Dodgers Apply the Brakes to Express

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 8

Round Rock Express – 0

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 – Dell Diamond – Round Rock, Texas

Game Summary: Three pitchers combined on a shutout, led by 5.2 inning from starting pitcher Beau Burrows, and the Oklahoma City Dodgers scored in four of the first six innings during an 8-0 win over the Round Rock Express Tuesday night at Dell Diamond. Burrows struck out a season-high eight batters and combined with relievers Marshall Kasowski and Garrett Cleavinger on the team’s third shutout of the season and second at Dell Diamond. Oklahoma City took the lead on a Tomás Telis RBI single in the second inning. The Dodgers scored three more times with two outs in the third inning, including a RBI single by Michael Busch and a RBI double by Ryan Noda. Eddy Alvarez ripped a RBI double in the fifth inning and Noda picked up a RBI single two batters later. Miguel Vargas drove in the Dodgers’ final two runs on a double in the sixth inning.

Of Note:

-With Tuesday’s win, the Dodgers have won seven of their last nine road games, as well as five of their last six at Dell Diamond. The Dodgers and Express now have identical 29-20 records through the first two months of the season and are tied for the best record in the Pacific Coast League.

-Beau Burrows completed his first scoreless outing of the season and second game of the year without allowing an earned run. He tied his season high with 5.2 innings and set a season high with eight strikeouts, which is also his highest strikeout total since July 28, 2018 with Double-A Erie against Akron. Tuesday was his longest scoreless outing since throwing 6.1 scoreless innings April 11, 2019 for Triple-A Toledo at Norfolk. Burrows scattered four hits and allowed two walks, but he held the Express 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. In the fifth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, he struck out Nick Solak on a 3-2 pitch to escape the jam.

-The Dodgers threw their third shutout of the season, all of which have been on the road. They also blanked the Express, 19-0, May 12 at Dell Diamond. Beau Burrows, Marshall Kasowski and Garrett Cleavinger combined to strike out 12 Round Rock batters. The Express had plenty of runners reach base through six hits, four walks, a hit batter and two errors, but the trio of Dodgers pitchers stranded all 13 runners and kept the Express 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Round Rock left 11 runners on base over the final six innings, including six in scoring position.

-Ryan Noda tied his career high with four hits as part of a 4-for-5 effort with a double and two RBI. It was his second career four-hit game and first since April 18, 2019 with High-A Dunedin against Lakeland. Noda also became the third OKC Dodger with four hits in one game this season, joining Zach McKinstry and Kevin Pillar. Over his last two games, Noda is 6-for-8 with two extra-base hits and four RBI.

-Zach McKinstry and Michael Busch each finished with two hits and two runs scored. McKinstry collected his 18th multi-hit game of the season, pulling into a tie with Miguel Vargas for the team lead. For Busch, it was his first multi-hit game since his Triple-A debut May 17.

-Miguel Vargas reached base twice with a double and was hit by a pitch. He drove in two runs and became the fourth OKC player to 30 RBI this season.

-The Dodgers’ offense now has 23 runs and 31 hits over the last three games and have gone a combined 14-for-35 (.400) with runners in scoring position over that span. The boost immediately follows a three-game stretch in which they scored a total of four runs with 13 hits and went 2-for-17 with RISP.

-OKC finished May with a 15-11 record. For the first time since 2017, the Dodgers opened the season with back-to-back winning months.

What’s Next: The Dodgers look to continue their success at Dell Diamond at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday. 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.