Stone's Six Scoreless Innings Steer Dodgers to 7-1 Win

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 7

Round Rock Express – 1

Friday, Aug. 4, 2023 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: Gavin Stone pitched six scoreless and no-hit innings in the Oklahoma City Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the Round Rock Express Friday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Stone (5-4) matched his season-long outing as the Dodgers held the Express without a hit until the eighth inning. The Dodgers (21-10/71-33) built a 7-0 lead through five innings. Yonny Hernández scored on a wild pitch in the second inning for the first run of the night. The Dodgers added three runs in the third inning as Ryan Ward hit a RBI triple to the wall in center field and David Dahl followed with a RBI single before OKC tacked on another run later in the inning on a Round Rock throwing error. A RBI double by Ward in the fourth inning gave the Dodgers a 5-0 advantage. OKC’s final two runs of the game scored in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Pat Valaika and a RBI single by Michael Busch. Round Rock (15-16/59-46) broke through with its first hit of the night with two outs in the eighth inning and ended the shutout with a RBI single by Dustin Harris in the ninth inning.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers won a third straight game as they improved to 71-33 and a season-best 38 games above .500, adding to their Bricktown-era record (since 1998) for games above .500…The Dodgers own the most wins in all of the Minors overall this season and also lead the second half of the PCL season with a 21-10 record.

-Starting pitcher Gavin Stone (5-4) tossed 6.0 scoreless and no-hit innings, allowing two walks. He recorded 10 strikeouts to match his season-high mark — the most strikeouts in a game by a Dodgers pitcher this season. Stone faced 20 batters and threw 85 pitches (55 strikes), retiring nine batters in a row at one point.

-Michael Busch finished with a game-high three hits, going 3-for-5 with a double and RBI as he recorded his team-leading 13th game of the season with three or more hits. He extended his season-best on-base streak to 29 consecutive games for the longest active on-base streak in the PCL and tied for the second-longest on-base streak by an OKC player this season with Jahmai Jones (May 6-June 17). During his current on-base streak, Busch is 41-for-125 (.328) with 31 RBI and 26 runs scored.

-Ryan Ward went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBI, a walk and a run scored. He has hit safely in a season-best nine straight games, going 17-for-39 (.436) with eight extra-base hits, 12 RBI and six multi-hit games.

-Miguel Vargas hit two doubles and scored two runs. He has now reached base in all 19 games he has played with OKC since being optioned by the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-July, collecting 24 hits during the span, including 11 for extra bases.

-David Dahl went 2-for-4 with a walk, run scored and RBI. He has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 19-for-42 (.452) with 15 RBI.

-The Dodgers wore special edition pink jerseys and hats Friday that were auctioned to benefit Susan G. Komen Oklahoma as part of “Pack the Park Pink” presented by MidFirst Bank to support breast cancer awareness.

* What’s Next*: On OKC 89ers Night, the first three inductees to the Oklahoma City Triple-A Baseball Hall of Fame will be recognized during a pregame ceremony Saturday. Outfielder and designated hitter Jason Botts, pitcher R.A. Dickey and manager Bobby Jones make up the inaugural class of inductees. Dodgers players and coaches will wear special retro OKC 89ers jerseys and hats on the field in recognition of the franchise's pre-Bricktown history. Gates open at 6 p.m. for the 7:05 p.m. game and the first 1,000 fans receive an “80s hair” giveaway presented by TradePros Heat & Air.

Single-game tickets for OKC Dodgers home games 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.