Walks Doom Drillers in Loss to Cardinals
Tulsa, OK– It was the tale of two halves on Wednesday night at ONEOK Field as the Tulsa Drillers carried a 4-0 lead through five innings but lost 7-4 to the Springfield Cardinals. The Drillers were hurt by seven walks in the final four innings, as Springfield needed only two
Tulsa, OK– It was the tale of two halves on Wednesday night at ONEOK Field as the Tulsa Drillers carried a 4-0 lead through five innings but lost 7-4 to the Springfield Cardinals. The Drillers were hurt by seven walks in the final four innings, as Springfield needed only two hits to earn seven runs in the comeback.
Gavin Stone took to the mound for the Drillers to make his first start at ONEOK Field. Matching an effort on the road last week, Stone delivered his second straight strong outing since his promotion to Double-A.
He was staked to an early lead when the Drillers brought seven hitters to the plate with only one hit when they plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. A walk, a single and a second walk loaded the bases, and Carson Taylor earned an RBI the hard way, by being hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count.
In the fifth inning, Tulsa added three more runs to increase its lead to 4-0. Andy Pages was the first base runner after being hit by a pitch. Pages advanced to third base on Hunter Feduccia’s double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Taylor. Devin Mann then drew a walk, and Kody Hoese plated the Drillers second run of the inning on a bloop single that fell between three Springfield fielders. One pitch later, Mann scored the inning’s final run on a wild pitch.
Stone exited the game in line for the win following five scoreless innings where he allowed just four hits and two walks, with seven strikeouts.
As the Drillers bullpen entered the game in the sixth inning, the Cardinals rallied to take the lead by scoring six runs on just two hits. Justin Toerner drove in the first run with an RBI single. A bases-loaded walk plated the second run, and a two-RBI double from Delvin Perez tied the game at 4-4. Masyn Winn’s sac fly gave Springfield its fifth run, and a wild pitch gave the Cardinals a 6-4 lead.
Springfield added one more run in the seventh inning on a sac fly from Pedro Pages, as Tulsa trailed 7-4.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*In two starts for the Drillers, Stone has a 0.00 ERA in ten innings pitched.
*James Outman extended his on-base streak to 17 games with his walk in the second.
*Andy Pages extended his hitting streak to ten games with his single in the seventh.
*In a new role, Gus Varland entered the game out of the bullpen in the seventh, pitching 2.1 innings.
*Aaron Ochsenbein was the only Tulsa pitcher out of the bullpen to have a scoreless outing, recording the final two outs of the ninth inning.
*Tanner Dodson allowed four runs in 1/3 of an inning, and Austin Drury was charged with two runs in 2/3 of inning. Drury suffered his first loss of the season.
*In a rarity, Tulsa's Tanner Dodson was pitching with umpire Tanner Dobson behind the plate.
UP NEXT:
The Cardinals and the Drillers will play the second game of their six-game series on Thursday night at ONEOK Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be:
Springfield- Michael McGreevy (0-0, 0.00 ERA) (Double-A debut)
Tulsa- RHP Clayton Beeter (0-2, 5.73 ERA)