Dodgers Blast Four Homers in 8-5 Win

OKC Dodgers – 8

El Paso – 5

Saturday, July 10, 2021 – Southwest University Park – El Paso, Texas

Game Summary: The OKC Dodgers hit four home runs and Omar Estévez notched a season-high four hits as the Dodgers defeated the El Paso Chihuahuas, 8-5, Saturday night at Southwest University Park. Estévez hit the team’s first homer in the second inning to give the team a lead it would never relinquish. Matt Davidson lined a two-run homer to right field in the fifth inning, and DJ Peters jumped on the first pitch of the sixth inning out to left field to make it 4-0. The Chihuahuas (24-31) scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut OKC’s advantage in half. Tim Federowicz smashed the fourth homer of the night with a solo shot in the eighth inning. The Dodgers (30-27) further extended the lead with three runs in the ninth inning, with a run scoring on a wild pitch and two more on a single by Estévez to make it 8-2. For the second straight night, the Dodgers took a healthy lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, only to have to fight off a Chihuahuas rally. El Paso scored three runs and brought the tying run to the plate before the Dodgers were able to close out the game.

Of Note:

-After dropping the series opener, the Dodgers have won the last two nights at Southwest University Park, scoring 23 runs in the process. The team is now 16-4 in the last 20 road games and improved their record in El Paso to 6-3 this season.

-For the third straight game, the Dodgers had a player collect four hits. Saturday it was Omar Estévez, who went 4-for-5 with a homer, double and three RBI. Estévez tallied his third career four-hit game and first since Sept. 3, 2018 with High-A Rancho Cucamonga against Inland Empire. He also set a season high with the three RBI and picked up two extra-base hits in one game for the first time this season. The one time he retired Saturday was on a fly ball caught on the run by Taylor Kohlwey on the right field warning track in the sixth inning. Estévez has notched three straight multi-hit games (8-for-14) and has hit safely in five straight games overall (10-for-22).

-The Dodgers hit four homers, accounting for five of the team’s eight runs. It’s the third time this season the team has gone deep at least four times in one game, and the first time since May 30, also at Southwest University Park when they belted a season-high seven dingers. Matt Davidson and DJ Peters each homered for a second consecutive game.

-Making his second start off the Injured List, Josiah Gray threw 4.0 scoreless inning and allowed just one hit. He retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, including the first 10 in order. The only hit against Gray was an infield single by El Paso’s Matt Batten in the fourth inning. Gray threw 53 pitches, including 38 strikes. In two starts since returning to game action, Gray has thrown 6.0 scoreless innings while retiring 18 of 19 batters faced.

-Matt Davidson extended his season-best hitting streak to seven games, going 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk. During the streak, Davidson has homered five times and is 10-for-29 with eight extra-base hits and 16 RBI.

-Austin Bibens-Dirkx piggybacked Gray and pitched the next 4.2 innings. Although he ended up allowing five runs (four earned) on a season-high 10 hits, Bibens-Dirkx became the first pitcher in Triple-A West to seven wins this season, improving his record to 7-1.

-Kevin Quackenbush entered the game with the tying run at the plate and two outs in the ninth inning. He induced a game-ending groundout to earn his league-leading 12th save of the season.

What’s Next: The Dodgers and Chihuahuas continue their series at 7:05 p.m. CT Sunday. 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.