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TL Tulsa Drillers

Drillers Shut Out Naturals to End Skid

July 20, 2024 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR - Four pitchers combined for a shutout Saturday night as the Tulsa Drillers ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory at Northwest Arkansas. It was the seventh shutout this season for the Tulsa pitching staff, but just the second to take place on the road.

The victory at Springdale's Arvest Ballpark improved the Drillers second-half record to 12-8 and kept them just one game behind first-place Springfield in the North Division standings in the Texas League.

The only offensive output in Saturday's contest came in the top of the second inning. Taylor Young opened the inning with a base hit, and Brendon Davis drew a walk. A one-out single from Bubba Alleyne drove home Young with the game's first run.

The second run of the inning came when Alleyne and Davis perfectly executed a double steal, with Davis swiping home, to give the Drillers a 2-0 lead.

It proved to be plenty of offense as starting pitcher Carlos Duran blanked the Naturals through the game's first 3.1 innings.

Ben Harris got the final two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning before giving way to Christian Romero. Romero kept the shutout intact by allowing just one hit over three scoreless, relief innings.

In the eighth, against Lucas Wepf, the Naturals got a pair of singles and a double steal of their own to put runners at second and third with two outs, but Carter Jensen went down on strikes to end the threat.

The Naturals instigated an even bigger threat in the bottom of the ninth. Peyton Wilson drew a leadoff walk, but down two runs, he was inexplicably thrown out by catcher Yeiner Fernandez attempting to steal second base.

The questionable base running proved to be big as two singles and a walk from the Naturals loaded the bases with two outs. Wepf again escaped the trouble when he got a game-ending fly out to shallow centerfield from Tyler Tolbert.

The shut-out victory was the first this season for the Drillers over the Naturals.

INSIDE THE GAME

*Tulsa won despite being out-hit 7-4 by Northwest Arkansas. The Naturals failed to score despite grouping four of their hits over the final two innings.

*The Drillers set a season high with five stolen bases in the game. The five steals came from five different players.

*The save for Wepf was his third this season at the Double-A level and his eleventh overall.

*Romero picked up the win to improve his record to a perfect 2-0 since joining the Drillers.

*Duran has allowed just two earned runs in three starts since being promoted to Double A and his ERA is now at 1.64.

*There were no extra-base hits in the game as all 11 hits were singles.

UP NEXT:

The Drillers will conclude their brief three-game series with the Naturals with the third and final game on Sunday afternoon at Arvest Ballpark. Starting time for the finale is set for 2:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:

Tulsa - RHP Kendall Williams (4-8, 6.84 ERA)

NW Arkansas - Mason Barnett (4-5, 5.54 ERA)

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