Zephyrs Shut Out Dodgers Tuesday
Oklahoma City - The New Orleans Zephyrs broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning on the way to a 2-0 win against the Oklahoma City Dodgers Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
The Dodgers suffered their first shutout loss of the season as the Zephyrs took a 2-0 lead in the four-game series between the teams in front of a crowd of 3,791.
Oklahoma City (12-11) held the Zephyrs without a run for six innings, led by starting pitcher Jose De Leon, who made his Triple-A debut.
De Leon pitched five scoreless frames, allowing two hits, one walk and recording nine strikeouts - tying Julio Urias for the most strikeouts by a Dodgers pitcher this season. De Leon entered the season ranked as the Dodgers' No. 3 prospect by Baseball America.
New Orleans (13-11) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning when pinch hitter Dan Black hit a fly ball to right field that brought home two runs for the Zephyrs.
The Dodgers offense threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning, Austin Barnes singled, then advanced to second base on a single by Corey Brown. Rob Segedin then grounded into a double play as Barnes moved to third base, but Zach Walters flied out to end the inning.
New Orleans starting pitcher, and former Oklahoma City RedHawk, Jarred Cosart (1-0) was credited with the win, tossing six scoreless innings. He allowed six hits, one walk and had three strikeouts. Eric Jokisch pitched a scoreless 1.1 frames for his first save of the season.
Dodgers reliever Luis Avilan, who replaced De Leon in the sixth inning, was charged with his first loss of the season. He allowed two runs on two hits, walked two and had three strikeouts over 1.2 innings. Chin-Hui Tsao and Logan Bawcom held the Zephyrs scoreless over the final 2.1 innings.
The Dodgers pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts, marking their third straight game with at least 13 strikeouts. Tuesday was their 11th double-digit strikeout game of the season.
The Dodgers outhit the Zephyrs, 7-4, but were held without an extra-base hit in the loss.
The Dodgers have a quick turnaround as they continue their series against New Orleans with an 11:05 a.m. game Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
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