Losing Streak Hits Six in Loss to RockHounds
MIDLAND, TX – The Tulsa Drillers losing streak extended to six straight games Thursday night with a 9-5 loss in Midland, Texas. The Drillers never led in the game, but made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth before a borderline strike three call ended the game with the
MIDLAND, TX – The Tulsa Drillers losing streak extended to six straight games Thursday night with a 9-5 loss in Midland, Texas. The Drillers never led in the game, but made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth before a borderline strike three call ended the game with the potential tying run at the plate.
The Drillers fell behind in the first inning when Colby Thomas belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning off Tulsa starter Kendall Williams, staking the Midland RockHounds to a quick 2-0 lead.
Run-scoring singles from Taylor Young and Dalton Rushing tied the game in the bottom of the second inning, but the RockHounds took control from there.
A two-run homer from Brennan Milone in the third inning put the RockHounds in front to stay.
They extended the lead to 5-2 with another run in the fourth before the two teams traded runs later in the game.
Alex Freeland hit his first Double-A homer in the top of the sixth to cut the Drillers’ deficit to two runs, but the RockHounds answered with a pair of runs against Tulsa reliever Juan Morillo in the bottom half of the inning.
Young doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Brendon Davis in the top of the seventh to pull Tulsa to within 7-4, but Midland again answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. The rally included only one hit, but the RockHounds were able to take advantage of two stolen bases, two wild pitches and an error to increase their lead to 9-4.
The Drillers made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. A base hit and three walks brought Jose Ramos to the plate representing the potential game-tying run. Ramos worked a 2-2 count before being called out on strikes on a pitch that appeared to be high and out of the strike zone.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Freeland has played in two games with the Drillers and has gone 1-3 in both. In the bottom of the sixth, he provided the defensive play of the game when he made a backhanded stop deep in the hole at short and threw a one-hop strike to first to retire Thomas and end the inning.
*Williams worked the first five innings and was charged with seven runs on seven hits. The loss dropped his record to 1-3 and increased his season ERA to 8.49.
*Christian Suarez recorded the final four outs in the game for the Drillers, making his Double-A debut out of the bullpen. The lefthander walked two and struck out one.
*Batting in Tulsa’s leadoff spot, Young finished 2-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
*Brandon Lewis went 2-3 in his first appearance in five days for the Drillers.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will look to end their losing streak with the fourth game of their six-game series in Midland on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Neither manager has yet to officially announce a starting pitcher for the game, but Tulsa is likely to start either Hyun-il Choi or Yon Castro.
TUL – TBA
MID - TBA