Baker's Gem Shuts Down Nashville

Scott Baker threw eight scoreless innings, leading the Oklahoma City Dodgers to a 5-0 win over the Nashville Sounds Sunday night at First Tennessee Park.

Baker combined with Josh Ravin on a three-hit shutout, marking the team's sixth shutout of the season.

Baker (7-3) retired 23 of the 26 batters he faced, yielding just two hits and one walk. Both hits were singles and he didn't have a runner reach scoring position. He threw 90 pitches, with 61 strikes, and finished with six strikeouts.

Through seven innings, Baker retired 20 of 22 batters and had retired 12 straight before a two-out single by Nate Freiman in the eighth inning.

Going back to his previous start, Baker has turned in 14 consecutive scoreless innings and has retired 39 of the last 42 batters he's faced. Over his last five starts, he's 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA. Sunday's outing also marked the third time this season Baker tossed at least seven innings without allowing a run.

Ravin finished the shutout by pitching a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two batters. No Sounds (34-43) base runner advanced past first base.

The Dodgers (49-26) plated a pair of runs in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead, all within the span of three batters. After Kyle Jensen drew a leadoff walk, Buck Britton followed with a RBI triple to right field. Darnell Sweeney then brought Britton home with a sacrifice fly.

With both Baker and Nashville starting pitcher Barry Zito throwing well, the game was still 2-0 entering the eighth inning. The Dodgers then added three runs against the Nashville bullpen to get some more breathing room. Darwin Barney and Corey Seager started the inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Austin Barnes sent a sac fly to right field to make it 3-0.

With a runner at third and two outs, Andy Wilkins singled up the middle to plate Seager. Scott Schebler came up next and sent a triple off the right field wall, giving the Dodgers a 5-0 advantage.

For the second time this season, Baker matched up against Zito, and each meeting eventually resulted in Baker earning the win and Zito taking the loss. Zito (5-7) tossed seven innings, allowing two runs and four hits. He struck out four and walked three.

The Dodgers look to split their series in Nashville when they meet the Sounds for the final time during the 2015 season Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.