De Jong Dominant in Drillers Win
May 6, 2016 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Pitcher Chase De Jong is rated by MLB.com as the 18th best prospect in the Los Angeles Dodger minor league system. Thursday night in Little Rock, the Tulsa hurler more than lived up to the rating. De Jong allowed only one hit in seven shutout innings to lead the Drillers to a 7-1 victory over the Arkansas Travelers.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Drillers.
De Jong carried a perfect game into the fifth inning of Thursday's outing. He struck out Andrew Daniel to open the fifth before Cal Towey ended his run of perfection with a base hit.
The only other base runner against De Jong came when he walked Angel Rosa to open the sixth inning. Like Towey the inning before, Rosa would not advance past first base.
The seven-inning outing by De Jong is the longest for a Drillers' pitcher this season. He needed only 94 pitches to complete the seven innings, throwing 61 of them for strikes while striking out 8 Travs' hitters.
Seth Frankoff worked a scoreless eighth inning in relief before the Travelers got their lone run of the game in the ninth inning off Dustin Richardson.
The victory improved De Jong's record to 2-3 while the seven shutout innings lowered his ERA to 3.66. He is now holding Texas League hitters to a miniscule .205 batting average in 32 total innings this season.
The Drillers jumped to an early lead in the game when newcomer Andrew Toles hit his first Double-A home run in the top of the first inning. The solo shot gave De Jong and Tulsa a 1-0 cushion.
Tulsa used another long ball to pad its lead in the fifth. Lars Anderson led off with a base hit and scored when Tyler Ogle tripled him home. Paul Hoenecke followed with his second home run in five games to up the margin to 4-0.
The Drillers added single runs in each of the next three innings to account for the final score.
The two teams will close out their four-game series Friday night at Dickey-Stephens Park. Brock Stewart (0-1, 2.12 ERA) will pitch the finale for the Drillers against Jordan Kipper (2-1, 3.86 ERA) of the Travelers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM.
The Drillers will return home after the game to open a long, eight-game homestand Saturday night at ONEOK Field.
Texas League Stories from May 6, 2016
- Sadzeck's Strong Start Leads Riders to Sweep - Frisco RoughRiders
- DeJong Belts a Pair of Homers, But Naturals Take Finale - Springfield Cardinals
- Stewart Stellar as Drillers Top Travs 9-2 - Tulsa Drillers
- Strahm Stellar as Naturals Claim Series Finale - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Sadzeck guides Frisco to sweep of San Antonio - San Antonio Missions
- Riders Homestand Preview: Saturday, May 7 - Tuesday, May 10 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Riders Game Notes - 7:05 p.m. at San Antonio Missions - May 6, 2016 - Frisco RoughRiders
- De Jong Dominant in Drillers Win - Tulsa Drillers
- Drillers to Begin 8-Game Homestand Saturday - Tulsa Drillers
- RoughRiders Back on Fox Sports Southwest Saturday Night - Frisco RoughRiders
- Alcantara Blanks Hooks - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Hard Work Pays off on Cinco De Mayo - Midland RockHounds
- Missions Streak Continues in Rout by Frisco - San Antonio Missions
- Five-Run Sixth Inning Boosts Riders to Victory - Frisco RoughRiders
- Naturals Swipe 3-2 Win from Cardinals - Springfield Cardinals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
