Comets pull away late for 7-3 win over Sacramento

Oklahoma City did not need another late homer to beat Sacramento. One night after James Tibbs III’s walk-off two-run shot finished a 5-4, 10-inning win, the Comets created their own separation Friday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, breaking loose for four runs in the eighth inning and finishing a 7-3 victory.

That eighth-inning burst was the difference between surviving and taking charge. The game had stayed within reach for most of the night, but Oklahoma City finally opened daylight late, turning a competitive matchup into a more comfortable finish. In a series that had already delivered drama, the Comets showed they could win by accumulation as well as by one swing. They backed up the Friday result with a 6-0 shutout Saturday, stretching the run to three straight wins and moving ahead 3-2 in the six-game set.

The offense’s recent stretch suggested the power was not a one-night spike. Oklahoma City had homered in each of its last four games, had drawn double-digit walks seven times during the season, and had Ryan Fitzgerald riding a 15-game on-base streak. James Tibbs III’s previous-night blast had already set the tone, but the four-run eighth showed the lineup could keep pressure on Sacramento in different ways, whether by patience, timely contact or a bullpen-breaking inning.

The win also fit a larger pattern for a club that has handled the Triple-A grind better than most. After the first half closed with Oklahoma City at 41-33 and in third place in the Pacific Coast League, the Comets said they remained the only PCL team, and one of only two Triple-A clubs with Nashville, to finish with a winning record in every half since the split-season format arrived in 2023. Against Sacramento, that steadiness showed up in a simpler form: when the night tightened, Oklahoma City did not blink, it pulled away.