ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Express (44-48) were stuck on the short end of a wild battle with the Oklahoma City Dodgers (48-40), falling 7-5 on Saturday night at Dell Diamond.Oklahoma City reliever RHP Corey Copping (1-0, 3.86) picked up his first Triple-A win of his career after
ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Express (44-48) were stuck on the short end of a wild battle with the Oklahoma City Dodgers (48-40), falling 7-5 on Saturday night at Dell Diamond.
Oklahoma City reliever RHP Corey Copping (1-0, 3.86) picked up his first Triple-A win of his career after tossing 2.1 innings of one-run ball. Express reliever RHP Tayler Scott (3-4, 4.86) was saddled with the loss after he allowed the eventual winning runs to reach base in the eighth.
The Dodgers offense threw the opening punch in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead off Round Rock starter RHP Adrian Sampson . C Kyle Farmer followed up a three-double showing in last night's contest by leading off the frame with a two-bagger before 3B Edwin Ríos drove him home on groundball single to right field.
Round Rock rebounded in the bottom of the third when DH Willie Calhoun extended his career-long hitting streak to 18 straight games in loud fashion to put the Express in front 2-1. After CF Scott Heineman worked a walk to start the inning, Calhoun deposited a towering blast into the Oklahoma City bullpen in right-center for his eighth home run of the season. The two-run shot was the first of Calhoun's three base hits on the evening, raising his July batting average to .477.
Looking to pad their newfound lead, Round Rock put four men on base in the bottom of the fourth. C Tony Sanchez got things started with a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a single by 1B Hanser Alberto , and later scored when 3B Andy Ibáñez dropped a single into shallow left field. A batter later, Calhoun drove Alberto home when he yanked a line drive single to right, pushing the gap to 4-1.
The Dodgers made a push in the fifth to pull within a run of a tie at 4-3. SS Angelo Mora made it 4-2 when he followed Jake Peter 's triple with a sacrifice fly. Then, with two outs, DH Connor Joe connected on a solo homer to left field that shrunk the E-Train lead even further.
Oklahoma City would close the gap and then some in the top of the eighth, rolling ahead 7-4 to swipe the win. With Dodgers standing at first and second with two outs, the Express called upon RHP R.J. Alvarez to end the scoring threat. The visitors would load the bases when Rios worked a walk before RF Kyle Garlick launched a sky-high grand slam onto the berm in left field.
Round Rock would chip away in the bottom half of the frame as Sanchez connected on a solo shot to left-center, cutting the Oklahoma City advantage to 7-5. But, after putting two on in the ninth, the Express bats were unable to push across another run before the 27th out was made.
Round Rock will shoot for a series tie when they take on the Dodgers for the final time this season on Sunday night at Dell Diamond. Express LHP David Hurlbut (4-5, 5.11) is scheduled to start against Oklahoma City RHP Drew Hutchison (2-1, 4.74). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. CDT.
For more information on the Express, visit RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter!
