2018 Top Moments: 5–1
Incredible streaks at the beginning and end of the season appropriately highlight the second half of the countdown.
After taking a hiatus for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ playoff run, we jump back to look at the five best moments of the 2018 OKC Dodgers season.
#5 — Toles’ Heroic Hit
August 17 marked the start of a 12-game homestand. Entering the game, the Dodgers had lost three straight and were just 3–11 over the last 14 games. The team’s opponent that night was the Iowa Cubs, who had struggled all season.
Iowa scored a run in the top of the eighth inning to tie things up at 3–3. The Dodgers left the go-ahead or tying run in scoring position in each of the next three innings, keeping the game in a deadlock heading to the 11th inning.
The I-Cubs scored the go-ahead run in top of the frame on a wild pitch. When the Dodgers came up next, each of the first two batters were retired, although the designated runner was able to advance to third base on a deep flyout.
Tim Locastro came up next and hit into what appeared to be a routine groundout to the shortstop to end the game. But at the last moment, the ball took a fortunate bounce, as if it was being pulled up with a string from the sky, and went into left field to score the tying run.
With everyone still a bit in shock by the previous play, Andrew Toles came up and did this on the very next pitch:
It was the team’s sixth, and ultimately final, walk-off win of the season.
#4 — Happy Home Opener
Although OKC teams have traditionally played very well at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, the same cannot be said during the team’s home openers. Entering 2018, the team was just 7–13 all-time in home openers and was riding a six-game losing streak, having not won a home opener since 2011.
It sure seemed the streak was going to reach seven straight home opener losses when the Dodgers faced off against Round Rock April 10. Following a grand slam by Christian Lopes in the fifth inning, the Express led, 6–1.
Round Rock was in front, 7–3, heading into the bottom of the eighth inning before Max Muncy — remember him? — hit a solo homer to narrow the gap to three runs.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Express reliever Jose Leclerc walked all four batters he faced to force in a run and keep the bases loaded with none out. Following a pitching change, Alex Verdugo pulled OKC even with a two-run single.
Later in the inning with runners at second and third base, Travis Taijeron lined a game-winning single to left field to give the Dodgers an 8–7 win.
Taijeron reached base all five times he stepped to the plate that game and made the Dodgers 1–0 at home for the first time in seven years. It was also the catalyst for an incredible run to start the home schedule, but we’ll get to that later.
#3 — “Babe” Ramos
There were many significant contributors that combined to lead to an improbable division title, but none more so than Henry Ramos. His tear between the end of the regular season and the playoffs is one for the ages.
After missing about two weeks due to injury, Ramos returned to the lineup Aug. 31 and understandably went 0-for-4. But after that, he caught fire and stayed hot until the Dodgers were done playing.
For the remainder of the series in Colorado Springs to end the regular season, Ramos went an incredible 13-for-17 with 11 RBI. That included a 5-for-6 effort with five RBI to help the Dodgers to an 11–8 win Sept. 2.
Ramos kept rolling once the team got to the playoffs. He reached base in nine of his last 11 plate appearances and homered in three straight games, including a three-run homer in Game 3, and a go-ahead, two-run homer in the 10th inning of Game 4.
Despite Ramos’ Herculean efforts, the rest of the offense struggled to produce in the postseason. Over his final eight games, Ramos went 19-for-29 with four homers, four doubles and 18 RBI. Bill Haselman called it the most locked in he’s ever seen a hitter during his managerial career.
#2–15 and 0-my!
Little did we know during the home opener that it would be the first of 15 straight wins in Bricktown. The 15-game home win streak is the second-best in The Brick’s history and obviously the team’s best start ever at home. (The previous was 5–0 in 2006.)
At the plate, the Dodgers slashed .323/.397/.483, outscored opponents, 97–41, and outhit opponents, 164–108. They scored eight-plus runs in five of 15 games — including eight separate innings with four or more runs — and totaled four games with 14 or more hits.
