Dodgers Score Wire-to-Wire Win Over Express

OKC Dodgers – 8

Round Rock Express – 3

Friday, July 29, 2021 – Dell Diamond – Round Rock, Texas

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers went ahead in the first inning and led the rest of the way during an 8-3 victory Friday night over the Round Rock Express at Dell Diamond. The Express (36-38) committed two errors in the first inning, opening the door for the Dodgers (38-36) to take a 1-0 lead. In the third inning, four straight Dodgers reached base with two outs to push the lead to 4-0, following a RBI double by Yoshi Tsutsugo and two-run single by Cristian Santana. The Express cut the lead to one, following a solo homer by Carl Chester in the third inning and a two-run shot by Charles Leblanc in the fifth. Zach Reks gave the Dodgers some breathing room with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Santana and Drew Avans each homered within the span of three batters in the eighth inning, running the lead to 8-3. After the Express made it a one-run game in the fifth inning, they collected just one hit and put only one runner in scoring position for the remainder of the game.

Of Note:

-With Friday’s win, the Dodgers are now 20-7 over their last 27 road games and have followed each of their last seven road losses with a win in the next game. They also avoided opening a series in an 0-2 hole for the first time since May 14 and have won each of the last five times they dropped a series opener.

-The Dodgers hit three home runs Friday, all over the course of six batters between the seventh and eighth innings. The Dodgers have now homered in 14 of the last 15 games (26 HR), as well as 18 of the last 20 games (38 HR). It was the 13th time this season the team hit three or more home runs in one game.

-Cristian Santana extended his current hitting streak to five games, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, tying his season high. During the hitting streak, Santana is 10-for-21 (.476) with seven RBI and four multi-hit games.

-After going hitless in the previous two games, Yoshi Tsutsugo went 2-for-4 with a RBI double. Over his last 15 games, Tsutsugo is 17-for-48 (.354) after going 8-for-67 (.119) in his first 17 games with OKC. He’s reached base safely in 15 of his last 16 games.

-Zach Reks connected on a two-run homer in the seventh inning for his 12th home run this season. He finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk after going 4-for-22 in his first six games following his most recent option to OKC.

-Sheldon Neuse extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the ninth inning. He’s batting .336 with 15 hits during the streak and is now 12-for-31 (.387) against Round Rock this season.

-Dodgers pitchers recorded 13 more strikeouts Friday, reaching at least that many strikeouts for the third time in four games and fifth time in eight games. It also marked the eighth time in the last nine games (108 K) and 11th time in the last 13 games (153 K) they have struck out 10 or more batters in a game.

-Three OKC relievers – Darien Núñez, Neftalí Felíz and Kevin Quackenbush – combined to throw four scoreless innings and allow just one hit, with two walks and eight strikeouts. Núñez retired six of seven batters over two innings with five strikeouts, and in the two games since his return to Oklahoma City, he’s retired 11 of 12 batters faced with nine strikeouts.

What’s Next: The Dodgers look to take the edge in their series against the Express at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at Dell Diamond. 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.