TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Drillers Secure Series Win with 14-3 Route

Published on April 17, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Deck McGuire continued a strong start to the season by the Tulsa pitching staff with his efforts against San Antonio Friday night. Not to be outshined, the Drillers offense exploded, scoring 14 runs, highlighted by a 5-run fifth and a 6-run eighth against the Missions hurlers. The 14-3 win secured at least a series victory for the Drillers in their first road series of the year.

The Drillers ranked second in the Texas League as a staff with a 2.29 ERA going into the game, and McGuire did his part to keep that number down. The six-foot-six right-hander tossed seven strong innings, giving up just one run to earn his second victory while lowering his own ERA to 1.38 on the young season.

On a night when every Drillers starter reached base, Lars Anderson and Daniel Mayora led the offensive charge. Anderson collected five RBI and Mayora amassed four hits, while Jeremy Hazelbaker and Jon Garcia each turned in multi-hit performances. Corey Seager got just one hit in his five trips to the plate, but he still collected three RBI on the night.

After trading runs early in the ballgame, the Drillers offense broke out in a big way. After Mayora's first home run of the year had given Tulsa a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, the Drillers knocked Missions starter Bryan Rodriguez out of the game with a 5-run fifth.

McGuire helped his own cause, getting things going with a leadoff double. After a single and a fielder's choice, the bases were loaded with no one out. Seager came through, grounding a single through the right side to score two, while advancing to second on the throw home. Anderson kept things rolling with a two-run base knock of his own to bring home Luis Mateo and Seager.

A coaching visit to the mound didn't slow down the Drillers as Mayora collected his second hit in as many innings putting runners on the corners, ending Rodriguez' night. Garcia greeted Missions reliever Luis De La Cruz with a sacrifice fly to complete the scoring for the inning giving Tulsa a 7-1 advantage.

Tulsa and San Antonio traded zeros for the next two innings before the Drillers broke out again in the eighth. The Drillers sent ten hitters to the plate in the frame thanks to some wildness from two Missions relievers.

Tayron Guerrero began the inning by striking out Garcia, consistently flashing a 98 mph fastball. But Guerrero struggled to find the strike zone after that, hitting Ali Solis with a pitch while walking three Drillers sandwiched between a double by Travis Witherspoon.

San Antonio brought in sidewinder Adam Cimber to try and stop the bleeding with two outs. But Cimber promptly unleashed a wild pitch to bring home another Drillers run. Anderson then stepped up to the plate and launched a three-run blast over the right field fence giving Tulsa a commanding 13-1 lead.

The Missions and Drillers traded runs over the next three half innings to bring the game to its final 14-3 tally.

The victory marked the Drillers fourth win over the Missions in their first five contests against each other to begin the 2015 season.

The Drillers will go for their first sweep of the year as they take on the Missions in the third game of the series Saturday night in San Antonio. Jeremy Kehrt (0-1, 6.75) will make his second start of the season for Tulsa. He will be opposed by San Antonio's Elliot Morris (0-0, 0.00) who will also be making his second start of the year. Fans can hear the action live as Dennis Higgins calls the game on AM 1430 The Buzz. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05PM.

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics



Texas League Stories from April 17, 2015


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