Eight is enough
The Oklahoma City Dodgers lost their eighth straight home game Thursday night after falling to Round Rock, 7-3, in the second game of a five-game home stand against the Express.
For Kyle Lobstein, timing is everything.
The Oklahoma City Dodgers pitcher started the year in the Mexican League, playing for the Tijuana Toros.
The 2008 second-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays appeared in 11 games for the Toros, going 4-2 with an 2.95 ERA.
It was fun, and the atmosphere was exciting, with music blaring between pitches and the crowd cheering all game.
“It’s just a different atmosphere,” Lobstein said.
But while Lobstein enjoyed his time in Tijuana, the left-hander yearned to play affiliated baseball again.
After playing TripleA ball in 2017 for New Orleans, the affiliate of the Miami Marlins, Lobstein didn’t find many options in free agency, so he decided on the Toros.
“That was one of the better options I had at the time,” Lobstein said.
The Mexican League splits its season into two halves, with a playoff after the first half. Just after the playoffs ended on June 16, Lobstein received a call he’d been waiting for — from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
“They called and said they had a need in DoubleA for a starter,” Lobstein said. “The timing was just right.”
The excitement Lobstein felt was obvious because just one day after signing the contract, he was on a plane to Oklahoma for his first assignment with the Tulsa Drillers.
He wasn’t out of affiliated ball for long, but he was ready for the chance again.
Lobstein, 28, only played two games for the Drillers before the Dodgers organization felt he was ready for a promotion to OKC, with his first game on Wednesday.
But as fireworks went off across the country, Lobstein struggled to find the spark in his pitching in his first game as an Oklahoma City Dodger.
“It definitely wasn’t the greatest first impression,” Lobstein said. “It’s unfortunate the way it turned out.”
Lobstein pitched three innings, allowing five runs on five hits. In the fourth inning, he allowed two singles and a triple before he was pulled.
But Lobstein isn’t focusing on the negatives of his performance. There are some positives.
He struck out three and in the first and third innings, he didn’t allow any runs and surrendered one hit.
Next time out he expects to do better, knowing the troubles that faced him are fixable. But for now, he’s excited to be back in affiliated baseball and ready to make the changes necessary to win.
“I try to stay in the moment,” Lobstein said. “I try to tell myself to get better where I’m at.”