TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Drillers Fall 10-6 in Night Filled with Offense

Published on July 28, 2016 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Rehabbing big leaguer Enrique "Kiké" Hernandez fires to first during Thursday night's game. Hernandez was playing in his first game with the Drillers after being assigned to Tulsa by the LA Dodgers on a Major League rehab assignment.

Thursday night's series opener between the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers featured plenty of offense as both clubs finished the night with double digit hit total. But a bullpen lapse in the seventh inning, combined with an untimely error, led to a five-run inning for the Travs as the visitors would go on to defeat the Drillers 10-6 at ONEOK Field.

Three Tulsa batters finished with multi-hit games as Tim Locastro, Kyle Garlick and Jordan Tarsovich led the Drillers at the plate. But 14 runners stranded on base would come back to bite the Drillers as they saw yet another early lead slip away.

Arkansas came out of the gates swinging as three of the first four batters Tulsa starter Lisalverto Bonilla faced reached base via singles, putting the Travs in front 1-0. After Bonilla struck out Jabari Henry for the second out of the frame, Jose Briceno struck the big blow by launching a three-run homer over the left field fence. Briceno's first home run with the Travs gave the visitors an early 4-0 lead.

But the Drillers answered right back in the home half of the first as they took advantage of walks from Arkansas starter Jose Molina.

After Kyle Farmer lined a one-out single into center, rehabbing big leaguer Enrique "Kiké" Hernandez and Alex Verdugo each worked a free pass from Molina to load the bases. Garlick then got the Drillers on the scoreboard as he drove a sacrifice fly deep into center to cut the score to 4-1. Cody Bellinger lined out sharply to right field to end the inning, but the momentum had shifted.

Bonilla had to work around a couple baserunners in the second inning, but was able to keep the Travs off the scoreboard. His counterpart would not be able to make the same claim though in the bottom half of the frame.

The Drillers picked up right where they left off against Molina in the second inning as the first five Tulsa batters all reached base with three singles and two walks, drawing the club to within 4-3. After Hernandez popped out for the first out of the frame, Verdugo knotted the score with a sacrifice fly to deep right-center field erasing the previous Tulsa deficit. Garlick then stepped up and delivered another run-scoring hit with a single through the left side to give the Drillers a 5-4 lead.

The score would hold steady over the next two innings as both pitching staffs seemed to settle in. Bonilla would go on to toss four scoreless inning following the rough opening inning while Molina and reliever D.J. Johnson for Arkansas would do likewise in the third and fourth innings.

The two clubs traded runs in the fifth and sixth innings to make the score 6-5 in favor of the Drillers. But Tulsa missed a chance to stretch its advantage in the bottom of the sixth when Vinny DiFazio flied to the warning track in right, narrowly missing out on a grand slam.

Yimi Garcia relieved Bonilla to begin the seventh and started well as he struck out Alex Yarbrough for the first out of the frame. But things went downhill from there as Garcia hit Andrew Daniel with a pitch before surrendering a base hit to Eric Aguilera. Henry then followed with a RBI double to tie the game up at 6-6. That would be all for the rehabbing Garcia who was pitching on a strict pitch count.

Michael Johnson entered the ballgame and walked Zach Weltz to load the bases. But the southpaw reliever struck out Bo Way for the second out of the inning as the Drillers looked to escape the frame with the score tied.

But that would not be the case as an Anthony Phillips single into centerfield turned into a bases-clearing knock when the ball scooted under Verdugo's glove for a two-base error, putting Arkansas in front 9-6. Phillips would then come in to score himself on a base hit from OSU alum Tim Arakawa to bring the score to its final tally of 10-6.

The Travs had three batters finish with multi-hit performances, led by Phillips who finished 4-5 with 2 RBIs and a run scored.

Garcia was saddled with the loss for Tulsa while Johnson saw his record improve to 3-4 this season for Arkansas. Josh Roenicke earned his first save of the year for the Travs following three innings of scoreless relief to wrap up the ballgame.

The Drillers and Travs will continue their series Friday night as Seth Frankoff (0-1, 2.41 ERA) and Jordan Kipper (9-5, 3.68 ERA) will take the mound for their respective clubs. The evening will also feature the annual Faith and Family Night at ONEOK Field as the club celebrates the values that make Tulsa great. There will be a high-energy concert immediately following the postgame fireworks show that will feature Brian Nhira and friends, along with a special appearance by Tulsa ace Chase De Jong. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. BOXSCORE 344Q] ~~~~~

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Texas League Stories from July 28, 2016


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