Drillers Defeat Frisco in High-Scoring Affair
August 19, 2023 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Frisco, TX - The Tulsa Drillers earned their third win against the Frisco RoughRiders on Friday night at Riders Field. The game featured 21 runs on 24 hits, resulting in a back-and-forth battle between the teams. Ultimately, a six-run seventh inning put Tulsa ahead for the final time in the game and gave the Drillers a 12-10 win.
The Drillers sent eight hitters to the plate in the first inning, resulting in three runs scored. Imanol Vargas' RBI double was the lone earned run for the inning as Yusniel Diaz scored on a fielding error with two
outs, followed by Carson Taylor's RBI single.
The RoughRiders scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first when a fielding error by Josh Stowers led to an RBI double from Trevor Hauver.
Diaz increased Tulsa's lead to 5-1 in the second inning with a two-run homer. It was his 11th blast of the season.
A throwing error by catcher Diego Cartaya led to more unearned runs in Frisco's half of the second. Following the error, consecutive groundouts allowed two RoughRiders base runners to touch home plate and make the score 5-3.
Tulsa starting pitcher River Ryan was in line for the win when he exited the game after completing five innings. Ryan did not allow an earned run and struck out four in his 21st appearance for the Drillers.
Ryan's chances for the win were dashed in the sixth when Frisco used a four-run inning to take the lead. David Garcia put the RoughRiders in front with a three-run homer, and Hauver hit a sacrifice fly to give Frisco a 7-5 lead.
The Drillers used a big inning to retake the lead in the top of the seventh. After two singles and a hit by pitch loaded the bases, Vargas tied the game with a single. One batter later, Cartaya put the Drillers in front with an RBI single. Stowers doubled to plate two more runs, and Austin Gauthier drew a bases-loaded walk to give Tulsa an 11-7 lead.
Three more runs came across for the RoughRiders in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run game. Ryan Sublette took the mound and walked the first three batters he faced to load the bases. He then struck out the next two batters, but Jax Biggers doubled to plate three runs and make the score 11-10.
Kody Hoese drove in an insurance run on a triple into the left-field corner to give Tulsa a 12-10 lead in the eighth.
Former RoughRider Kevin Gowdy entered to pitch the ninth inning and retired the side to earn his second save.
HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS
*Ricky Vanasco received the win by pitching an inning and a third, including striking out the side in the eighth. Vanasco pitched in 18
games for Frisco this season.
*Gauthier reached base five times on three hits and two walks with three runs scored.
*Diaz has now reached base in 17 straight games. He has also recorded a hit in 16 of his last 17 games. Diaz's home run was his fifth in August, the second most in the Texas League for the month. He also scored three runs in the game.
*Three of the Drillers runs in the seventh were charged to former major league pitcher and number one overall pick in the 2004 MLB draft, Matt Bush.
*Vargas drove in three baserunners to increase his season total to 79. He has also driven in 19 runs in his last ten games.
*Since the Drillers scored at least seven runs in the game, fans can purchase a large, one-topping pizzas from Mazzio's on Saturday for just $7. The special offer is good throughout the day and is only available online at Mazzios.com and when you use the code DRILLERS at checkout.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and RoughRiders will play the fifth game of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night at Riders Field. The starting pitcher are slated to be:
Tulsa - RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (1-4, 4.25 ERA)
Frisco - RHP Ryan Garcia (3-8, 6.75 ERA)
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