Tulsa Drops Second Straight to Hooks
Tulsa, OK – Not much went right for the Tulsa Drillers on Saturday night in their matchup with the Corpus Christi Hooks. Offensively, the Drillers were held without a hit for the first five innings of the game, while Tulsa pitchers struggled to find the strike zone, walking at total
Tulsa, OK – Not much went right for the Tulsa Drillers on Saturday night in their matchup with the Corpus Christi Hooks. Offensively, the Drillers were held without a hit for the first five innings of the game, while Tulsa pitchers struggled to find the strike zone, walking at total of 11 Hooks’ batters. The result was a 12-6 loss for Tulsa at ONEOK Field.
It was a second straight loss for the Drillers and dropped them into a first-place tie with Springfield in the North Division of the Texas League.
It was a tough night for Tulsa starting pitcher Kendall Williams. He fell behind early after surrendering a two-run homer to Collin Price, the fourth hitter of the game.
A solo homer from Jacob Melton in the third inning made it three-run deficit before things really unraveled in the top of the fourth. The Hooks added six more runs on just three hits as they took advantage of four walks and a hit batter. The marathon inning also featured two stolen bases and two wild pitches.
Wildness from reliever Ronan Kopp allowed the Hooks to up their lead to 11-0 in the sixth inning. Kopp retired the first two batters of the inning before a base hit and four straight walks produced two more runs.
Corpus Christi starting pitcher Miguel Ullola held the Drillers scoreless and without a hit through the first five innings. Ullola retired the first batter in the bottom of the sixth before departing the game. Reliever Brayan De Paula retired the first batter he faced before Damon Keith loudly ended the no-hit bid by belting a De Paula pitch over the Budweiser Terrace in left field to deliver Tulsa’s first hit and first run.
The two teams traded runs in the seventh inning before Jose Izarra made his Double-A debut a memorable one. Izarra pinch-hit for the Drillers in the sixth inning and flied out. In his second at-bat in the eighth, the infielder homered to account for Tulsa’s third run and his first Double-A hit.
The Drillers added three more runs in the eighth on a bases loaded walk and a two-run single from Bubba Alleyne, but it proved to be too little, too late.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The game featured a total of 18 runs between the two teams on just 12 combined hits.
*Tulsa’s Williams was charged for nine runs in 3.1 innings despite allowing just four hits. He was hurt by five walks and a hit batter.
*The Drillers used five pitchers in the game and they combined to issue 11 walks.
*Reliever Michael Hobbs took over for Williams and held the Hooks scoreless over 1.2 innings.
*Christian Suarez retired all six batters he faced in working the final two innings for the Drillers.
*Ullola did not allow hit in 5.1 innings for Corpus Christi. The right-hander walked three and struck out four.
*Pitcher Alejandro Torres got the final four outs of the game for the Hooks without allowing a run. Torres pitched for Tulsa’s team in the Texas Collegiate League that played at ONEOK Field in the summer of 2020.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will close out their series with the Hooks Sunday afternoon at ONEOK Field. It will also be the final game before professional baseball breaks for the Major League All-Star Game. The Drillers will have a four-day break.
First pitch for Sunday’s series final is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
CC - LHP Luis Angel Rodriguez (4-3, 5.82 ERA)
TUL – RHP Jerming Rosario (2-1, 3.63 ERA)