Dodgers Keep Season Alive, Win 7-1

Facing elimination, the Oklahoma City Dodgers hit three home runs and starting pitcher Alfredo Figaro turned in seven strong innings in a 7-1 win over the Nashville Sounds Saturday night at First Tennessee Park.

With the win, the Dodgers tied the best-of-five American Conference Finals at two games apiece. The Dodgers and Sounds will meet for a winner-take-all Game Five Sunday night at 6:35 p.m.

Figaro (1-0) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings. After giving up a quick run in the first inning, Figaro retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced and kept Nashville off the board over his final six innings. During those six frames, Figaro only had two runners advance into scoring position, and one as far as third base. He held Nashville 2-for-9 with runners on base and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Figaro allowed just one walk and struck out seven batters.

Corey Brown, Jack Murphy, and Cody Bellinger all went deep, accounting for five of the team’s seven runs. The Dodgers have now hit eight home runs over the first four games of the series, and going back to the regular season, the team has hit 18 homers over their last eight games.

The Dodgers took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning despite not collecting a hit. Each of the first two batters walked, and later with two outs, Nashville third baseman Matt Chapman committed a fielding error, allowing Micah Johnson to score from third base.

The Sounds responded with a run in the bottom of the inning. After back-to-back singles by Jaycob Brugman and Franklin Barreto put runners at the corners, Colin Walsh hit into a double play, as Brugman scored the tying run.

Through the first four innings, the Dodgers went 1-for-12 with runners on base and 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. In the third inning they loaded the bases with two outs, but Donn Roach struck out Will Venable to keep the game tied. Kyle Farmer led off the fourth inning with a double, but he was ultimately stranded at third base.  

Brown broke the tie with a solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning. He sent a high arcing fly ball down the right field line that went to the back of the patio area at First Tennessee Park for his third homer of the series.

In the bottom of the inning, Rangel Ravelo drew a one-out walk and moved to second base on a two-out single by Josh Rodriguez. Figaro then got Brugman to fly out and end the inning.

The Dodgers scored three runs three batters into the sixth inning. After Venable drew a leadoff walk, Farmer hit his second double of the night to deep left field, and Venable was able to score all the way from first base. Murphy came up next and hit a two-run homer into the seats in right field, making it 5-1.

Murphy hit just three home runs during the regular season, but he has now hit two home runs over the last three games.

Figaro worked around a one-out double by Chapman in the seventh, and Sam LeCure worked around a leadoff single by Rodriguez in the eighth inning to keep the Sounds at one run.

Bellinger put the game out of reach with a monster blast onto the concourse in right-center field in the ninth. His two-run shot was his first of the playoffs, and it gave OKC a 7-1 lead.

Jacob Rhame retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the ninth. Figaro, LeCure, and Rhame combined to retire 13 of the final 15 Nashville batters. They also notched 11 strikeouts, as the Dodgers have struck out at least 10 batters in all four games of the series.

Although Roach (0-1) was able to work out of several early jams and minimize damage, he still ended up with the loss. He allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits, with three walks and five strikeouts.

The winner of tomorrow night’s game will earn a berth in the PCL Championship Series against either El Paso or Tacoma. With a win, the Dodgers will play for a PCL title for the third time since joining the league in 1998 and for the first time since 2008 .

First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Live coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com, or through the free iHeartRadio mobile app.