Drillers Drop Second Straight to Arkansas
April 5, 2019 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
TULSA, OK - The Tulsa Drillers rallied late Friday night, but it was not enough as they fell 9-4 to the Arkansas Travelers before a second straight sellout at ONEOK Field. The Travelers carried a nine-run lead into the final inning, but Tulsa made things interesting by scoring four times in the ninth and loading the bases with two outs. The threat came to a halt with a game-ending fly out.
The Travelers have won the first two games of the season-opening series, keeping the Drillers searching for their first win of 2019.
Starting pitcher Yadier Alvarez worked a 1-2-3 first inning for Tulsa, but the right-hander surrendered the game's first run in the second when he allowed three straight batters to reach safely on a hit, a walk and another hit.
Alvarez's night ended early when he reached his pitch limit, departing with two outs in the top of the third with a runner at first base. Parker Curry relieved and gave up an opposite-field home run to the left-handed hitting Dom Thompson-Williams, expanding the Travs lead to 3-0.
Arkansas blew the game open with four more runs in the fifth. Thompson-Williams belted his second homer of the night, a three-run blast, followed by a solo shot from Nick Zammarelli that made it 7-0.
Chris Mariscal added a fourth home run for the Travelers in the seventh inning that capped their nine-run night.
The Drillers avoided the shutout by scoring their four runs in the bottom of the ninth. Three straight singles from Chris Parmelee, Cristian Santana and Keibert Ruiz produced the first run.
Cody Thomas brought home the second with a sacrifice fly, and Logan Landon the third with a two-out base hit. DJ Peters picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in the fourth run.
The rally ended when Omar Estevez flied out with the bases loaded.
WHAT YOU MISSED
*A special on-field ceremony took place before the game as 18 current Drillers players who played for the club last season were presented their 2018 Texas League Championship rings from Drillers season ticket holders.
*Alvarez threw 55 pitches, 33 for strikes, in his first outing of the season. He was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out three.
*The Drillers bullpen has struggled through the first two games of the season, allowing 13 runs in 7 innings of work.
*The lone bullpen bright spots in Friday's loss were Nolan Long and position player Parmelee. Long did not allow a run in 1.2 innings of relief work, while Parmelee gave up only one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.
*The two teams again took over three hours to complete their matchup. The ten-inning opener took 3:34 to play, and Friday's game took 3:15.
*It was the second straight sellout at ONEOK Field, with attendance for the first two games of the season totaling 16,027.
UP NEXT: Arkansas at Tulsa, Saturday, April 6, 7:05 p.m. at ONEOK Field. RHP Zac Grotz (First Appearance) versus RHP J.D. Martin (First Appearance).
Texas League Stories from April 5, 2019
- Drillers Drop Second Straight to Arkansas - Tulsa Drillers
- Beck's Big Blast Carries Riders to First Win - Frisco RoughRiders
- Sod Poodles Opening Homestand Brings More Than Just Affiliated Baseball Back to Amarillo - Amarillo Sod Poodles
- RockHounds Open Season with Shutout Win - Midland RockHounds
- Travs Rally for Opening Night Win in Extras - Arkansas Travelers
- Naturals Take Season Opener from Cardinals, 5-1 - Springfield Cardinals
- Drillers Celebrate Championship, But Drop Opener - Tulsa Drillers
- Burke's Brilliant Outing Not Enough in 3-0 Loss - Frisco RoughRiders
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