Miller Fans 14, But Dodgers Fall in Round Rock

Round Rock Express – 2

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 0

(7 Innings)

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022 – Dell Diamond – Round Rock, Texas

*Game Summary: *Oklahoma City starting pitcher Bobby Miller notched a career-high 14 strikeouts over six strong innings, but a combination of a quiet offense and inclement weather led to a 2-0 loss in seven innings against the Round Rock Express Thursday night at Dell Diamond. Round Rock’s Sandro Fabian connected on a two-run homer with two outs in the second inning to put the Express (69-57) ahead, 2-0. Following the home run, Miller retired the next 13 consecutive batters, including 11 via strikeout. The Dodgers (72-54) were still trailing, 2-0, in the sixth inning with a runner at second base and one out. James Outman lined a single to left-center field, but Fabian threw out Michael Busch at home plate to keep the Dodgers off the board. The Dodgers had runners at second and third base with two outs in the seventh inning when heavy rain began to fall, forcing a stoppage in the game. After a delay of 1 hour, 17 minutes, the game was called due to unplayable field conditions.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers have dropped back-to-back games against second-place Round Rock, whittling OKC’s lead atop the PCL East Division to 3.0 games. Third-place El Paso also won Thursday and now sits 4.5 games back of first place.

-Starting pitcher Bobby Miller struck out 14 batters over six innings, becoming just the third pitcher in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown era to record a game with 14 or more strikeouts. The others are Chuck Smith, who had 14 strikeouts June 23, 1999 at Memphis and Wilmer Font, who set the team record with 15 strikeouts May 15, 2017 against Sacramento. Miller’s previous career high was 11 strikeouts, done twice previously and most recently Aug. 9 with Double-A Tulsa against Midland. He struck out 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, including the final eight in a row. The 14 strikeouts are also tied for the most by a pitcher in a PCL game this season, along with Salt Lake’s Reid Detmers – Miller’s college teammate at the University of Louisville. Overall, Miller allowed two runs and two hits with one walk to go along with the 14 strikeouts. Following a two-run homer by Sandro Fabian in the second inning, he retired the final 13 batters he faced, including 11 via strikeout. Due to the game being completed early, Miller was credited with his first career complete game.

-James Outman had the Dodgers’ lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-3. Over the last nine games, Outman is 18-for-31 with 13 extra-base hits and 20 RBI. And over the last six games, he is 15-for-23 with 10 extra-base hits and 13 RBI. He has reached base in 13 of his last 18 plate appearances.

-Jake Amaya went 1-for-3, extending his current hitting streak to five games, going 7-for-18. Over the last four games, Amaya is 6-for-14 with four extra-base hits, four RBI and five runs scored.

-The Dodgers were shutout for the fifth time this season and third time against the Express. All seven hits were singles, marking the fourth time this season the Dodgers did not register an extra-base hit. They entered Thursday’s game having scored 52 runs with 31 extra-base hits and 12 home runs over the previous five games, scoring at least six runs in each contest.

-For the first time all season, the Dodgers did not draw a walk. They are the Triple-A leaders in walks and have set a team record with 629 walks this season. They entered Thursday’s game having drawn at least five walks in 10 straight games, totaling 63 walks during that time.

-Thursday marked just the third time this season the Dodgers lost a game when allowing two or fewer runs and are now 30-3 in such games. The previous loss was also at the hands of Round Rock in a 1-0 defeat at home June 22.

-Thursday’s game was Oklahoma City’s fourth consecutive game to include a weather delay.

What’s Next: The Dodgers and Express next meet at 6:35 p.m. Friday 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.