Dodgers Close Out Series with 2-1 Win

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 2

Round Rock Express – 1

Sunday, June 26, 2022 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers closed out their series against the Round Rock Express with a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Miguel Vargas’ solo home run in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie to give the Dodgers (45-27) the lead and six Dodgers pitchers combined to hold the Express to one run and six hits overall. Over the game’s final seven innings, OKC held the Express scoreless and to four hits. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning and runners at first and second base, Round Rock’s Zach Reks hit a grounder to OKC shortstop Jake Amaya who fielded the ball and stepped on second base, but the runner was safe. Round Rock pinch runner Elier Hernandez rounded third base and Amaya then threw home and catcher Tomás Telis tagged out Hernandez at the plate to end the game. The Express (37-35) scored first in the game and recorded their lone run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Oklahoma City answered with a RBI single by Ryan Noda in the second inning to tie the score, 1-1, as the Dodgers went on to win the series, 4-2.

Of Note:

-With Sunday’s win the Dodgers recorded their fifth straight series win and are now 10-1-3 through their first 14 series of the season. They followed up Saturday’s loss with a victory and have not lost consecutive games since losing three in a row May 26-27 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers have now followed up each of their last nine losses with a win in the next game.…OKC is 45-27 overall this season and has matched their season-high mark at 18 games above .500.

-Ryan Noda went 3-for-4 with a RBI and stolen base for his fourth game of the season with three or more hits and his highest hit total since going 4-for-5 May 31 in Round Rock. Noda went 7-for-19 during the series that wrapped up Sunday for his highest hit total in a series since May 31-June 5 in Round Rock when he also had seven hits over the six-game set.

-Miguel Vargas hit his 12th home run of the season in the fifth inning on a fly ball to left-center field. It was his fifth home run in the month of June — tied for most on the team this month and his 12 home runs are second-most on the team overall. Vargas has now hit safely in nine consecutive games, going 13-for-35 (.371) with seven RBI, six walks and six runs scored. He now has 26 hits and 19 RBI in 18 games against the Express this season.

-Six Dodgers pitchers combined to hold the Express to one run for the third time in the series and it was also the fifth time in the last eight games the Dodgers allowed three runs or less…Sunday was the fifth time during the six-game series that Round Rock was held to six hits or less…Yadier Álvarez improved to 3-0 with the win and 2.1 scoreless innings, while Daniel Zamora recorded his first save of the season securing the game’s final out.

-The Dodgers have now hit a home run in 13 of the last 14 games (20 HR) and in 19 of the last 21 games (30 HR).

-Sunday was OKC’s last home day game at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark until September. OKC has just two day games over the next two months, both on the road. With Sunday’s win, the Dodgers improved to 10-8 in day games this season, including 4-1 in the last five. They are now 6-4 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in day games in 2022.

What’s Next: Following a day off Monday, the OKC Dodgers open a six-game road series against the El Paso Chihuahuas at 7:35 p.m. CT Tuesday 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.