Outman Blasts Into OKC History with Walk-Off Homer to Complete Cycle
Outman completes OKC’s first cycle since 2011 during huge home series; Named PCL Player of the Week for Aug. 22–28
James Outman stood in the batter’s box at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark — his baseball bat resting on his left shoulder and the sellout crowd cheering as the suspense built.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Friday’s pivotal game between Pacific Coast League East Division opponents, the scoreboard read El Paso Chihuahuas 4, Oklahoma City Dodgers 4.
The count stood at three balls, one strike with two runners on base. The Dodgers’ Outman raised his bat and prepped for a fifth pitch from El Paso’s Brandon Kintzler.
The pitch came in. Outman swung and made contact, sending a line drive toward the Skyline Deck in right field with the game and a chance at a major milestone hanging in the balance.
The left-handed batter took a slow step out of the batter’s box, watching the ball sail toward the tall wall. He dropped his bat as started jogging toward first base as the ball cleared the wall for a home run.
History was made.
Outman’s three-run walk-off homer completed Oklahoma City’s first cycle in more than 11 years and sent the Dodgers to a 7–4 win against El Paso. Outman went 5-for-5 in the game, hitting a single in the second inning, triple in the third inning, double in the sixth inning, triple in the eighth inning and walk-off home run in the ninth inning. He also collected six RBI.
How did Friday compare to the biggest games of his career?
“That was definitely at the top,” Outman said. “That is the best game I’ve ever had, Little League included.”
It was OKC’s first cycle since Tommy Manzella went 4-for-4 with three RBI against Tacoma May 10, 2011 at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Outman became the fifth player in Triple-A and 19th player across the Minors to hit for a cycle this season.
For additional context, there have only been six instances in MLB history where a player completed a cycle with a walk-off home run per Baseball-Reference. The last occurrence was by Colorado’s Nolan Arenado on June 18, 2017 vs. San Francisco.
Outman, 25, said maybe one or two times a year he feels like a game is in his hands, including Friday.
“When you are feeling good, you just feel like you can take charge of the game and it was just one of those games for me,” Outman said.
When he stepped up to the plate in the ninth inning with two runners on base he said he expected to get mostly fastballs since his previous few hits came against breaking balls. He also said that he figured El Paso would want to attack with strikes since Ryan Noda was on-deck and a walk would put the winning run at third base.
He ended up blasting a sinker for a home run with an exit velocity 112.6 miles per hour — the first walk-off homer of his pro career.
“I didn’t think it was going to get out honestly,” Outman said. “I thought I hit it too low.
“But yeah, it was cool. Last time I hit a home run and my teammates were waiting for me was probably in Little League when I was 12 years old.”
Outman’s five hits were a career high and he tied his career high with six RBI, reaching six RBI for the second time in three games after he also pulled off the feat Aug. 24 in the same series against El Paso. Friday was his third six-RBI game of the season and was the fourth time since July 13 Outman recorded five or more RBI in a game. He is the first OKC player with multiple six-plus RBI games in one season since Victor Diaz in 2007. Entering tonight’s game, Outman has 40 RBI during his 31 games since joining the team in late June from Double-A Tulsa.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound outfielder is the second OKC player in 2022 to collect five hits after Michael Busch reached the mark Aug. 14 against Round Rock, and he is the seventh player with a five-hit game since the team’s Dodgers affiliation started in 2015. He became the first OKC player to hit two triples in a game since Matt Brown Aug. 5, 2010 at Salt Lake. He also became the first OKC player with four extra-base hits in a game since Keibert Ruiz had three home runs and a double July 23, 2021 against Sugar Land.
Outman, from Redwood City, Calif., was a seventh round pick of the Dodgers in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Sacramento State.
He made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers July 31 at Colorado, going 3-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBI. He homered in his first ML at-bat, becoming the eighth Dodger in team history to do so. He became the first Dodger with three hits in his debut since Mike Piazza in 1992 and is the only Dodger ever to debut with three hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Outman then went 2-for-2 with a walk Aug. 1 and became the first Dodger to reach base seven or more times in his first two games since Casey Stengel in 1912.
He was named PCL Player of the Week by MiLB Monday for Aug. 22–28 after his monster series with Oklahoma City against the Chihuahuas in which he batted .571 (12x21) with 10 extra-base hits — five doubles, three triples and two homers — along with 14 RBI.
After he rounded third base Friday night, he tossed his batting helmet into the air. His teammates were waiting when he touched home plate. They raised an orange Gatorade tub and doused him with an icy shower.
“Usually when I get a bucket of ice dumped on me I don’t like it very much,” Outman said. “But I didn’t really feel that when it happened because the adrenaline is at an all-time high.”
His specialty camouflage jersey for Hometown Heroes Military Celebration Night came off during the celebration and he ended the night high-fiving and hugging teammates on the field wearing an empty gum bucket as a crown.
“It’s cool, but I am just trying to do my job,” Outman said. “Cycles are awesome, but I’m sure they are cool just because they are more of an anomaly than anything.”
Editor’s notes:
•On the night this article was published, James Outman hit for the cycle for the second time in four games becoming the first player in the Minors to do so since 2010.
•Included Outman quotes are from an interview with Alex Freedman, OKC Dodgers Director of Communications and Broadcasting.
