Crawford Excels in AA Debut as Tulsa Blanks Cards
August 6, 2019 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
TULSA - Pitcher Leo Crawford had been in Tulsa less than 24 hours on Tuesday night, but it did not take him long to make an impact for the Tulsa Drillers. Crawford made his Double-A debut on Tuesday against Springfield, and it was an impressive one. The lefthander retired the first 13 batters in a row and eventually allowed just 3 hits in 6 shutout innings to help the Drillers to a 10-0 win over the Cardinals at ONEOK Field.
The victory was the third straight for Tulsa, and its fifth in the past six games. The shutout was the third in the past ten games for the pitching staff.
The game could not have started any better for the Drillers. In the top of the first, Crawford struck out the side in a 1-2-3 inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, Drillers leadoff man Drew Avans hit the third pitch of the night from Springfield starter Angel Rondon onto Elgin Avenue. It was the third Double-A home run of the season for Avans and staked Tulsa and Crawford to an early 1-0 lead.
The Drillers made it 3-0 in the fourth inning. After Omar Estevez and Cristian Santana singled to put runners at the corners, Cody Thomas lined a single down the right field line to plate the second run. Connor Wong brought home the third with a sacrifice fly.
Crawford continued to baffle the Cardinals. The lefthander's bid for a perfect game ended when Lars Nootbaar singled cleanly to left field with one out in the fifth. It was the first of three straight hits that loaded the bases for the Redbirds, but Crawford escaped the jam with consecutive strikeouts to end the inning.
The 22-year-old native of Nicaragua finished his debut by retiring the Cards in order in the top of the sixth. Crawford's final line in his 6 shutout innings, included just 3 hits allowed, 0 walks and 11 strikeouts. He retired the Cardinals in order in five of his six innings.
Offensively, Estevez singled and scored Tulsa's fourth run in the fifth before the Drillers put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. The inning included a run-scoring hits from Thomas, Angelo Mora and Wong.
Errol Robinson capped the big night with a two-run homer in the eighth.
WHAT YOU MISSED
*The Drillers roster underwent several changes prior to Tuesday's game. Crawford and outfielder Donovan Casey were added to the roster, moving up from Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. To make room for the duo, catcher Jordan Procyshen was returned to Rancho Cucamonga and outfielder Logan Landon was placed on the Injured List. In addition, infielder Jedd Gyorko of the Los Angeles Dodgers completed his injury rehabilitation assignment and was transferred to the Oklahoma City Dodgers roster.
*Estevez had three singles, extending his hitting streak to seven straight games. Thomas also had three hits.
*The ten runs scored were the most in a game for the Drillers since they scored ten in a 12-10 loss at Northwest Arkansas on May 14.
*The 11 strikeouts by Crawford were just 3 shy of the ONEOK Field record set by Dustin May earlier this season. May made his big league debut last week with the Dodgers.
*Luis Vasquez pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Crawford, and Shea Spitzbarth worked a scoreless ninth to complete the shutout.
UP NEXT: Springfield at Tulsa, Wednesday, August 7, 7:05 PM at ONEOK Field. RHP Johan Oviedo (5-5, 5.24 ERA) versus RHP Markus Solbach (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
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