Busch, Duggar Homer in OKC's July Fourth Win

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 7

Albuquerque Isotopes – 4

Tuesday, July 4, 2023 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: Michael Busch and Steven Duggar homered and Devin Mann recorded two doubles in the Oklahoma City Dodgers’ 7-4 win against the Albuquerque Isotopes Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers (6-1/56-24) won a sixth straight game after grabbing the lead in the first inning on a two-run double by Mann. Albuquerque’s Cole Tucker hit an inside-the-park home run in the third inning to trim OKC’s lead to 2-1. Busch connected on his ninth home run of the season in the fifth inning, sending a fly ball to center field to extend OKC’s lead to 3-1. With the bases loaded in the sixth inning, the Dodgers added two runs on a throwing error as part of a fielder’s choice and Justin Yurchak hit a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead. Albuquerque (5-2/32-50) scored three runs over the seventh and eighth innings, including a two-run homer by Willie Maclver to cut OKC’s lead to two runs, but Duggar hit his fifth homer of the season in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 7-4 OKC lead.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers have won six consecutive games for their longest winning streak since a season-best 10-game winning streak May 9-19…They improved to 56-24 overall and have the most wins in all of the Minors…OKC is now 32 games above .500 for the first time during the team’s Bricktown era (since 1998).

-The Dodgers played a home game on the Fourth of July for a ninth straight season and 16th time overall during the Bricktown era (since 1998)…OKC improved to 9-7 at home on July 4 and 11-12 overall on July 4 since 1998.

-Devin Mann went a team-leading 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and one run scored…Mann increased his league-leading doubles total to 30 on the season and the total ranks tied for the most in all of the Minors…Mann has hit safely in seven straight games (12x29), in nine of his last 10 games (15x42) and in 12 of his last 14 games (21x53)…Mann’s 43 extra-base hits this season lead the PCL.

-Michael Busch went 2-for-4 with a double and home run. In his first five games since his most recent option to Triple-A, Busch is 7-for-19 with five extra-base hits, six RBI and has reached base in 14 of 24 plate appearances.

-The Dodgers hit two homers and have now homered in five straight games…Michael Busch homered for the second time in four games and he has six homers over his last 11 Triple-A games…Steven Duggar played in his first game since June 7 after spending time on the Injured List and hit his fifth homer of the season.

-In his team debut, Pat Valaika went 2-for-3 with a walk and run scored. Valaika was recently acquired from Seattle and played 38 PCL games with the Tacoma Rainiers this season.

-The Dodgers have allowed four runs or less in seven consecutive games, in nine of their last 11 games and in 10 of the last 13 games…The pitching staff recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a fifth straight game — tying their longest stretch of double-digit strikeout games this season April 18-22.

-The inside-the-park home run hit by Albuquerque’s Cole Tucker in the third inning was the second inside-the-park home run allowed by the Dodgers this season and first allowed at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark by OKC since June 26, 2014 (Paulo Orlando, OMA). El Paso’s Luis Liberato hit an inside-the-park homer against the Dodgers earlier this season on June 6 at Southwest University Park.

What’s Next: The Dodgers and Isotopes continue their series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Single-game tickets for OKC Dodgers games through the remainder of the 2023 season 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.