Long Ball Powers Dodgers Past Memphis Again

For the second straight night, the Oklahoma City Dodgers swatted three home runs, riding the power surge to an 8-4 win over the Memphis Redbirds Thursday night at AutoZone Park.

After starting their current road trip with back-to-back losses, the Dodgers (52-27) have won four of the last five, including three straight to start their series in Memphis. OKC is now a season-best 25 games above .500, marking the first time the team has been that far above .500 since Sept. 5, 1999.

The Dodgers jumped in front in the first inning. On the second pitch of the game, Darnell Sweeney hit a triple to right-center field, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Austin Barnes.

Two more runs scored in the second inning. Buck Britton brought the first run home on a fielder’s choice, and Sweeney collected a two-out RBI single to push the lead to 3-0.

However, the Redbirds (41-40) answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning. Jacob Wilson lined a RBI single to center field, and Matt Williams hit a RBI double off the left field wall with two outs to pull Memphis within one.

The Dodgers went back up by two runs in the top of the fifth. Sweeney led off the inning with a double, and two batters later, scored on a sac fly by Corey Seager.

Sweeney fell a home run shy of the cycle, tying his season highs with three hits and three runs. The PCL All-Star is 10-for-20 during his current five-game hitting streak.

The Redbirds pulled even in the bottom of the inning. With none on and two outs, Dan Johnson drew a walk to keep the inning going. Tommy Pham came up next and drilled the first pitch into the Memphis bullpen for a game-tying two-run homer, making it a 4-4 game.

It didn’t take long for the Dodgers to regain the lead. On the first pitch of the sixth inning, Scott Schebler hit a towering home run to right field to put OKC back in front, 5-4.

In the seventh, the Dodgers hit back-to-back home runs for the second straight night. Darwin Barney hit a two-run shot onto the bluff in left field, and Seager followed with a solo homer to right field, making it 8-4.

The OKC bullpen shut down the Redbirds following Pham’s home run, as three relievers combined to retire 13 of the final 15 Memphis batters. David Huff (4-1) picked up the win after throwing 2.1 scoreless innings. He retired seven of the eight batters he faced with three strikeouts.

Dustin Richardson and Chin-Hui Tsao each followed with a scoreless inning to finish out the game.

For the first time in five career starts against Oklahoma City, Memphis pitcher John Gast ended up with a loss. Gast (4-6) allowed eight runs (five earned) and nine hits over 6.1 innings. The lefty had allowed just one home run at AutoZone Park all season before surrendering three Thursday night. He finished with three strikeouts and no walks. 

The Dodgers finish their four-game series in Memphis seeking to sweep the Redbirds at 6:05 p.m. Friday night.