Las Vegas Homers Way to 5-4 Win in OKC

Las Vegas Aviators — 5

OKC Dodgers - 4

Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored first and last in Friday night’s game, but the Las Vegas Aviators hit three homers in between to send the Dodgers to a 5-4 loss at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. OKC’s Deacon Liput belted a three-run homer out to center field to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead in the second inning. The Aviators (53-45) cut into the Dodgers’ lead with a solo homer by Francisco Peña in the fourth inning. Las Vegas took a 4-3 lead on a three-run homer by Khris Davis in the fifth inning. Carlos Pérez added a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning with two outs for a 5-3 Aviators advantage. The Dodgers (49-48) cut into the Las Vegas lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Anthony Bemboom drew a walk with two outs in the ninth inning, advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored on a RBI single by Omar Estévez to trim Las Vegas’ lead to one run. Liput followed and hit a grounder toward the pitcher, but was called out on batter interference as the ball hit him while he was running down the first base line for the final out of the game.

Of Note:

-One night after his 10-game hitting streak came to an end, Cristian Santana went a game-high 3-for-4 Friday and scored a run as he tied his season-high mark for hits. Over his last 12 games, Santana is 17-for-46 (.370) and he has hit safely in 24 of his last 25 starts, going 39-for-101 (.386) with 16 RBI and 12 multi-hit games. Santana also collected a season-high three hits July 23 against Sugar Land and Aug. 20 at Sugar Land.

-Deacon Liput’s three-run homer in the second inning was his first career Triple-A home run and his 11th homer of the season overall. Liput hit 10 homers with High-A Great Lakes before joining OKC in mid-August.

-The Dodgers hit just their third homer in the last three games and fifth in the last seven games Friday night. Prior to the recent seven-game stretch, the Dodgers’ hit 60 homers over 36 games from July 8-Aug. 19 and had the second-most homers in Triple-A West during the span…Las Vegas homered three times Friday night, accounting for all five of the Aviators’ runs and boost their Triple-A West-best home run total to 167 homers this season.

-Carlos Asuaje finished 2-for-4 at the plate Friday with his second straight multi-hit game. Asuaje leads the Dodgers with 80 games played this season…Anthony Bemboom scored two runs and went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk for his first multi-hit and multi-run game since joining OKC in mid-August.

-With Friday’s loss, the Dodgers matched their longest losing skid of the season at four games and have now lost seven of their last eight games. The only other time the Dodgers lost seven games in an eight-game span this season was when they opened their 2021 schedule with a record of 1-8 May 6-15.

-OKC reliever James Pazos struck out the side in order in the top of the eighth inning Friday night, recording his eighth straight scoreless appearance out of the bullpen. He has allowed just three hits during the span and five walks with 14 strikeouts.

-Dodgers players and coaches wore special pink jerseys that were auctioned off to benefit Susan G. Komen Oklahoma Friday night as the Dodgers teamed up with MidFirst Bank to “Pack the Park Pink” for breast cancer awareness.

What’s Next: The OKC Dodgers continue their series against the Las Vegas Aviators at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Marvel Super Hero Night. Star-Lord and Black Widow will make special appearances throughout the evening. Also on Saturday, August’s INTEGRIS Health “Home Run For Life” honoree will be recognized during the game. Tickets are available by visiting 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. All OKC Dodgers games are also available streamed live on MiLB.TV with a subscription.