Pepiot Shines, but Dodgers Fall to Tacoma in Extra Innings

Tacoma Rainiers – 3

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 2

(10 Innings)

Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023 – Cheney Stadium – Tacoma, Wash.

Game Summary: The Tacoma Rainiers scored three runs over the final three innings to come back and send the Oklahoma City Dodgers to a 3-2 loss in 10 innings Sunday afternoon at Cheney Stadium. The Dodgers (23-16/73-39) led, 1-0, until the eighth inning and took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th inning before the Rainiers (24-15/61-53) won the game on a two-run single by Ryan Bliss in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Dodgers’ first run of the game scored in the fourth inning. Patrick Mazeika hit an infield single fielded by Tacoma pitcher Logan Allen whose throw to first base was offline and allowed David Freitas to score and give OKC a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, OKC starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot retired 20 of the 21 batters he faced as he pitched six perfect innings and matched his career-high mark with 11 strikeouts. He held the Rainiers without a hit until the seventh inning. The Rainiers later tied the game on a two-out RBI double by Riley Unroe in the eighth inning. Freitas connected on a RBI single in the 10th inning to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead before the Rainiers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning and Bliss grounded his walk-off single into left field with two outs.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers fell to 73-39 overall and 23-16 during the second half of the Pacific Coast League season with Sunday’s loss and Tacoma moved into first place in the second-half standings…The Dodgers are now 2-6 in their last eight games and Sunday’s loss snapped a string of six straight wins in series finales.

-The Dodgers lost five of their six games in Tacoma, marking the first time the Dodgers have lost five games during a six-game series since Aug. 26-31, 2021 against Las Vegas in OKC — a span of 40 six-game series…OKC’s series loss in Tacoma was just the team’s second road series loss of the season (May 2-7 in El Paso, 2-4) and fourth series loss of the season overall.

-Starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot retired each of the first 18 batters he faced as he pitched six perfect innings and became the first OKC Dodgers pitcher this season to pitch into the seventh inning. Pepiot retired 20 of the 21 batters he faced over 6.2 innings, but had to settle for a no decision. He allowed one single — a grounder up the middle — to the first Rainiers batter of the seventh inning and matched his career-high mark of 11 strikeouts. The 11 strikeouts were the most by a Dodgers pitcher this season and Pepiot last had 11 strikeouts in a game July 4, 2021 while with Double-A Tulsa against Arkansas. His 90 pitches (61 strikes) were a season high for Pepiot, who did not play in his first game this season until mid-July due to injury, and were his most in a game since Aug. 27, 2022 with OKC against El Paso when he threw 99 pitches (65 strikes). Pepiot’s 6.2 innings pitched marked his longest outing since July 31, 2022 against Sugar Land when he pitched 7.0 innings with Oklahoma City.

-Michael Busch singled in the third inning to extend his on-base streak to 37 games — the longest on-base streak by an Oklahoma City player this season, the longest active on-base streak in the PCL and the third-longest streak in the league this season. During the streak, Busch is 51-for-157 (.325) with 16 home runs, 38 RBI, 25 walks and 33 runs scored…His on-base streak is tied with Gavin Lux’s 37-game streak during the 2019 season for the third-longest on-base streak during OKC’s Dodgers affiliation (since 2015).

-David Freitas went 1-for-4 with a RBI, walk and run scored as he extended his hitting streak to 18 games — the second-longest hitting streak by an OKC player this season (Jahmai Jones – 21 G). During the streak, Freitas is 23-for-72 (.319).

-The Dodgers went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position Sunday and left 12 men on base. The Dodgers are 5-for-32 with runners in scoring position over the last five games.

-The Dodgers pitching staff matched its season-high with 18 strikeouts, last accomplished June 16 against Salt Lake in OKC.

-The walk-off loss was the fourth by the Dodgers this season and first since June 8 in El Paso — a 4-3 loss in 10 innings…The Dodgers fell to 7-5 in extra-inning games in 2023.

What’s Next: Following a day off Monday, the Dodgers continue their 12-game road trip and open a six-game series against the Salt Lake Bees at 7:35 p.m. CT Tuesday at Smith’s Ballpark. 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.