Buehler, Stone Combine for Eight Scoreless Innings in 9-1 OKC Win

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 9

Round Rock Express – 1

Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: Pitchers Walker Buehler and Gavin Stone combined to hold the Round Rock Express scoreless and to one hit through eight innings, while the Oklahoma City Dodgers hit three home runs in a 9-1 win Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Buehler opened a Major League Rehab Assignment and pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts. Stone (7-4) followed with 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts and was credited with the win. The Dodgers (30-27/80-50) scored a run in the first inning when Óscar Mercado hit into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded. Oklahoma City added four runs in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Hunter Feduccia and a bases-clearing three-run double by Jonny DeLuca for a 5-0 lead. Mercado connected on a two-run home run onto the Budweiser Deck in left field in the seventh inning and Miguel Vargas belted a towering two-run homer over the LED board in left field in the eighth inning to put the Dodgers ahead, 9-0. Round Rock’s first hit of the game came in the seventh inning and the Express (35-22/79-52) ended the shutout with a RBI single by Elier Hernandez in the ninth inning.

Of Note:

-The Dodgers recorded their 80th win of the season as they became the eighth OKC team during the Bricktown era (since 1998) to reach the 80-win mark and fourth team during the Dodgers affiliation (since 2015) to do so…The Dodgers won the six-game series against Round Rock, 4-2, as they closed the series with back-to-back wins and also won the season series between the teams, 14-4…First-place Oklahoma City now has a 1.5-game lead ahead of second-place Round Rock in the overall Pacific Coast League standings.

-Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler opened a Major League Rehab Assignment and pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts for OKC. He threw 24 pitches, including 15 strikes. The two-time MLB All-Star is recovering from right elbow UCL reconstruction that has kept him off the field since June 2022. He made 12 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, posting a 6-3 record and 4.02 ERA over 65.0 IP before undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time last August.

-Pitcher Gavin Stone (7-4) equaled his season high with 6.0 scoreless innings — also Aug. 4 against Round Rock and July 9 against Albuquerque. He entered the game to start the third inning and retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced, allowing one hit in the seventh inning and a walk in the sixth inning with seven strikeouts. He threw 80 pitches (50 strikes) in his seventh win with OKC.

-The Dodgers have allowed a total of two runs over the last two games, have held an opponent to two runs or less in three of the last four games and in four of the last seven games. The Dodgers have allowed a total of seven runs over their last five wins.

-The Dodgers pitching staff recorded nine strikeouts Sunday and finished with at least nine K’s in five of the six games of the series against the Express and in six of the last seven games overall.

-The three home runs hit by the Dodgers were their most in a game since the series opener against Round Rock Tuesday, Aug. 29. The Dodgers have now homered in four straight games (6 HR) and hit nine homers over the six-game series with the Express…Óscar Mercado hit his first home run since joining OKC Aug. 25, while Hunter Feduccia hit his ninth homer of the season with OKC and Miguel Vargas hit his seventh homer with OKC…On the other hand, the Dodgers have not allowed a home run in a season-high five consecutive games.

-Jonny DeLuca went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI, a walk and scored a run. He has hit safely in five of his last six games, going 9-for-20 with four doubles, a triple, two homers and seven RBI.

-Miguel Vargas hit his second homer in the last six games in the eighth inning and finished with a game-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, a walk and two runs scored. Over his last 18 games, Vargas is 25-for-64 (.391) with 11 RBI and 15 walks.

What’s Next: Following a day off Monday, the Dodgers open a six-game road series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at 6:35 p.m. at Constellation Field. 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.