Dodgers Blast Seven Homers in 20-9 Win

OKC Dodgers - 20

El Paso - 9

Sunday, May 30, 2021 – Southwest University Park – El Paso, Texas

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers (8-14) hit seven homers and piled up 11 extra-base hits, featuring three homer games by both Luke Raley and Steven Souza Jr. in a 20-9 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (9-12) Sunday night at Southwest University Park. Raley and Souza Jr. combined for six homers and 16 RBI, with Raley driving in nine runs. The Dodgers scored four runs in the first inning when Souza Jr. hit a three-run homer, and Matt Davidson followed with a solo blast. Souza hit his second three-run homer in the third inning. Raley hit a three-run homer in the fourth and a grand slam in the sixth to put OKC ahead, 14-3. Souza hit his third homer in the eighth inning and Raley followed suit in the ninth inning. Each of the team’s first 17 runs scored on home runs in the rout. El Paso also hit two homers and finished with 12 hits, including eight for extra bases.

Of Note:

-OKC scored 20 runs in a game for the fifth time in its Bricktown era (since 1998) and for the first time since a 24-5 win over Colorado Springs on Aug. 3, 2013. It was the team’s first road game with 20 runs since Sept. 1, 2007 in Albuquerque. The 20 hits were tied for the most in one game during the team’s Dodgers affiliation (since 2015).

-Steven Souza Jr. and Luke Raley completed the ninth and 10th three-homer games in the team’s Bricktown era, respectively. It’s the first time ever two players hit three home runs in the same game.

-This was Souza’s first career three-homer game, coming in his 1,228th career game between the Minors and Majors. He hit three-run homers in the first and third innings before adding a solo shot in the eighth. Souza batted in the ninth inning with a chance for his fourth homer, but he was hit by a pitch. It was also the second game of his career with seven or more RBI, only surpassed by a nine RBI game April 25, 2012 with Low-A Hagerstown. His four runs scored also tied a career high.

-Sunday also marked Raley’s first-ever game with three homers. He hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and a grand slam in his next at-bat in the sixth inning for the team’s first grand slam of 2021. He hit the team’s final homer of the night with a two-run blast in the ninth. The nine RBI set a career high and are believed to be an OKC team record, but further research will be needed before official confirmation. Raley reached base five times and scored five runs, becoming the first OKC player to cross the plate five times since Kiké Hernandez on June 20, 2014 at Reno. Raley has reached base in nine of his last 10 plate appearance, collecting seven hits, three homers, a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch and 14 RBI. He now has 20 RBI in his past four starts, including games of four RBI, five RBI and nine RBI.

-Matt Davidson and Zach Reks each finished with four hits. Reks went 4-for-6 with two doubles and scored a career-high four runs for a second consecutive game. It was his third career four-hit game and second during his OKC career (June 30, 2019 at Nashville). Davidson homered in the first inning, hit singles in the sixth and ninth innings, and doubled in the eighth inning. It was his fifth career four-hit game and first since June 21, 2015 with Triple-A Charlotte vs. Indianapolis.

-The Dodgers hit four home runs with at least two runners on base Sunday after hitting three home runs with at least two runners on base through the first 21 games of the season.

-The Dodgers scored at least 10 runs for the fifth time in the last nine games and at least 12 runs for the fourth time during that same span. It was the seventh time in the last nine games they notched at least 11 hits. As a team, the Dodgers went 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

-The Dodgers scored four runs in the first inning for the team’s highest-scoring first inning of the season. Through 21 games, the team had only scored eight runs in the first inning combined and only one run in the first inning over the previous seven games combined.

-The Dodgers have won three straight games for the first time this season and have now won four of the last five games.

What’s Next: The Dodgers and Chihuahuas celebrate Memorial Day with a game beginning at 7:35 p.m. CT Monday at Southwest University Park. Live radio coverage of each OKC Dodgers game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps. All OKC Dodgers games are also available streamed live on MiLB.TV with a subscription.