Arkansas Sends Tulsa to 5th Straight Loss
July 25, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Julio Urias of the Tulsa Drillers Signs for a Fan
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Rich Crimi)
Top Dodgers pitching prospect Julio Urias signs a baseball for a young fan before the game Saturday night. Urias will make his first start for the Drillers since having cosmetic eye surgery Sunday evening. (Photo by Rich Crimi)
Coming into Saturday's contest, both starting pitchers were riding a string of solid pitching performances. Jharel Cotton and Nate Smith did not disappoint as they both turned in five shutout innings to begin the game. But Arkansas broke through against the Tulsa bullpen late to open up the game as the Travs defeated the Drillers 6-0.
For Cotton, he came into the game after tossing seven shutout innings his last time out against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals while picking up a season-high ten strikeouts. Smith likewise threw seven scoreless innings in his last start against the Springfield Cardinals, although he only registered five strikeouts.
Smith would earn his eighth win of the year for the Travs this night as he worked matched his previous performance with seven scoreless innings. Cotton took the loss even though he allowed just the one run during his six innings of work.
After both starters rolled through the first three innings, Arkansas began to push the envelope in the fourth and fifth innings. The Travs put a man on third with two outs in the fourth, but Cotton was able to escape the jam. The fifth inning featured a similar storyline as Arkansas had runners on first and second but were still kept off the scoreboard. But Cotton's luck ran out in the sixth.
With one out, Chad Hinshaw singled and Blake Gailen walked. Cotton got Brian Hernandez to fly out as he looked to work his way out of trouble yet again. But Arkansas first baseman Wade Hinkle had other ideas, lining a single to left to score Hinshaw and put the Travs in front 1-0.
Jorge De Leon relieved Cotton to begin the seventh, but things would not go well for him. De Leon loaded the bases as he surrendered a leadoff hit to Cal Towey, followed by back-to-back walks issued to Anthony Bemboom and Ruben Sosa. Towey came home to score on a sac fly from Sherman Johnson while Bemboom scored on an RBI single off the bat of Hinshaw. That would be all for De Leon as Razor Shines called in Jacob Rhame. Things did not improve as Arkansas would score three more runs before the inning ended to take a 6-0 lead.
On the offensive side for the Drillers, their best chance to score came in the fifth when Kyle Farmer began the inning with a double. He moved to third on a groundout, but the Drillers were unable to move him across the plate as Smith worked his way out of the jam.
Scott Snodgrass came in for Smith in the eighth and completed the shutout with two scoreless innings of work.
The shutout marked the twelfth time this season the Drillers have been kept off the scoreboard.
Tulsa will wrap up its series with Arkansas Sunday night. Making his first start with the Drillers since having cosmetic eye surgery will be top pitching prospect Julio Urias (1-2, 3.00 ERA.) The Travs will aim for the 4-game sweep as they send Albert Suarez (7-7, 3.60 ERA) to the hill. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05PM.
Images from this story
 Julio Urias of the Tulsa Drillers Signs for a Fan (Rich Crimi) |
Texas League Stories from July 25, 2015
- Renfroe's Long Balls Lead Missions to Victory - San Antonio Missions
- Arkansas Sends Tulsa to 5th Straight Loss - Tulsa Drillers
- Smith Sizzles in Return from PanAm Games - Arkansas Travelers
- Six Late Runs Fuel Travs to Second Straight - Arkansas Travelers
- Hooks Sink RoughRiders in Extras, 7-6 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Cardinals Clobber Naturals, 12-4 - Springfield Cardinals
- Naturals Fall in Springfield, 12-4 - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Naturals Swipe Win from Cardinals with 9th-Inning Rally - Springfield Cardinals
- We Should Have Kept Our Big Mouths Shut - Midland RockHounds
- Late Comeback Not Enough for Drillers - Tulsa Drillers
- Naturals Score Six in the Ninth in 7-2 Win over Springfield - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Hooks Run Wild in Frisco - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Six Late Runs Fuel Travs - Arkansas Travelers
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