Travelers and Dollard Beat Drillers
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Drillers were unable to carry the momentum of a dramatic walk-off victory from the previous night into another meeting with the Arkansas Travelers on Saturday night. The Travelers scored in four of the game’s first five innings and never trailed in defeating Tulsa 7-2 at
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Drillers were unable to carry the momentum of a dramatic walk-off victory from the previous night into another meeting with the Arkansas Travelers on Saturday night. The Travelers scored in four of the game’s first five innings and never trailed in defeating Tulsa 7-2 at ONEOK Field.
It was just the second loss in the past seven games for the Drillers and dropped their record to 5-3 on their current nine-game home stand that will conclude Sunday afternoon.
Tulsa starting pitcher Kyle Hurt opened the game by retiring the first two hitters before hitting Jack Larsen with a pitch on a 1-2 count. With a full count and Hurt again within one pitch of ending the inning, Jack Scheiner delivered a two-out double that brought Larsen home with the game’s first run.
The Travelers offense continued with three more runs in the second inning. Zach DeLoach singled home two runs before a two-out error gave the Travs another and an early 4-0 lead.
Hurt worked a 1-2-3 third inning, but Scheiner hit his 12th home run of the season in the fourth. The two-run shot upped the lead to six runs.
The Travelers increased the margin to 7-0 in the top of the fifth with a run off reliever Kevin Malisheski.
Working with the comfortable lead, Arkansas starting pitcher Taylor Dollard, who is one of the top pitching prospects in the Seattle Mariners’ farm system, was perfect through the first four innings before Brandon Lewis doubled leading off the top of the fifth. A Kody Hoese single moved Lewis to third where he scored Tulsa’s first run on a ground out from Carson Taylor.
Devin Mann’s 10th home run with one out in the sixth gave the Drillers a second run and pulled them to within 7-2.
It was all that Dollard would allow in his seven innings of work. He gave up the two runs on just four hits while striking out five. The victory improved his record to 10-2.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Hurt was making his fifth start since joining the Drillers and was coming off four shutout innings against Wichita in his last outing. The right-hander was charged with six runs, five earned, in four innings of work. He struck out five as his Double-A record fell to 0-2.
*The Drillers roster underwent a change prior to the game. Pitcher Austin Drury was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pitcher Cameron Gibbens was activated from the Development List to fill the spot. Gibbens last pitched for the Drillers on July 3, and came on to work a scoreless eighth inning on Saturday, collecting two strikeouts.
*With his tenth win, Dollard broke a tie with Tulsa’s Alec Gamboa for most wins this season at the Double-A level.
*Arkansas now leads the season series with the Drillers 6-5 with 7 meetings still to be played, six at Little Rock’s Dickey-Stephens Stadium.
*The single from Lewis extended his on-base streak to 12 straight games, while Jonny DeLuca walked in the sixth to extend his streak of reaching base to 13 consecutive games.
*Levi Stoudt was scheduled to be the Travelers starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale, but he was one of four minor leaguers who were traded on Friday by the Mariners in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds that sent pitcher Luis Castillo to Seattle.
UP NEXT: The Drillers will conclude their home stand on Sunday afternoon with the series finale against the Travelers. Starting time is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
Arkansas – TBA
Tulsa – RHP Gavin Stone (5-3, 1.53 ERA)