Big Eighth Inning Lifts Dodgers to 7-2 Win

OKC Dodgers – 7

Round Rock – 2

Sunday, June 20, 2021 – Dell Diamond – Round Rock, Texas

Game Summary_:_ A five-run rally in the top of the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Oklahoma City Dodgers (20-20) to a 7-2 victory over the Round Rock Express (23-17) Sunday evening at Dell Diamond, giving Oklahoma City a season-best fifth-straight win. Each of the game’s first four runs were via solo homers. Leody Taveras went deep in the bottom of the first inning to give Round Rock a 1-0 lead, but Yoshi Tsutsugo answered on the first pitch of the second inning with the first home run of his rehab assignment to tie the game. Leading off the fourth inning, Luke Raley connected on a long home run to center field to give the Dodgers the lead. Round Rock’s Andy Ibáñez hit his second homer of the series in the bottom of the sixth to even the score. The Dodgers scored five runs in the eighth, with Raley providing a go-ahead RBI double. Tsutsugo hit his second homer of the night later in the inning, and Sheldon Neuse and Omar Estévez also contributed RBI’s as part of the substantial rally.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers have taken the first four games of the current series at Dell Diamond and have now won five straight games for the first time since a six-game win streak July 18-24, 2019. The team is now 9-2 in the last 11 road games and 8-1 in the last nine road games. After starting the season 4-13, the Dodgers are 16-7 since and are back to a .500 record for the first time since the season began.

-For the second straight game, Luke Raley blasted a ball to the top of the batter’s eye. His solo shot in the fourth inning traveled an estimated 460 feet and gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. He also added a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning and finished 2-for-5 with two RBI. He leads the team and ranks in the top three in Triple-A West with 34 RBI despite playing in just 22 of OKC’s 40 games. Over his last 16 starts with OKC, Raley is 23-for-59 (.390) with five doubles, two triples, six homers, 31 RBI and 20 runs scored.

-After going hitless in first three games of his Major League Rehab Assignment, Yoshi Tsutsugo hit two home runs Sunday, marking the seventh time this season a Dodger has had a multi-homer game. It’s also the first multi-homer game of his U.S. career. Tsutsugo connected on his first home run in the second inning, sending the first pitch into the left field berm. He went deep again the eighth inning, connecting on a home run out to left-center field into the Round Rock bullpen. In 38 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays this season, Tsutsugo had not homered, although he did hit eight during his rookie campaign with Tampa Bay in 2020. Through four games of the current rehab assignment, Tsutstugo is 2-for-13 with two homers, four walks and three RBI.

-The Dodgers have now homered in seven straight games (12 HR) and at least once in 12 of the last 13 games (21 HR). They have hit 45 homers in their last 28 games, including 19 in the last 11 games.

-For the third time in four games of the current series, the Dodgers held the Express to two runs. It’s also the ninth time in the last 18 games the Dodgers held their opponent to two or fewer runs.

-Making his first start since May 27, Mike Kickham delivered four solid innings, allowing one run and three hits, with one walk and two strikeouts. Over his last four outings going back to May 27, Kickham has given up only one run in 13.0 innings and allowed 10 hits during that span.

-The bullpen quartet of Jake Reed, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia and Edward Cuello held the Express to one run and three hits, with no walks and six strikeouts over the final five innings. They also combined to retire nine of Round Rock’s final 10 hitters. Graterol (2-1) earned the win after retiring the side in order on eight pitches in the seventh inning.

What’s Next: The Dodgers look to keep their recent roll alive when they face the Express Monday night at 7:05 p.m. in Round Rock. 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.