OKC Opens Series with Shutout Victory

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 7

Reno Aces – 0

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers pitching staff retired the final 19 batters of the game and the offense scored five runs in the fourth inning of a 7-0 shutout win against the Reno Aces Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers (38-14) took a commanding lead in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on six hits, including four for extra bases. Michael Busch led off the inning with a double and scored on a RBI triple by Ryan Ward. Yonny Hernández followed with a RBI double. Devin Mann later added a RBI single and Drew Avans’ two-run double pushed OKC to a 5-0 lead. Jonny DeLuca connected on a two-run single in the eighth inning for a 7-0 Dodgers advantage. The Dodgers pitching staff closed out the game with six perfect innings as they sent the Aces to their second shutout loss of the season and allowed two singles and one walk in the series opener.

Of Note:

-Scheduled starting pitcher Matt Andriese was scratched before the start of Tuesday’s game and four Dodgers relievers combined on OKC’s third shutout victory of the season and tied the team’s season-low in a nine-inning game with two hits allowed. Mark Washington and Trevor Bettencourt (1-0) each pitched 3.0 scoreless innings. Tayler Scott pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Wander Suero closed out the game with two scoreless innings. They combined to retire the final 19 Aces batters they faced, allowing one walk with eight strikeouts.

-The Dodgers tied their season-high mark with seven extra-base hits, reaching the total for the fourth time this season and first time since April 23 in Albuquerque. Six different Dodgers hit doubles, while Ryan Ward connected on his second triple of the season…The Dodgers finished with 13 total hits for their highest total since April 23 (18 H) in Albuquerque.

-The Dodgers have won four of the last five games and improved their overall record to 38-14. Their 38 wins are the most by an OKC team through 52 games in the Bricktown era (since 1998). No other OKC team since 1998 has had fewer than 18 losses through 52 games.

-Yonny Hernández hit a RBI double and scored a run to extend his hitting streak to 11 games — the longest of the season by an OKC player. During the streak, he is 13-for-38 with eight walks and eight runs scored.

-Devin Mann hit a RBI single and scored a run, extending his on-base streak to 19 games — the second-longest on-base streak this season by an OKC player. He is 19-for-63 during the streak with five doubles, four homers, 17 RBI, 15 walks and 17 runs scored.

-Jahmai Jones entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning, replacing Michael Busch. He doubled in a fifth consecutive game and drew a walk to reach base in a 15th straight game for his longest on-base streak of the season and hit safely in a seventh straight game for his longest hitting streak of the season. Over his last nine games, Jones is 9-for-21 with five doubles and 11 walks.

-Ryan Ward hit a double and a triple, recorded a RBI and scored a run as he boosted his team-leading totals to 44 hits and 34 RBI.

-Hunter Feduccia finished with a game-high three hits, including a double, and scored two runs. It was his third game of the season with three or more hits.

-The current series features the top two teams in the Pacific Coast League and the league-leading Dodgers took a 1-0 lead over the second-place Aces with Tuesday’s win. The PCL season is split into halves in 2023, with the first half ending June 25 after 75 games. The winner of the first half — the team with the best record in the 10-team league — will serve as host of a League Championship Series starting Sept. 26, meeting the second-half winner for a best-of-three series.

What’s Next: The series between the Dodgers and Space Cowboys continues at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Single-game tickets for OKC Dodgers games through June are available at okcdodgers.com/tickets. 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. Video broadcasts of all OKC Dodgers home games are now available to be streamed live for free on the Bally Live app.