Romero, Dodgers Slide Past Sugar Land

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 3

Sugar Land Space Cowboys – 2

Saturday, May 21, 2022 – Constellation Field – Sugar Land, Texas

Game Summary: Stefen Romero drove in three runs including a go-ahead two run-homer in the sixth inning, and the Oklahoma City Dodgers bullpen escaped a few jams late in the game as the Dodgers held on for a 3-2 win over the Sugar Land Space Cowboys Saturday night at Constellation Field. Romero opened the scoring with a RBI double in the first inning, but the Space Cowboys (16-25) scored one run in each of the third and fifth innings to go ahead, 2-1. With two outs in the sixth inning, Romero connected on a two-run homer to left field to put the Dodgers (25-16) back in the lead. Sugar Land put the tying run in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but each time the Dodgers prevented them from scoring. The Space Cowboys had the tying run at third base with two outs in the ninth inning when Carson Fulmer struck out Korey Lee to end the game.

Of Note:

-Stefen Romero led the OKC offense, going 2-for-4 with a home run and double. Not only did he collect all of the team’s three RBI, but all of them occurred with two outs. Romero has tallied 17 RBI across his first 13 games this season, with five multi-RBI games. Over his last two games, Romero is 5-for-9 with a home run, two doubles and five RBI. He has reached base safely in all 13 games he’s played in and has hit safely in seven of his last eight games.

-Eddy Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a double and extended his hitting streak to nine games, batting .529 (18x34) with five doubles, a triple, two homers, 12 RBI, 12 runs scored and seven walks. He has now reached base in 25 of his last 36 plate appearances (16x27, 7 BB, 2 HBP) and in 13 of his last 20 plate appearances.

-Miguel Vargas finished 2-for-4 with a run scored for his team-leading 17th multi-hit game of the season. Vargas has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games (17x50) has also hit safely in 18 of his last 21 games, going 31-for-84 (.369) with 10 extra-base hits, 12 multi-hit games, 16 RBI, 15 walks and 28 runs scored. The 22-year-old currently paces the PCL with 39 runs scored and 48 hits this season.

-The Dodgers were held to three or fewer runs for the third time in the last four games but improved to 5-6 when scoring three or fewer runs this season. The team went 2-for-14 with runners on base – with Romero providing both hits – and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Over the last four games, the Dodgers have only scored 10 runs while batting .192 (24x125) overall, including 6-for-54 with runners on base and 1-for-27 with runners in scoring position.

-The OKC pitching staff allowed two or fewer runs for the 13th time this season and the team is now 12-1 in those games. The Dodgers held the Space Cowboys 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners on base, including seven in scoring position. The bullpen combined to throw 4.2 scoreless innings and allowed two hits and three walks, with nine strikeouts. They struck out the final batter of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings with the tying run in scoring position each time. Jon Duplantier, from nearby Katy, Texas, retired all five batters he faced and earned the win. Carson Fulmer worked around a leadoff single in the ninth inning and stranded the tying run at third base to pick up his third save. Reyes Moronta and Garrett Cleavinger each struck out three batters while working a scoreless inning.

-Six days after making his Major League debut straight from Double-A Tulsa, starting pitcher Michael Grove made his OKC debut. He allowed two runs over 4.1 innings, with four hits, five walks and three strikeouts. Grove faced the minimum over the first two innings on just 23 pitches, but he threw 64 pitches over his final 2.1 innings, adding up to a career-high 87 pitches.

What’s Next: The Dodgers finish their quick three-game series in Sugar Land with a rubber match at 2:05 p.m. Sunday. 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.