Drillers First-Half Hopes End with Loss to Naturals
SPRINGDALE, AR – The Tulsa Drillers pursuit of a first-half championship in the Texas League’s North Division were dashed at the hands of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Friday night at Arvest Ballpark. The Drillers were beaten 5-0, their sixth shutout loss of the season. The defeat was primarily due
SPRINGDALE, AR – The Tulsa Drillers pursuit of a first-half championship in the Texas League’s North Division were dashed at the hands of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Friday night at Arvest Ballpark. The Drillers were beaten 5-0, their sixth shutout loss of the season. The defeat was primarily due to Naturals starting pitcher Luinder Avila, who pitched seven innings and gave up just three hits. Avila matched a career-high with nine strikeouts.
The loss also evened the series at two wins each, with two games to play in the six-game set.
Hyun-il Choi made his first start for Tulsa since June 8 after being scratched from his last scheduled start with a blister. Choi held Northwest Arkansas scoreless in the first inning, but he surrendered a two-run home run to Kale Emshoff in the second. The Naturals followed by earning a single and drawing two walks off Choi before scoring a third run in the inning on a slow ground ball to first baseman Brandon Lewis to take a 3-0 lead.
The Naturals increased the margin to 5-0 in the third inning. After a hit batter and double put runners at second and third base, Diego Hernandez grounded out to second baseman Yeiner Fernandez to plate a run. One batter later, Emshoff doubled to drive in the second run of the inning.
Despite giving up five runs, Choi battled to complete five innings on Friday. After Emshoff’s RBI double in the third inning, Choi allowed just one base runner over the final nine batters he faced.
On the other side of the mound, Tulsa’s offense was stymied for seven innings by Avila. The Venezuela native struck out nine Tulsa hitters across seven scoreless innings. The Drillers managed only three hits and one walk.
Following Avila’s departure, the Drillers managed three baserunners on two hits and a walk over the final two innings, but no runs.
INSIDE THE GAME
*Both the Arkansas Travelers and the Springfield Cardinals lost on Friday. The Cardinals currently trail the first-place Travelers by 1.5 games with two games left in the first half of the Texas League season.
*Tulsa batters struck out 12 times, and it was the 34th game this season in which the Drillers recorded ten or more strikeouts.”
*Tulsa hitters have also struck out 51 times in the first four games of the series against the Naturals, the most in Double A this week.
*Pitcher Lucas Wepf made his Double A debut after joining the Drillers on Thursday from Great Lakes when Sauryn Lao was transferred to Oklahoma City. The Toronto native tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with two strikeouts.
*The Drillers were out-hit 8-5 in the game.
*Fernandez earned two of the Drillers five hits in the loss.
*Edgardo Henriquez worked a scoreless eighth inning. The hard-throwing right hander has not allowed a hit or a run in five innings since joining the Drillers on June 11.
*Griffin Lockwood-Powell appeared in his ninth game this season as a catcher. He threw out a baserunner in the game, and baserunners are now 3-8 in stolen base attempts against him this season.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Naturals will continue their series Saturday night with game five of the six-game series. First pitch at Springdale’s Arvest Ballpark is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
TUL – TBA
NWA – RHP William Fleming (2-3, 9.89 ERA)