OKC Unable to Overcome Early Deficit

Salt Lake Bees — 6

Oklahoma City Baseball Club — 4

Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 – Smith's Ballpark – Salt Lake City, Utah

Game Summary: The Salt Lake Bees scored four runs in the first inning, putting the Oklahoma City Baseball Club in too big of a hole to dig out of during a 6-4 loss Friday night at Smith’s Ballpark. Each of the first four batters of the bottom of the first inning walked against OKC starting pitcher Jerming Rosario, who was making his Triple-A debut, and all four ended up scoring. Oklahoma City (37-36/77-71) still trailed, 4-0, when the team rallied for three runs in the fourth inning with a RBI single by Kody Hose, sac fly by Alan Trejo and RBI double by Alex Freeland. Salt Lake (35-38/67-80) remained ahead, 4-3, until scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh inning. Freeland led off the ninth inning with a home run pulling OKC within two runs, but three of the next four batters were retired to close the game.

Of Note:

-Oklahoma City and Salt Lake have split the first four games of the current series. OKC is now 4-8 in the team’s last 12 games at Smith’s Ballpark going back to 2022.

-Alex Freeland went 2-for-4 with a home run and RBI double. He has gone deep in three straight games and during his current six-game hitting streak is 11-for-24 (.458) with three home runs, two doubles and nine RBI…Freeland has collected at least one RBI in four straight games and has three straight multi-RBI games.

-Drew Avans went 1-for-4 with a walk. Although his streak of seven straight multi-hit games came to an end, he has hit safely in nine straight games, going 20-for-42 (.476). He has tied his longest hitting streak of the season, previously done April 6-17.

-James Outman went 1-for-4 with a double and has notched at least one extra-base hit in five straight games. During the streak, Outman is 10-for-21 (.476) with seven extra-base hits and nine RBI.

-OKC is now 36-36 in games decided by one or two runs this season. The team’s 72 games by one- or two-run margins are second-most in the PCL.

Next Up: Oklahoma City meets Salt Lake in the penultimate game of the 2024 season starting at 7:35 p.m. CT Saturday at Smith’s Ballpark. 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.