Drillers Bats, Ferguson Beat Travelers
May 4, 2018 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers congratulate Will Smith after his home run
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Matt Christensen)
Just one night after being held to one run on a season low three hits, the Tulsa Drillers offense came back to life in a big way Friday evening at ONEOK Field. The Drillers entertained a sellout crowd by pounding 14 hits and scoring 10 runs over the first 5 innings in what was eventually a 10-3 win over Arkansas.
The victory improved the first-place Drillers season record to 16-11 and allowed them to split their four-game series with the Travelers.
The bounce-back offensive output provided plenty of offensive support for starting pitcher Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson came into his sixth start of the season with a miniscule 0.42 ERA, and he lowered the figure even further. The lefthander allowed only four hits and one walk in six shutout innings to drop his Texas League-leading ERA to 0.33.
Tulsa's big night in back of Ferguson began with a two-run second inning. Errol Robinson continued his hot streak with a run-scoring single, and Drew Jackson delivered a sacrifice fly to give the Drillers a 2-0 lead.
It marked the first of four straight scoring innings for the Drillers. They added single runs in the third and fourth frames, the latter coming on a solo homer from Jackson.
Tulsa blew the game open with six more runs in the bottom of the fifth when ten batters came to the plate, with the first five reaching base. It began with a leadoff walk to Jacob Scavuzzo, and Will Smith followed with his fourth home run of the year.
The inning continued with a walk, a double from Robinson and another walk that loaded the bases. After a sacrifice fly by Luke Raley, D.J. Peters belted his fifth homer of the season to up the lead to 10-0.
The Travelers ended the shutout bid with a run in the seventh before adding two more in the eighth on a double from former Drillers outfielder Joey Curletta.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Every player in the Drillers lineup had at least one hit in the game.
™s two hits continued his hot streak. The infielder has hit safely in six of his last seven games and has raised his season average nearly 90 points, up from .150 to .239.
The six-run fourth matched Tulsa's biggest of the season.
The victim of Tulsa's big offensive night was former Drillers hurler Chase De Jong. He was charged with seven runs in just four innings, his shortest outing of the year. In his last start against the Drillers, on April 23, De Jong surrendered just three hits and two runs in a seven-inning outing.
Ferguson has now allowed just one earned run in 27.1 innings this season.
Seven different Tulsa players have now hit at least four home runs this season through just 27 games.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will open a four-game series and an eight-game road trip Saturday night in Springfield against the Cardinals. It will be the first meeting of 2018 between the North Division rivals. Starting time for the opener is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. at Hammons Field with the pitching matchup expected to be:
TUL Yadier Alvarez (0-1, 4.05 ERA)
SPR Ryan Helsley (1-1, 5.83 ERA)
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers congratulate Will Smith after his home run (Matt Christensen) |
Texas League Stories from May 4, 2018
- Travs Settle for Split in Tulsa - Arkansas Travelers
- Cardinals Clobber Naturals, 9-1, in Road Trip Finale - Springfield Cardinals
- Prime Continues Hot Stretch But Riders Fall in Finale - Frisco RoughRiders
- Five-Run Fifth Dooms Naturals in Finale - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Rougned Odor to Begin Rehab with Riders Starting Saturday, May 5 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Bats, Ferguson Beat Travelers - Tulsa Drillers
- 8 Game Series against Naturals and Cardinals May 5 - 13 - Arkansas Travelers
- Eight-Run First Foils Hooks - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Sparkman Slows Springfield's Sticks in Naturals Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Moore Dominates and Offense Explodes Late for Win - Arkansas Travelers
- Riders Name 8 Millionth Fan Thursday Night - Frisco RoughRiders
- Beck Stays Hot But Riders Fall to Missions - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Drop 2nd Straight to Travs - Tulsa Drillers
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