The Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers concluded a six-game series against the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres affiliate) with a record-setting performance in their 24-5 win at Southwest University Park on Sunday.
Drew Avans opened the scoring with a leadoff home run in the first inning and OKC took a 2-0 lead into the bottom half before it was cut into as part of the Chihuahuas tying the game by the second.
Oklahoma City then scored 17 consecutive runs from the third through fifth innings to take a 19-2 lead. The outburst was sparked by Michael Busch breaking the tie with a two-run home run in the third inning.
Devin Mann added an RBI single and newly-signed Kole Calhoun drove him home on a double. Justin Yurchak capped off the five-run inning with an RBI base hit.
Oklahoma City expanded on their lead by scoring 12 runs across the fourth and fifth innings despite only collecting four hits. One of those was Yurchak’s grand slam in the fifth that put OKC ahead 19-2.
They scored one run in the seventh inning and four in the eighth, when the game was already well in hand.
All nine batters in the Oklahoma City Dodgers lineup collected at least one hit, one walk and scored a minimum of two runs. According to Minor League Baseball, such a feat has only been accomplished 17 times in MLB history since 1901.
Yurchak went 3-for-5 with the double, grand slam and career-high seven RBI. Yurchak’s seven RBI are the most by an Oklahoma City player since Ryan Noda had that many on July 6, 2022.
Avans finished 4-for-6 with a double, home run and four RBI, and tied career highs in hits and runs driven in.
Busch extended his hitting streak to seven games, and is 14-for-28 with nine extra-base hits and 11 RBI during the stretch. Busch additionally has three home runs in his last four games.
Jahmai Jones extended his hitting streak to 17 games, which is the longest stretch by an OKC player since Alex Verdugo hit safely in 20 consecutive games from June 8-30, 2017.
Oklahoma City Dodgers records
OKC improved to a Pacific Coast League-best 45-18 and being 27 games above .500 is a season high. The OKC Dodgers additionally reached 45 wins faster than any PCL since at least 2005, and their 24 runs scored tied a team record for most in a single game during the Bricktown era.
The 24 runs also tied with Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate) and Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston Astros) for the most scored by a PCL team this season. OKC’s 19-run winning margin tied for the second-largest in the team’s Bricktown history.
Michael Busch wins PCL honors
Busch was name PCL Player of the Week for games played June 5-11. He started in all six games against El Paso and went 13-for-26 with four doubles, one triple, three home runs and 11 RBI during that span.
Busch is among the Los Angeles Dodgers prospects who have made their MLB debut this season, and manager Dave Roberts anticipates he’ll rejoin the team at some point again.
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