Hoese and Mann Lead Drillers over Cardinals
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers got big games at the plate from Kody Hoese and Devin Mann in support of a bounce-back outing from the bullpen Thursday night to record an 8-6 win over Springfield at ONEOK Field. Hoese and Mann combined for half of Tulsa’s 12 hits in
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers got big games at the plate from Kody Hoese and Devin Mann in support of a bounce-back outing from the bullpen Thursday night to record an 8-6 win over Springfield at ONEOK Field. Hoese and Mann combined for half of Tulsa’s 12 hits in the game and drove in five of its eight runs.
After the Drillers bullpen combined to walk seven in just four innings in Wednesday’s loss to the Cardinals, the trio of Alec Gamboa, Mark Washington and Nick Robertson did not walk a batter in five combined innings to protect a lead through eight innings.
The win was the 12th in the last 16 games for the Drillers. The result moved them into sole possession of first place in the North Division standings of the Texas League, one game in front of second-place Wichita.
The Redbirds took a first-inning lead in the game when leadoff batter Masyn Winn reached on an error and scored on a two-out, infield single by Moises Gomez.
The Drillers answered in the bottom of the first thanks to a long home run from leadoff hitter James Outman. The drive landed in the kid’s playground just to the right of the hitter’s background and was the 11th homer of the year for Outman.
The Tulsa power display continued in the next two innings. In the second, Mann singled in front of Hoese’s third homer of the year, giving the Drillers the lead.
Ryan Ward led off the third inning with his 13th home run, upping the lead to 4-1. Three straight singles from Carson Taylor, Mann and Hoese later in the inning gave the Drillers a four-run cushion.
The Cards got a run back in the fifth against reliever Gamboa, but the Drillers quickly answered in the bottom of the fifth. Andy Pages singled with one out to extend his hitting streak to 11 straight games. Following a walk to Taylor, Mann doubled home Pages.
Tulsa’s lead was cut to 6-3 in the top of the sixth, but Hoese struck again in the seventh to help give Tulsa its biggest lead of the night. After Pages doubled and Mann walked, Hoese just missed his second homer when his drive caromed off the wall in deep, left-center field. Pages scored on the hit, while Mann was caught in a rundown between third and home. When third baseman Delvin Perez dropped a throw, Mann jogged home to give the Drillers an 8-3 lead.
The Drillers had to survive an ugly ninth inning to secure the win. Reliever Jordan Leasure walked the leadoff batter on five pitches, and Perez followed with a base hit. After a wild pitch, Leasure got a strikeout before Winn lofted a fly ball down the right field line. Tulsa right fielder Pages came up short on a sliding catch attempt on the fly that he thought was foul, but it was ruled fair by umpires. By the time Pages tracked the ball down in the right field corner, Winn had circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
In what was suddenly a two-run game, Leasure recovered to get a strikeout and a ground out to end the game.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Hoese finished the night 3-4 with a double, a homer and four runs batted in. After hitting just .217 in the month of April with zero homers, the Tulsa third baseman is batting .328 with 3 homers in May. His season average is up to .276.
*Mann matched Hoese with three hits, finishing a perfect 3-3 with two runs scored and one driven in.
*With his leadoff homer, Outman extended his on-base streak to 18 straight games.
*Tulsa starting pitcher Clayton Beeter had an effective outing before reaching his pitch limit. Beeter lasted three innings, allowing a run that was unearned on just two hits. He did walk three batters while striking out five.
*Gamboa was charged with two runs in three innings and was credited with the win that improved his record to 4-0. Washington and Robertson each worked a perfect relief inning. Gamboa is the first Tulsa pitcher to reach four victories this season.
*St. Louis Cardinals 2021 first-round draft choice Michael McGreevy started on the mound for Springfield in what was his Double-A debut. The University of California Santa Barbara product worked 4.1 innings in his debut and surrendered six runs on ten hits. He was charged with the loss.
UP NEXT:
The Cardinals and the Drillers will continue their series with a doubleheader on Friday at ONEOK Field. Starting time for game one is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. with game two starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game but no earlier than 7:05 p.m. Each game is scheduled to be seven innings.
The starting pitchers are expected to be:
Springfield – Gordon Graceffo (0-0, 0.00) & TBA
Tulsa - RHP Landon Knack (1-1, 3.60 ERA) & Jose Martinez (2-1, 6.67)