Drillers Walk-Off RockHounds for Second Straight Night
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers and the Midland RockHounds played another one-run game Wednesday night at ONEOK Field, and the Drillers finished on top for with their second straight walk-off win. Jose Ramos delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning when his two-out liner fell
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers and the Midland RockHounds played another one-run game Wednesday night at ONEOK Field, and the Drillers finished on top for with their second straight walk-off win. Jose Ramos delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning when his two-out liner fell just in front of a diving Denzel Clarke in centerfield, allowing Damon Keith to score the winning run in a 2-1 victory.
It was the second straight ninth-inning win for Tulsa. On Tuesday, Donovan Casey’s one-out grounder gave the Drillers a 3-2 win over the RockHounds.
It continued a recent trend for the Drillers. Five of their past seven games have been decided by just one run. They are now 3-2 in those five contests.
Wednesday’s meeting figured to be close and low scoring as it featured one of the best pitching matchups of the season. Jackson Ferris, who is now ranked as the number 5 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system, was making his second Double-A start for the Drillers, while Texas League wins leader Blake Beers was looking for his 11th victory of the season for the RockHounds.
The matchup did not disappoint as both starters were effective, helping to keep the game scoreless through the first six innings.
The RockHounds did have scoring opportunities in both the fourth and fifth innings. They loaded the bases with one out in the fourth with a double and a pair of hit batters, but Ferris escaped the jam with a strikeout and a fly out.
Before his offensive heroics, Ramos helped to keep the shutout in place with his arm. After Euribiel Sanchez led off the top of the fifth with a base hit, Junior Perez grounded a base hit into centerfield. Sanchez attempted to advance to third on the single, but Ramos threw a strike to retire him for the first out of the inning. With Perez at second, Ferris got a pair of ground outs to end the inning.
Ferris departed after five innings without allowing a run and just three hits. The lefthander walked one batter, hit two others and struck out five.
Midland continued to threaten, leaving runners on base in both the sixth and seventh innings before Tulsa finally opened the scoring in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and the bases empty, Brendon Davis doubled. Taylor Young produced the game’s first run when he singled into center, plating Davis.
Hounds' catcher Daniel Susac erased the lead with one swing of the bat in the top of the eighth. Facing reliever Michael Hobbs, Susac hit his eighth homer of the season to tie the score at 1-1.
It only set the stage for another ninth-inning rally for the Drillers. Keith got the rally started with a one-out walk. Griffin Lockwood-Powell followed and worked a full count off lefty Colton Johnson. With just one out, Tulsa manager Scott Hennessey elected to have Keith running on the 3-2 pitch, and it proved to be a vital decision when Lockwood-Powell hit a grounder to short. The Hounds attempted to turn an inning-ending double play, but Keith, because of the running start, slid in safely ahead of the throw to second before the return throw retired Lockwood-Powell at first.
With Keith at second base, Johnson then hit Davis with a pitch before walking Young to load the bases.
After taking a first pitch strike, Ramos hit a liner in front of Clarke in center, and for a split-second, it appeared as if he had made the catch, but the ball eventually rolled a couple of feet away as Keith jogged home with the winning run.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The Drillers played the game as the Tulsa Raft Racers in tribute to the Great Raft Race that was held annually for many years down the Arkansas River during Labor Day Weekend with homemade rafts. The Great Raft Race has made a return and will be held again this year.
*Reliever Ben Harris worked a scoreless ninth inning to get credit for the win that evened his record at 3-3.
*It was the ninth walk-off win of the season for the Drillers. Three of their last four wins at ONEOK Field have come in walk-off fashion.
*The game also marked their 14th win on a Wednesday this season, the most in all of Double A.
*In his two starts for Tulsa since his promotion from Great Lakes, Ferris has allowed just one run in 10.2 innings pitched for a 0.84 ERA.
*The game marked the 58th time this season that Tulsa hitters have struck out at least ten times in a game.
*Beers was unable to add to his win total, but the right-hander turned in a quality outing for the Hounds. He worked 7.0 innings, allowing the one run on five hits. Beers did not walk a batter and struck out nine.
*The game featured a total of 11 hits, with six coming from the Drillers. The two teams have combined for just 21 hits in the first two games of their series.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will be back in action as the Raft Races on Thursday night with another meeting with the RockHounds. Starting time at ONEOK Field is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
Midland – RHP Mason Barnett (6-7, 4.63 ERA)
Tulsa – RHP Carlos Duran (0-1, 1.35 ERA)