OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma - The Round Rock Express (41-45) picked up a third straight win behind a dominant start by rehabbing Texas Rangers LHP Martín Pérez (1-0, 1.42) over the Oklahoma City Dodgers (45-37) on Thursday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Park. In 6.1 innings on the mound Perez racked up
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma - The Round Rock Express (41-45) picked up a third straight win behind a dominant start by rehabbing Texas Rangers LHP Martín Pérez (1-0, 1.42) over the Oklahoma City Dodgers (45-37) on Thursday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Park.
In 6.1 innings on the mound Perez racked up six strikeouts while allowing just one run to cross the plate, earning the win in his first appearance with Round Rock since 2015. For the Dodgers, RHP Tyler Pill (2-3, 5.40) was hung with loss after he was peppered with eight hits for four earned runs.
The E-Train pulled ahead early when 3B Nick Noonan and 1B Hanser Alberto combined to drive home four runs off Pill in the top of the second. RF Hunter Cole put himself in scoring position when he singled and advanced to second after C Carlos Pèrez worked a walk.
Both runners moved up a base following Cliff Pennington 's groundout before Noonan smoked a groundball up the middle for a two-run single. With Noonan standing at first, Alberto yanked his second round-tripper of the season to left field to record his fifth and sixth RBI of the series, putting Round Rock in control at 4-0.
Oklahoma City plated their only run of the evening when LF Kyle Garlick launched a solo shot off Perez in the bottom of the fourth. With their lead now cut to 4-1, the Express got the run back in the top of the sixth when Noonan reached on an error with the bases load, allowing DH Willie Calhoun score and make it 5-1.
After Alberto collected his seventh RBI of the series when he singled home Perez in the top half of the eighth, Dodgers CF Alex Verdugo knocked a run-scoring single of his own in the bottom side to move the score to 6-2.
Cole would add an additional run to the E-Train tally in the ninth, doubling down the right-line to score 2B Christian Lopes from first. Oklahoma City matched Round Rock's scoring once again when RF Travis Taijeron mirrored Cole's run-scoring double, but Express reliever LHP Brady Feigl was able to shut down the late comeback on a groundout and a punchout, locking the final score at 7-3.
The Express will look to secure the series win in game three on Friday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Park. Round Rock LHP Michael Roth (4-4, 3.76) is slated to face Dodgers RHP Brock Stewart (1-0, 2.57) on the mound. First pitch is set for 7:05 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!
