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TL Tulsa Drillers

Cards Send Drillers to Third Straight Defeat

September 3, 2021 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Jacob Amaya lines a base hit as the Tulsa Drillers drop their third straight at ONEOK Field
Jacob Amaya lines a base hit as the Tulsa Drillers drop their third straight at ONEOK Field
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Rich Crimi)

TULSA - The Tulsa Drillers and Springfield Cardinals matched up in a slugfest Friday night at ONEOK Field. The game featured runs in every inning but the first and the last, but it was the Cardinals who delivered the biggest punch. The Cards overturned a one-run Tulsa lead with eight runs in the sixth inning and held off a late Drillers rally to post an 11-9 victory.

It was the third straight loss suffered by the Drillers to the Redbirds, who own the worst record in the Double-A Central. The defeat drops Tulsa four games out of a league playoff spot with 14 games remaining in the regular season.

After the scoreless first inning, the Cardinals got the offensive display started with the game's first run in the top of the second as Nick Raposo tripled and scored on Delvin Perez's two-out base hit.

The Drillers scored their first run in the bottom of the third. Michael Busch reached on an error when left fielder David Vinsky missed his fly ball. Busch eventually scored on a double from Ryan Noda, tying the game at 1-1.

Springfield went back in front with single runs in the both the fourth and fifth innings. Bryan Warzek came on for starter Austin Drury in the fourth and walked the first two batters he faced. After a strikeout, Perez singled to load the bases. Drury got another strikeout before issuing his third walk of the inning, forcing in the Cardinals second run.

Melvin Jimenez took over for Warzek to open the fifth inning and quickly ran into trouble. With one out, a walk and two singles loaded the bases, setting up a sacrifice fly from Vinsky that gave Springfield a 3-1 lead.

The Drillers rallied to take the lead with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. James Outman drew a leadoff walk and Busch singled. After a fielder's choice ground out put runners at the corners, Justin Yurchak singled home Outman. Noda followed with another hit that scored Busch and tied the game, before consecutive walks to Hunter Feduccia and Jacob Amaya forced in the third run of the inning to give Tulsa a 4-3 lead.

Things unraveled for Jimenez and the Drillers in the top of the sixth. After the Cardinals scored the tying run, the Drillers were within one out of ending the inning, but the third out would prove to be difficult to obtain. A single and a hit batter loaded the bases, ending the night for Jimenez.

Zack Plunkett came on for the Drillers and his second pitch was belted onto the right field concourse by Irving Lopez for a grand slam homer that gave the Cards an 8-4 lead.

Springfield was not finished. Another hit batter and another base hit by Perez kept the inning going and brought Matt Koperniak to the plate. Koperniak belted his second home run in as many games to up the lead for the Redbirds to 11-4.

The Drillers continued to battle as Feduccia singled home a run in the seventh, and Kody Hoese provided a sacrifice fly the plated another, pulling Tulsa to within five runs.

Miguel Vargas tightened the game even further in the eighth with a towering, three-run homer into the Budweiser Terrace. It brought more fireworks as veteran, Springfield pitcher Kevin Marnon showed his displeasure with Vargas' reaction to the blast, and both benches emptied onto the field. Order was maintained, but warnings were issued to both dugouts by umpires.

When the inning resumed the Drillers put a pair of runners on base to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate, but Freddy Pacheco, who took over for Marnon, got a ground ball from Kody Hoese for the final out of the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Tulsa got the potential tying run to the plate when Busch drew a two-out walk, setting the stage for Vargas, who was named the Double-A Central Player of the Month earlier in the day. It was not to be as the hard-throwing Pacheco got three swinging strikes from Vargas for the game-ending strikeout.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

*The game featured a combined 20 runs and a combined 29 hits. It took 3 hours and 52 minutes to complete, making it the longest nine-inning game of the year for the Drillers.

*Busch had his second four-hit game of the series, finishing 4-5 and reaching base five times. Yurchak and Noda had three hits each.

*Tulsa's Devin Mann was ejected from the game in the bottom of the ninth by homeplate umpire Chris Presley-Murphy after being called out on strikes.

*Drillers hitters struck out 15 times, matching a season high which they have now done four times.

*The Drillers used a total of five pitchers in the game, and Zach Willeman was the only one who did not give up a run. Willeman set the Cardinals down in order in the ninth inning.

UP NEXT

Springfield at Tulsa on Saturday, September 4 at ONEOK Field at 7:05 p.m.

Springfield will start LHP Kevin McGovern (1-4, 5.86 ERA) on the mound while Tulsa has yet to announce a starter.

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics




Images from this story

Jacob Amaya lines a base hit as the Tulsa Drillers drop their third straight at ONEOK Field
Jacob Amaya lines a base hit as the Tulsa Drillers drop their third straight at ONEOK Field
(Rich Crimi)		   



Texas League Stories from September 3, 2021


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