Drillers Earn Second Straight Win on Saturday
TULSA, OK – After snapping the Tulsa Drillers second longest losing streak in franchise history last night, Tulsa earned consecutive wins over the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday night. The win was led by Drillers offense, who had another big night by earning ten hits, three of which were home
TULSA, OK – After snapping the Tulsa Drillers second longest losing streak in franchise history last night, Tulsa earned consecutive wins over the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday night. The win was led by Drillers offense, who had another big night by earning ten hits, three of which were home runs that helped lead the Drillers to an 8-4 victory at ONEOK Field.
The win marked the Drillers first two-game winning streak since August 26-27.
Tulsa starting pitcher Kendall Williams struggled in the first inning as he began the game by loading the bases on a single and two walks. Williams followed by hitting Chad Stevens to force in the Hooks first run.
Tulsa answered with three runs in the bottom of the second. Imanol Vargas began the inning with a line-drive home run to tie the game. Kody Hoese was next, as he gave the Drillers the lead with a home run into the Budweiser Terrace. Josh Stowers gave Tulsa its final run of the inning as he doubled, stole third base and scored on a throwing error from catcher C.J. Stubbs.
Each side scored a run in the third inning as Luis Aviles Jr. drove in the Hooks second run with a single, and Hoese doubled in Vargas to bring the Drillers lead to 4-2.
Yusniel Diaz extended the Drillers lead to 6-2 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
With the bases loaded in the sixth, Diaz plated two more runs on a fly ball that became lodged in the padding of the outfield wall and was ruled a ground-rule double.
Corpus Christi rounded out the night with two runs in the ninth inning on Will Wagner’s double.
HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS
*The home run from Vargas was his 22nd of the season, and for Hoese it was his 11th. Diaz's blast marked his 16th of 2023.
*After the tough first inning, Williams settled in to complete five innings and allowed two runs with four strikeouts. He threw 90 pitches and earned his third win with the Drillers.
*Braydon Fisher tossed two perfect innings, and Kevin Gowdy worked a perfect inning out of the bullpen.
*Hoese finished 3 for 4 in the game and is now hitting .474 this week against the Hooks. He finished Saturday's game a triple shy of the cycle.
*The Drillers wore special Marvel jerseys for Marvel’s Super Hero™ Night at ONEOK Field.
*In the past two games, the Drillers have hit six home runs from five different players. Vargas’ home run tonight was his second in as many nights.
*The Drillers pitching staff is five walks away from setting a new franchise record. The current record is 662 set by the Drillers 2022 staff.
*The Drillers scored at least seven runs in the game, meaning fans can purchase large, one-topping pizzas from Mazzio's on Sunday for just $7 each. The special offer is good throughout the day on Sunday, but it is only available online at Mazzios.com and when you use the promotion code DRILLERS at checkout.
UP NEXT:
Tulsa will complete the series with the Hooks on Sunday night at ONEOK Field with the final game of the six-game series. It will be the last game of the season, and first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. with season finale fireworks to follow. The starting pitchers are expected to be:
Corpus Christi – LHP Julio Robaina (9-6, 3.35 ERA)
Tulsa – RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (3-7, 5.50 ERA)