Tulsa outfielder Daniel Carte did not have the start to this season that he envisioned, hitting only .235 through the Drillers first 25 games. If the last two games are any indication, the slow start may be a thing of the past.
For the second straight night Friday, Carte's bat carried the Drillers to a victory. In Tulsa's 4-3 win over the Arkansas Travelers, Carte knocked in all four runs with three hits, including his first home run of the season.
The win gave Tulsa three wins in its four-game series at Dickey Stephens Park.
Carte gave the Drillers an early lead on Friday with a three-run homer in the top of the second inning.
The Travs slowly battled back against Tulsa starter Jhoulys Chacin. A two-run fourth inning, that was aided by an error, cut the margin to 3-2.
An RBI double by Hanley Statia in the fifth tied the score.
It remained deadlocked until Carte struck again in the top of the eighth. Ryan Harvey began the inning with a leadoff double. Following a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to Mike McKenry, Carte singled into left field to plate Harvey with the go-ahead run.
The hit capped a big two games for Carte. In Thursday's victory, he capped a four-run ninth inning with a game-winning, two-run double. The outfielder has four hits and six runs batted in over the last two games.
His hit on Friday allowed Austin Chambliss to pick up the win in his Double A debut. Chambliss relieved Chacin to start the seventh inning and worked two perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Tommy Baumgardner pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record his first save of the season.
Chacin allowed five hits and three runs (2 ER) in six innings of work. He walked two and struck out five.
The Drillers now return to Tulsa for an 8-game homestand that will begin Saturday night against Northwest Arkansas. Samuel Deduno (2-1, 4.07 ERA) will start the opener for Tulsa, while Anthony Lerew (1-1, 4.62 ERA) will pitch for the Naturals. First pitch at Drillers Stadium for the opener is set for 6:05PM.
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