OKC Celebrates 21st Night of September with Six Homers

Oklahoma City Baseball Club — 13

Salt Lake Bees — 2

Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 – Smith's Ballpark – Salt Lake City, Utah

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club hit a season-high six home runs, including five within the first four innings, as OKC rolled to a 13-2 win over the Salt Lake Bees Saturday night at Smith’s Ballpark. Dalton Rushing hit the team’s first homer two batters into the game, and the two-run blast to center field gave OKC a 2-0 advantage. Two batters later, Ryan Ward went deep to make it 3-0. Oklahoma City (38-36/78-71) scored four runs in the second inning, all with two outs. After Ward drew a bases-loaded walk, James Outman hit a two-run single, and Alan Trejo followed with another RBI single. Chris Okey and Rushing each homered in the third inning, and Ward went deep for the second time in the fourth inning. OKC led, 10-0, until the Bees (35-39/67-81) scored twice in the seventh inning. Outman hit the team’s sixth homer of the night in the eighth inning. Two more runs scored in the ninth inning, including one on a RBI single by Alex Freeland.

Of Note:

-Oklahoma City has won three of the last four games in the current series. The team has won five of the last seven games overall, as well as six of the last eight road games.

-Oklahoma City set a season high with six home runs. It’s the first time OKC went deep six times in one game since July 30, 2023 at Reno during an 11-inning game and the first time it happened in a nine-inning game since Aug. 28, 2022 against El Paso…It was also the second time in four games OKC hit at least five home runs…Dalton Rushing and Ryan Ward became the first set of OKC players to collect a multi-homer game in the same game since Michael Busch and David Dahl during the team’s last six-homer game July 30, 2023 at Reno in 11 innings.

-Fresh off receiving his award as the 2024 Dodgers Branch Ricky Minor League Player of the Year award Friday night, Dalton Rushing went 3-for-6 with two homers and three RBI. It was his second multi-homer game since joining OKC and his third overall multi-homer game this season…Rushing’s 461-foot blast in the third inning is the second-longest homer by an OKC player this season.

-Ryan Ward collected his sixth multi-homer game of the season, bringing his league-leading home run total up to 33. He is just the third player in OKC’s Bricktown era (since 1998) to hit 33 or more homers in one season and the first to do it since Mike Hessman hit 35 home runs in 2012. Ward also finished with three RBI Saturday and now has 101 RBI for the season. He is just the fourth player during the Bricktown era to reach the century mark in RBI.

-James Outman tied his season high with four hits, going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Outman has notched at least one extra-base hit in six straight games. During the streak, Outman is 14-for-26 (.538) with eight extra-base hits, including four homers, and 12 RBI.

-Alex Freeland went 2-for-5 with a double and RBI. During his current seven-game hitting streak, Freeland is 13-for-29 (.448) with three home runs, three doubles and 10 RBI…Freeland has collected at least one RBI in five straight games.

-Playing in his first game since Aug. 23, catcher Chris Okey went 4-for-4 with a walk and a home run. It marked Okey’s first four-hit game since June 4, 2022 with Triple-A Louisville at Gwinnett.

-Tony Gonsolin made the third start of his current Major League Rehab Assignment. He retired nine of 10 batters faced over three innings, including each of the first eight in a row. He did not allow a hit, walked one and struck out six. Gonsolin threw 45 pitches, with 28 strikes.

Next Up: Oklahoma City finishes the 2024 season Sunday afternoon in Salt Lake beginning at 2:05 p.m. CT. Live radio coverage of each OKC Baseball Club game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps.