TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Drillers' Winning Streak Reaches Six

Published on June 26, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


In extending their season-high winning streak Friday night, the Drillers got solid contributions in all aspects of the game. Starting pitcher Jharel Cotton turned in an impressive start while the Tulsa bullpen did its job with two shutout innings. Meanwhile, his teammates provided some solid run support and made the defensive plays when it mattered. The results led the squad to their sixth straight victory with a 5-1 win over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arvest Ballpark.

With the win, the Drillers moved into sole possession of first place in the Texas League North Division after the Arkansas Travelers' game was rained out. It is the first time Tulsa has been atop the division since they were tied for first back on April 25with a 10-5 record.

Cotton has been building up his endurance since his season was delayed when he suffered a fractured wrist on a comeback line drive at the start of the season. Friday marked just his second start with Tulsa since being added to the Drillers roster from Rancho Cucamonga, and he turned in a strong outing. The Virgin Islands native hurled seven innings and allowed just a single run while striking out four Naturals batters to earn his first Double-A win.

Tulsa was led at the plate by Lars Anderson, who went 3-4 with two doubles, and Shaun Zarraga who submitted a perfect 3-3 performance at the plate.

Ronald Torreyes got things going right off the bat as he led off the game with a base hit. He moved to third on a single off the bat of Peter Lavin and then came home to score on a sacrifice fly from Yadir Drake to give the Drillers an immediate 1-0 lead. The score would hold steady until the Drillers went back to work with their bats in the top of the fourth.

Anderson set the tone for the inning with a leadoff double. Jarek Cunningham then followed by lifting a pitch from Naturals' starter Christian Binford just over the right field fence for a two-run home run. But the Drillers were not done yet. Designated hitter Zarraga kept the inning rolling with a single and rumbled home two batters later when Ali Solis plated him with a two-out, RBI double.

Cunningham's fifth homer of the year was just the second home run of the year allowed by Binford. His blast, along with Solis' clutch double, stretched the Tulsa advantage to 4-0.

Northwest Arkansas finally broke through in the sixth inning against Cotton. Speedster Terrance Gore began the inning with a walk and proceeded to steal second for his 27th stolen base of the season. Gore attempted to score on a Bubba Starling single to right but Drake had other ideas, cutting Gore down at the plate with a strong throw home to keep the Naturals off the scoreboard. However, back-to-back singles from the Naturals allowed Starling to cross the plate with their first run of the night. Cotton stopped the scoring there though to maintain Tulsa's 4-1 lead.

The Drillers sealed the deal in the eighth as they added a final run to bring the score to its final tally of 5-1.

Relievers Jorge De Leon and Ralston Cash each turned in a scoreless inning of work over the final two innings to close out the game.

Jose De Leon (2-2, 4.24 ERA) heads to the mound for Tulsa on Saturday as the Drillers look to keep their winning streak rolling. He will be opposed by Luke Farrell (1-2, 5.18 ERA) for Northwest Arkansas. First pitch from Springdale is scheduled for 6:05PM.

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Texas League Stories from June 26, 2015


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