The Oklahoma City Dodgers nearly pulled off an improbable comeback, but fell just short as they were defeated 7-6 by the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles affiliate) in the Triple-A National Championship Game in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Yency Almonte opened the contest as part of a rehab assignment and threw a scoreless first inning. He allowed one hit and collected two strikeouts. Almonte has been out since the middle of August because of a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain in his right knee and won’t return unless the Los Angeles Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series.
The Tides took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when Coby Mayo was caught stealing second base that allowed Colton Cowser to score.
The Dodgers evened things up in the fifth inning with Hunter Feduccia hitting a solo home run. OKC then pulled ahead in the sixth after Jonny DeLuca drove Miguel Vargas home with an RBI single.
The Tides erased that deficit in the seventh when Cowser slugged a go-ahead grand slam to center field. Norfolk extended their lead to 7-2 in the ninth with Connor Norby belting a two-run homer.
Trailing by five and down to their final out, the Dodgers showed some life as Drew Avans connected on an RBI single. Michael Busch followed with a two-run homer, and Vargas added a solo shot to bring OKC to within one.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, their rally attempt was halted when Ryan Ward struck out to end the game. For the Tides, the win gave the International League back-to-back Triple-A National Championships.
OKC Dodgers won PCL Championship
The OKC Dodgers advanced to the title game after sweeping the Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers affiliate) in a best-of-three series to win their first Pacific Coast League Championship since 1996.
The Dodgers finished the year with a 90-58 record, which were the most wins for an Oklahoma City team in a single season since 1998.
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