Round Rock Takes Series Opener in Extras

Round Rock Express — 6

OKC Dodgers — 5

(10 Innings)

Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: A two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning sent the Round Rock Express to a 6-5 win against the Oklahoma City Dodgers Thursday night during ¡Celebración Cielo Azul! at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers (59-55) scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game, 4-4, eventually sending the Red Dirt Rumble rivalry game to extra innings. With the designated runner on second base to open the 10th inning, Round Rock’s Curtis Terry sent a two-run homer out to left field to give the Express (58-56) a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers loaded the bases and Cristian Santana brought in a run when he hit into a fielder’s choice, but that would be the final run of the night. The Dodgers had taken a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI groundout by Matt Davidson and RBI single by Santana. Davidson connected on his team-leading 25th home run of the season in the third inning for a 3-0 OKC lead. After an OKC error with two outs in the fourth inning, Round Rock scored three unearned runs to tie the game, 3-3. A sacrifice fly by Terry gave Round Rock a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning before Luke Raley homered in the seventh inning to tie the game 4-4.

Of Note:

-After back-to-back wins, the Dodgers suffered just their second loss in the last nine games Thursday night. The Dodgers have started September 9-4 overall and have won nine of the last 12 games overall.

-The Dodgers fell to 2-5 in extra-inning games overall this season. They have now lost six straight extra-inning games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and have not won an extra-inning game in OKC since August 2018. They have also lost seven of the last nine extra-inning games overall going back to 2019.

-Matt Davidson hit his team-leading 25th homer of the season in the third inning — and fifth homer of September. He has now hit safely in seven of his last nine games, going 15-for-40 (.375) with eight extra-base hits. He has 21 multi-hit games this season and a team-leading 21 multi-RBI games in 2021.

-Sheldon Neuse went 2-for-5 Thursday with a leadoff triple and scored two runs. It was his third consecutive multi-hit game and his second straight game with a triple. He’s 7-for-16 over the last three games and has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 21-for-58 (.362) with seven multi-hit games, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored.

-Cristian Santana extended his hitting streak to eight games Thursday, going 1-for-5 with two RBI. During the streak he is 15-for-34 with two homers, three doubles, 10 RBI and eight runs scored. He leads OKC with 91 hits in 79 games this season.

-Luke Raley connected on a solo homer in the seventh inning to tie the game, 4-4, homering for a third straight game. Over his last three games, he’s 6-for-14 with three homers and eight RBI. He’s now homered five times in the last six games and collected 12 RBI during that time.

-Thursday marked OKC’s league-leading 22nd one-run loss of the year and seventh one-run loss since Aug. 19.

-OKC and Round Rock took the field with their MiLB “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan™” (“It’s Fun to Be a Fan™”) identities — Cielo Azul de Oklahoma City vs. Los Chupacabras de Round Rock. In addition to players and coaches wearing Cielo Azul jerseys and hats during the series, the gameday environment during ¡Celebración Cielo Azul! includes Latin music, colorful and festive concourse decorations, specialty concessions, unique entertainment, live performances and a Spanish-speaking public address announcer for select games. The name Cielo Azul – translated to “Blue Sky” – was established in 2018 and derived from three key factors: Incorporating the color blue, which is a key component of the Dodgers organization; the vibrancy of Oklahoma’s blue skies, and the breadth of the diversity of Hispanic and Latino culture that resides under those skies; and as a tribute to Dodgers legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who looked up at the sky during his windup.

What’s Next: The OKC Dodgers continue their Red Dirt Rumble rivalry series against the Round Rock Express at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark during ¡Celebración Cielo Azul!, presented by OG&E.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and a mystery bobblehead, presented by Lime, will be given out to the first 1,000 fans in attendance. Fireworks are scheduled to follow game. The final INTEGRIS “Home Run For Life” honoree of the season will be recognized during the game and game-worn, game-used and autographed Oklahoma City Dodgers memorabilia will be available for fans to bid on during the Clubhouse Collectibles online auction, presented by The Oklahoman. Bidding runs from 6-11 p.m. Friday via the DASH Auction app and proceeds benefit the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation and the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools.

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.