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By Jon Weisman
On Friday, Mike Bolsinger extended to 11 his streak of scoreless innings to start 2015. He has allowed three hits and three walks while striking out 17.
Zach Lee has given up but one run and eight baserunners in 12 innings, with 13 strikeouts. Scott Baker’s ERA is 1.80.
As a team, the Dodgers’ new Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City has a 2.79 ERA with 104 strikeouts against 90 baserunners in 83 innings.
It’s still the Pacific Coast League, but it’s definitely not the high-flyin’ altitude of Albuquerque, where the Isotopes in 2014 had a team ERA that was more than double (5.83).
The OKC Dodgers played their first eight games of the season at a home ballpark that is far more friendly to pitchers than Albuquerque fans could ever imagine.
That’s not to minimize what the OKC Dodgers are doing at the outset of the season — that their 2.71 ERA leads the Pacific Coast League isn’t entirely the ballpark’s doing. Bolsinger’s five scoreless innings Friday came in the team’s road debut, a 3-2 victory over Iowa in which Oklahoma City allowed seven baserunners and struck out 14. But as time passes this season, we need to remember a different set of standards now applies to evaluating Dodger Triple-A pitchers statistically.
Similarly, the forgiveness typically directed toward Isotope pitchers might now be reapportioned toward the batters of Oklahoma City, who have the fourth-worst OPS in the PCL. Individual results vary wildly, from Buck Britton’s 11-for-28 start with six walks (1.036 OPS) down to Scott Schebler’s .379 OPS.
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