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It was a tough night for the playoff chances of Dodgers affiliates. One team had their final game while the other fell further behind in the quest to win their division.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
For the second night in a row, Oklahoma City and the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) played a close game decided by one run. El Paso got the better of the Dodgers once again, scoring a late run to send OKC to a 3-2 defeat.
The loss drops OKC two games behind the Chihuahuas with five games to go, three of which are against El Paso. Each loss is devastating to their playoff hopes and it feels as if the Dodgers need to sweep the weekend if they want to win the PCL East.
El Paso jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a two-run homer for Brandon Dixon just three batters into the bottom of the first. OKC starter Jon Duplantier settled in from there, holding the Chihuahuas scoreless through the rest of his five innings. Victor González pitched a scoreless sixth inning as he continued his rehab assignment.
James Outman sends one into the Big Dog House to get the Dodgers on the board in the 2nd inning! pic.twitter.com/sOjZRIF768
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) September 23, 2022
The Dodgers comeback plan ran though James Outman. The 25-year-old outfielder hit a solo home run in the second inning and tied the game at 2-2 on a run-scoring single in the sixth. That would be the last baserunner for OKC as the last 10 batters were retired.
El Paso made sure the tie didn’t last long and they took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh on a Matthew Batten RBI-single.
Starter Jay Groome was fantastic for the Chihuahuas Thursday. The 24-year-old lefty went eight innings, allowing the two runs on five hits and a walk to go with five strikeouts.
Double-A Tulsa
Tulsa’s season came to an end Thursday night in a brutal way, falling 11-1 to the Wichita Wind Surge (Twins). The short two-game sweep saw the Drillers outscored 28-2.
The two clubs traded runs in the first inning when Jair Camargo hit a two-run homer for Wichita and Andy Pages cut the deficit in half with a sac fly in the home half. That was as close as it would be.
Camargo added another two-run blast in the third and Wichita would score seven of their 11 runs on four different homers.
Tulsa managed just three hits all night and two of those belonged to the leadoff hitter, Justin Yurchak. The seven walks issued to the Drillers allowed for multiple runners on base in four of the six innings but they weren’t able to scratch any runs across as a result.
“I feel bad for our guys, but give credit to Wichita. We got beat by a better ball club,” said Tulsa manager Scott Hennessey said after the game. “But, we had guys see what it is going to take to win in the playoffs, and we will learn and get better from it.”
The Drillers finished their season with a record of 69-69.
Transactions
Triple-A: Los Angeles Dodgers optioned LHP Justin Bruihl to Oklahoma City Dodgers to make room for Brusdar Graterol.
Thursday scores
Friday schedule
- 5:35 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Andre Jackson) at El Paso (Pedro Avila)
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