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Dodgers Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City finished the regular season with the best record in the Pacific Coast League, and will open their run through the playoffs with Game 1 of the American Conference Championship on Wednesday night in Round Rock, Tex.
Oklahoma City was 86-58 during the regular season, the most wins by a PCL team since Sacramento won 86 games in 2012. As champions of the American Northern Division, OKC will battle the American Southern Division champion Round Rock Express (Rangers), who finished at 78-66.
The OKC Dodgers have home field advantage, but in the PCL that means they start with two games on the road, followed by potentially three straight home games to conclude the best-of-five series.
American Conference Championship schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, 5:05 p.m. - Oklahoma City at Round Rock
Game 2: Thursday, 5:05 p.m. - Oklahoma City at Round Rock
Game 3: Friday, 5:05 p.m. - Round Rock at Oklahoma City
Game 4: Saturday, 5:05 p.m. - Round Rock at Oklahoma City*
Game 5: Sunday, 12:05 p.m. - Round Rock at Oklahoma City*
*if necessary
Zach Lee gets the start in Game 1 for Oklahoma City after a strong second season in Triple-A. Lee, the Dodgers' first-round pick in 2010, was 11-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 19 starts, with 81 strikeouts and only 19 walks in 113⅓ innings.
Lee would have won the PCL ERA title but he finished two innings shy of qualifying for the league title. He faced Round Rock just once during the regular season, allowing one run on two hits in six innings in a win on Apr. 11, with six strikeouts.
Round Rock has yet to announce its starting rotation.
Damon Berryhill also said tentative OKC playoff rotation behind Zach Lee vs. Round Rock: Julio Urias, Eric Stults, Eric Surkamp.
— Jacob Unruh (@jacobunruh) September 7, 2015
OKC was 11-5 against Round Rock during the regular season, including 6-2 at home and 5-3 in Texas.
The winner of this series will move on the best-of-five PCL Championship Series, facing the winner of the Pacific Conference series between Fresno (Astros) and El Paso (Padres). The American Conference winner will host the first two games, with the Pacific Conference winner hosting the final three games.