Drillers End Skid with 8-3 Win Over Hooks
September 16, 2023 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Tulsa Drillers' Ben Casparius on the mound
(Tulsa Drillers, Credit: Rich Crimi)
TULSA, OK - The streak is over. Friday night at ONEOK Field, the Tulsa Drillers beat the Corpus Christi Hooks 8-3 to end the second longest losing streak in franchise history.
The skid ended at 12 straight games, four short of the franchise record 16-game losing streak. The victory for the Drillers was also their first in the month of September.
The streak-busting win came on the night that manager Scott Hennessey returned to the Drillers dugout for the first time in several weeks after receiving treatments for cancer.
Tulsa scored runs in each of the first two innings and never trailed in the contest. In the bottom of the first, Kody Hoese's two-run double opened the game's scoring.
The Drillers doubled their lead to 4-0 in the second when Hamlet Marte hit a solo home run, and Yusniel Diaz doubled home Ismael Alcantara.
Starting pitcher Ben Casparius held the Hooks without a hit through the first four innings before suffering control issues in the fifth. After a hit batter, he was within one out of completing five innings and qualifying for the win, but a walk and an infield single loaded the bases and ended his night after 95 pitches.
Ben Harris took over for Casparius and walked the first two batters he faced to force home two runs before a ground out ended the inning.
Unlike during their losing streak, the Drillers had an immediate answer to the two runs from the Hooks. In the bottom of the fifth, Imanol Vargas led off with his 21st homer of the season.
After the home run, three straight hits from Hoese, Carson Taylor and Brandon Lewis plated another run before Luis Diaz made it five straight hits with his third Double-A home run that ballooned Tulsa's lead to 8-2.
The Hooks scored the final run of the game in the top of the seventh inning.
Tulsa reliever Aldry Acosta retired all six batter he faced over the final two innings and was credited with the victory by the official scorer. It was Acosta's first Double-A win in four decisions.
The Drillers out-hit the Hooks 15-2 in the victory.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*The three home runs ended a four-game homerless streak for the Drillers. Prior to the streak, Tulsa had not gone more than two games this season without hitting a homer.
*The victory came despite the absence of shortstop Austin Gauthier. Gauthier was placed on the Injured List earlier on Friday after suffering a thumb injury the previous game. Tulsa added Umar Male from the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie league team in Arizona to replace Gauthier.
*It was a good and bad night for Casparius. He opened with four hitless innings and had not allowed a run when he departed with two outs in the fifth. He was eventually charged with two runs when two of his baserunners scored after his departure, and he fell one out short of qualifying for the victory.
*The 15 hits from the Drillers were just one short of matching their season high of 16 hits that came in an 11-2 win over Arkansas on June 10. Seven of the 15 went for extra bases.
*Hoese led the attack with four hits. Alcantara had three hits, and Taylor and Lewis added two each.
*The 8 runs came after the Drillers had scored just 27 total runs during their 12-game skid.
*The victory ensured that the Drillers will not finish with the worst second-half record in franchise history. Tulsa now has a 23-44 second-half mark, at least one win better than the 1995 Drillers who went 22-45.
*The Drillers scored at least seven runs in the game, meaning fans can purchase large, one-topping pizzas from Mazzio's on Saturday for just $7 each. The special offer is good throughout the day on Saturday, but it is only available online at Mazzios.com and when you use the promotion code DRILLERS at checkout.
UP NEXT:
Tulsa will continue its series with the Hooks on Saturday night at ONEOK Field with the fifth game of the six-game series. It will be the next-to-last game of the season, and first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The starting pitchers are expected to be:
Corpus Christi - RHP Valente Bellozo (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Tulsa - RHP Kendall Williams (2-3, 3.97 ERA)
Images from this story
 Tulsa Drillers' Ben Casparius on the mound (Rich Crimi) |
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Texas League Stories from September 16, 2023
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- CC Held to Two Hits, Tulsa Slays Skid - Corpus Christi Hooks
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