Of the 15 wins, the Dodgers trailed at some point in nine games and trailed in the eighth inning or later in six of the victories. They totaled four walk-off victories, including three straight against New Orleans:
On an incredibly frigid night April 14, the Dodgers were down, 2–0, in the eighth inning when Alex Verdugo hit a game-tying two-run homer. Rocky Gale ended things in the bottom of the ninth with a successful squeeze bunt.
The next afternoon the Dodgers had an early four-run lead, only to see New Orleans eventually tie the game in the eighth inning. The Baby Cakes then took a 6–5 lead in the top of the 10th inning. When the Dodgers came up to the bat, two runners were on for Verdugo — who had just entered the game in the top of the inning — who swatted a game-winning home run to center field.
April 16 followed a similar script, with New Orleans battling back in the latter stages of the game with three runs between the seventh and eighth innings to pull even at 6–6. Again, the ‘Cakes went ahead in the top of the 10th inning only to have the Dodgers win in their final at-bat. With the bases loaded and none out, Henry Ramos hit a single to score a pair of runs and give OKC an 8–7 win.
#1 — Not Done Yet
This should come as no surprise being at the top of the list. The Dodgers made an incredible comeback and won each of the final four games of the regular season to overtake Colorado Springs and clinch the American Northern Division.
Following a four-game series split between the teams in OKC, the Dodgers led the Sky Sox by a half-game with nine games remaining in the regular season. But in the next series, the Dodgers stumbled in Iowa and ended up trailing the Sky Sox by 1.5 games heading into a five-game set in Colorado Springs to finish the regular season. This meant the Dodgers would have to win four of the five games in order to go the playoffs.
The series started on a Friday and was going to be followed by a doubleheader Saturday due to a rainout from the Dodgers’ previous trip to Colorado Springs. Manager Bill Haselman’s mantra was “Get it to Sunday,” meaning the Dodgers needed to stay in contention by the fourth game of the series to put all the pressure on the Sky Sox.
The Dodgers did indeed “get it to Sunday,” albeit in a circuitous manner. Behind a great pitching performance by Kyle Lobstein in the series opener, the Dodgers led, 2–0, heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. But things fell apart after that, and the Sky Sox ended up winning, 8–2.
It put the team in a position in which they had to win all four games over the next three days. In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Dodgers led, 2–0, but were bitten again by the big inning when the Sky Sox scored four runs in the fifth inning, taking a 4–2 lead in a seven-inning game.
But the Dodgers responded to tie the game in the sixth inning. The bottom of the sixth was played in a driving rain, and after the inning was completed, the tarp was put on the field. Following a delay of over three hours, the game was suspended due to rain and poor field conditions.
The game resumed Sunday and was still 4–4 in extra innings. That’s when Will Smith delivered his first Triple-A home run to put the Dodgers ahead by two runs. The Sky Sox left the bases loaded to end the game as the Dodgers stayed alive.
After the extra-inning win, the teams had to play the regularly scheduled game. A five-run fourth inning plus Henry Ramos’ 5-for-6 performance led the way to an 11–8 win, setting up a unique end-of-season doubleheader to decide the division title.
The Dodgers took the first game, 7–1, coming up with several timely hits and pitching out of several key jams. The second game was essentially over before it started. The Sky Sox appeared to be out of it mentally and the Dodgers steamrolled their way to a 16–4 win to complete an improbable comeback.
It was one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen in my career and was hard to fathom for all the right reasons. After the game and celebration was over, it occurred to me this was something that will stick with anyone involved for the rest of their lives. It will be something we reminisce about if any of us run into each other several years down the road.
Of course the ultimate goal is to win a title, and even though the team unfortunately could not do that, this ended up being a pretty good consolation prize.
Thanks for taking the time to relive the memorable moments of this season. And let’s hope for four more wins, making 2018 a season all Dodgers fans will always remember.
