 36 hits while batting .193 (36×187), including 9-for-46 (.196) with runners in scoring position.
Big Game James: James Outman was held without a hit last night but extended his on-base streak to seven games with a walk. Over his last 10 games, Outman is 18-for-34 (.529) with 13 extra-base hits and 20 RBI. He has reached base in 14 of his last 22 plate appearances…On Tuesday, the reigning PCL Player of the Week went 4-for-4 with five RBI, two walks and three runs scored as he hit for the cycle for the second time in four games and reached base in all six of his plate appearances. Against El Paso Aug. 26 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Outman completed OKC’s first cycle since 2011 with a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and collected two triples. He went 5-for-5, tallying a career-high five hits and tied his career high with six RBI…Outman is the first player in the Minors to hit for the cycle twice in one season since Las Vegas’ Jarrett Hoffpauir did it April 25, 2010 vs. Sacramento and May 28, 2010 vs. Tacoma. For further context, the shortest time between individual cycles in MLB’s modern era is 11 days, done by Arizona’s Aaron Hill in June 2012, per Baseball-Reference…He now has five games with five or more RBI in just 35 games since joining OKC and is the first OKC player with multiple six-plus RBI games in one season since Victor Diaz in 2007. He has tallied at least five RBI three times in his last nine games and has 46 RBI since June 30 (35 games) with OKC…Outman’s 20 RBI, .529 AVG, 1.206 SLG, 1.781 OPS, 13 extra-base hits, 41 total bases, four triples leads all of the Minors since Aug. 23, while his 18 hits are tied for most in the Minors during that time.
Walking Papers: After not drawing a walk Thursday for the first time all season, the Dodgers only walked twice Friday. The last time the team drew as little as two walks over two games was April 24 at Sacramento and April 26 at home against Sugar Land. They entered Thursday’s game having drawn at least five walks in 10 straight games, totaling 63 walks during that time…The Dodgers lead all of Triple-A this season with a team record 631 walks during the Bricktown era (since 1998) and the total ranks third in the Minors overall. As a result, OKC also leads all Triple-A teams with a .369 OBP – tied for third among full-season teams in the Minors…Even though OKC has had just two walks over the last two games, the Dodgers have drawn 207 walks in the 37 games following the All-Star Break for an average of 5.59 per game, including 14 games with seven or more walks…The last PCL team with at least 631 walks in a season was Salt Lake (637) during the 140-game 2019 season…On the other hand, the Dodgers pitching staff allowed just two walks last night and just three walks over the last two games combined for their second-lowest two-game walk total of the season and lowest since May 12-13 when they allowed a total of two walks. Prior to the last two games, the Dodgers had issued at least five walks in four straight games (24 total). OKC has allowed a team-record 610 total walks – most in Triple-A this season. The previous record was 591, set in 2000.
J-Mart Special: Jason Martin was held 0-for-3 for a second straight game last night marking the first time since Aug. 6-7 in Salt Lake he was held without a hit in consecutive games. Entering Thursday, Martin was on a season-best 21-game on-base streak as well as an eight-game hitting streak. The on-base streak was the second-longest of the season by a Dodgers player and his hitting streak was his third of the season of eight games or longer…Martin leads the PCL with 30 home runs and 102 RBI. He is now just one of four players during OKC’s Bricktown Era (since 1998) with at least 30 home runs in one season and just one of three players to ever collect at least 100 RBI in a single season. However, he is the first player to reach both 30 homers and 100 RBI in the same season…He is tied for the second-most RBI in a single season by an OKC player (since 1998) and has the most RBI since Nate Gold compiled a team record 103 RBI in 2007. Martin has the most home runs by an OKC player since Edwin Ríos had 31 during the 2019 season…In addition to home runs and RBI, Martin also leads the PCL with 241 total bases and 57 extra-base hits. His 92 runs scored are tied for second, while his .575 SLG and .949 OPS rank third, his 119 hits are tied for fourth-most and his 62 walks are fifth-most in the league this season…Martin is one of 11 players in the Minors with 30 homers this season and currently ranks tied for fifth overall in RBI.
Around the Horn: The Dodgers have homered in six of the last seven games, totaling 13 homers. The output immediately follows a stretch in which OKC hit just 14 home runs over a 16-game span, including nine games without a homer…In games without Miguel Vargas this season, OKC is 5-9 and has batted .222 (102×459) with 63 runs scored (4.5 rpg)…The Dodgers have held Round Rock to three runs or less in back-to-back games, but the Dodgers have yet to allow three or fewer runs in three consecutive games this season…The Dodgers are trying to avoid a fourth straight loss for the third time this season and second time within a month. They lost a season-high six straight Aug. 6-12 and dropped four in a row July 1-5. OKC has not lost four consecutive road games this season…Since July 1, the Dodgers are 10-15 on the road. Over their last 12 road games, the team is 4-8 with four walk-off losses and six last-at bat losses. Even with wins in the next two games, the Dodgers at best can split the current series and will have lost or split five consecutive road series.
• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
