Outman Does It Again; Hits For Cycle Second Time in Four Games
Outman hits for cycle again Tuesday after hitting OKC’s first cycle in more than 11 years Friday; First player in Minors since 2010 with two cycles in same season
What a week.
James Outman hit his way into the record books by putting up jaw-dropping numbers almost every time he stepped up to the plate for the Oklahoma City Dodgers during the final days of August.
Outman completed Oklahoma City’s first cycle in more than 11 years Friday, Aug. 26 with a three-run walk-off homer that sent the Dodgers to a 7–4 win against El Paso at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
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.
But he didn’t stop there.
Outman, 25, hit for the cycle for the second time in four games Tuesday, Aug. 30 in a 17–8 win against Round Rock at Dell Diamond.
The outfielder from Redwood City, Calif., went 4-for-4 with two walks, reaching base in all six of his plate appearances. Outman walked in the first inning, hit a three-run homer in the second inning, doubled in the fourth inning and tripled in the sixth inning.
He drew another walk in the eighth inning and was due up seventh entering the ninth inning. The Express committed an error to begin the ninth inning and later with two outs, Michael Busch walked to give Outman one more chance. Outman lined a two-run single to left field on the first pitch to complete the cycle.
Outman is the first player in the Minors to hit for the cycle twice in one season since Las Vegas’ Jarrett Hoffpauir did it April 25, 2010 vs. Sacramento and May 28, 2010 vs. Tacoma.
For additional context, the shortest time between individual cycles in MLB’s modern era is 11 days, done by Arizona’s Aaron Hill in June 2012, per Baseball-Reference.
Over a seven-game span from Aug. 23–30, the reigning PCL Player of the Week went 16-for-25 (.640) with 13 extra-base hits — six doubles, four triples and three homers — and 19 RBI while raising his batting average with OKC by 93 points over the week.
Outman’s 19 RBI, 16 hits, 1.560 SLG, 2.215 OPS, four triples, 13 extra-base hits and 39 total bases from Aug. 23–30 led all of the Minors.
He now has five games with five or more RBI in just 33 games since joining OKC and is the first OKC player with multiple six-plus RBI games in one season since Victor Diaz in 2007. Outman, a seventh round pick of the Dodgers in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Sacramento State, has tallied at least five RBI three times in his last seven games and has 46 RBI since June 30.
The last week served as a fun reminder that one might be on the verge of witnessing history every time they step into a ballpark.
The OKC Dodgers (72–54) entered the final month of the regular season Thursday and fans can only wonder what they may see next from Outman and the Pacific Coast League’s top team with 24 games remaining in 2022.
