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Winning Home Stand Ends with a Loss

Tulsa starting pitcher Chris Campos turned in another quality start on Sunday, recording five scoreless innings after a three-run first inning. (Rich Crimi)
August 18, 2024

Tulsa, OK – The Midland RockHounds turned the tables on the Tulsa Drillers Sunday afternoon in the final game of a six-game series between the two teams. The Drillers had rallied late to claim four walk-off wins in the first five games of the series, but it was Midland who

Tulsa, OK – The Midland RockHounds turned the tables on the Tulsa Drillers Sunday afternoon in the final game of a six-game series between the two teams. The Drillers had rallied late to claim four walk-off wins in the first five games of the series, but it was Midland who staged a late rally on Sunday. The RockHounds broke a tie game with three runs in the top of the seventh inning and eventually claimed an 8-4 win in the series finale.

Despite the loss, it was still a successful home stand for the Drillers who won four of the six games with the South Division leading RockHounds.

BOX SCORE

Runs had been difficult to come by in the first five games of the series, but the RockHounds struck quickly in Sunday’s finale. In the top of the first inning, Daniel Susac hit a two-run homer to open the scoring. Jeisson Rosario doubled home another run later in the inning as the RockHounds scored three runs on four hits in their first at-bat.

The Drillers got one of the runs back in the second inning on Carlos Avila’s two-out single that scored Bubba Alleyne.

Two more runs in the fourth tied the score at 3-3. Back-to-back singles by Alleyne and Donovan Casey opened the inning. Alleyne scored Tulsa’s second run on Jose Izarra’s ground out. Casey came home when Chris Newell lined a two-out single into right field.

The game’s outcome was determined in the sixth and seventh innings. In the top of the sixth, the Drillers loaded the bases with no outs and did not score. Midland reliever Domingo Robles escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out.

The missed opportunity was compounded when Jordan Groshans belted a one-out homer in the top of the seventh to put the RockHounds back in front.

They would not relinquish the lead this time as Brennan Milone tacked on a two-run homer later in the seventh and another two-run shot in the ninth to give the Hounds an 8-3 lead.

The Drillers cut into the deficit in the bottom of the ninth, but for just the second time in the series, they did not have a last-inning, game-winning rally. Noah Miller capped a big day with an RBI single in the ninth, his third hit of the day.

The series win gave the Drillers a 6-2-3 series record at ONEOK Field this season.

They now have a second-half, home record of 17-10 (.630).

INSIDE THE GAME

*Campos was outstanding for the Drillers after the three first-inning runs. He held Midland without a run over the next five innings and finished six-complete innings with just the three runs allowed. Campos now has a 3.19 ERA in nine Double-A starts with Tulsa.

*Reliever Ben Harris surrendered Groshans’ seventh-inning homer and was charged with the loss, dropping his season record to 3-4.

*Milone’s second homer came against Christian Suarez. The two runs marked just the second and third runs that Suarez has allowed in his last 11 games, dating to July 6.

*Brendon Davis was a late scratch from the Tulsa starting lineup. Davis briefly required attention from athletic trainer Griffin Boyte during Saturday’s game after appearing to injure his hand during a tag play at third base.

*The Drillers lost despite logging a series high 14 hits in the game.

*Alleyne finished with two hits in the game. His single in the fourth inning ended a 0-31 streak.

*It was Miller’s first three-hit game at the Double-A level.

UP NEXT:

The Drillers will now embark on a two-week road trip that will take them to Springfield and Corpus Christi for six games against both the Cardinals and Hooks. The trip will start Tuesday night in Springfield. The opener will begin at 6:35 pm and the starting pitchers are expected to be:

Tulsa – LHP Jackson Ferris (7-6, 4.96 ERA)
Springfield – RHP Brandon Komar (6-1, 2.24 ERA)