Ruiz Homers Twice in OKC's 11-8 Win

By Oklahoma City Dodgers

July 2, 2021

OKC Dodgers – 11 Salt Lake – 8 Thursday, July 1, 2021 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark — Oklahoma City, Okla. Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored 10 runs in the sixth inning, including a grand slam from Keibert Ruiz and three-run homer by Matt Davidson, in an 11-8 win

OKC Dodgers – 11

Salt Lake – 8

Thursday, July 1, 2021 – Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark — Oklahoma City, Okla.

Game Summary: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored 10 runs in the sixth inning, including a grand slam from Keibert Ruiz and three-run homer by Matt Davidson, in an 11-8 win Thursday night against the Salt Lake Bees at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers entered the sixth inning trailing, 6-1, before scoring 10 runs, including seven with the bases loaded. Omar Estévez drew a bases-loaded walk before Elliot Soto followed with a RBI single and Andy Burns drew a bases-loaded walk to trim the Bees’ lead to 6-4. Ruiz then drilled a grand slam into the upper deck in right field to put the Dodgers (27-22) on top, 8-6, with his second homer of the night. Later in the inning, Davidson lined a three-run homer out to left field for an 11-6 OKC advantage. Earlier in the game, Ruiz lined a solo homer out to left field on the first pitch he saw for a 1-0 OKC lead in the first inning on the way to the team’s fourth straight win. Salt Lake (22-26) scored four runs in the fourth inning and added two more runs in the sixth inning before the Dodgers took the lead for good in the sixth inning of the series opener between the teams.

Of Note:

-Keibert Ruiz hit two home runs Thursday night, including a grand slam, going 3-for-4 with five RBI to tie his season-high RBI mark. It was his third multi-homer game of the season and he now paces the Dodgers with 11 homers this season and is tied for the team lead with 12 multi-hit games. Ruiz’s grand slam was his first with OKC and first since July 28, 2017 with Low-A Great Lakes. It was also Oklahoma City’s third grand slam of the season.

-The Dodgers scored a season-high 10 runs in the sixth inning Thursday night. It marked the most runs the team has scored in one inning since they scored 11 in the seventh inning at Round Rock May 14, 2019.

-The Dodgers won a fourth straight game Thursday and are now 12-2 over the last 14 games. Since June 15, the Dodgers have gone from 8.0 games out of first place to 0.5 games out of first place in the East Division standings and are currently in second place.

-Matt Davidson homered in a second straight game as he collected three RBI Thursday. Over his last five starts, Davidson is 7-for-22 with a double, three homers, eight RBI and three runs.

-OKC finished with its 21st multi-homer game of the season, hitting three homers Thursday. The Dodgers have now hit 58 home runs in their last 37 games, including 32 in the last 20 games.

-Cristian Santana (2-for-2) and Elliot Soto (2-for-4) joined Ruiz with multi-hit nights. Santana hit a double, drew two walks and scored a run as he has now hit safely in five of his last six games. Soto extended his hit streak to a season-high seven games and also collected a RBI and scored a run Thursday. He is 10-for-29 with three doubles during the stretch.

-OKC drew nine walks from Salt Lake pitchers Thursday — the team’s highest walk total since June 11 against El Paso when the team also had nine walks.

-Dodgers pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts Thursday, reaching double digits for the 10th time in the last 14 games.

-The eleven runs scored by OKC were the most scored by the team in a game since a 20-9 victory May 30 at El Paso. The eight runs allowed by OKC were the most given up by the team since a 9-6 loss to El Paso June 13 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Entering Thursday, the Dodgers held opponents to four or fewer runs in 20 of the last 26 games.

-Oklahoma City scored first Thursday night and improved to 17-8 when scoring first this season. The Dodgers also won a fifth straight series opener, improving to 5-4 in series openers overall this season, including 3-1 at home. When the Dodgers win the first game of a series, they are 3-0-1 in those series.

What’s Next: The Dodgers continue their series against Salt Lake at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with fireworks slated to follow the game on a Fireworks Friday. Tickets are available by visiting okcdodgers.com/tickets. Live radio coverage of each OKC Dodgers game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps. All OKC Dodgers games are also available streamed live on MiLB.TV with a subscription.