TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Durden Tops Beavan & Frisco

Published on June 6, 2010 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


Blake Beavan has been the most effective pitcher in the Texas League this season, winning eight times before the first of June. In 11 starts for Frisco this year, the 2008 first-round pick of the Texas Rangers has issued only nine walks and allowed only a .210 average to TL batters.

With Beavan on the mound Sunday afternoon at ONEOK Field, the Tulsa Drillers knew they would need a big performance and they got it from Brandon Durden. Durden out-dueled Beavan, allowing only two hits in eight brilliant innings while retiring the final 20 hitters he faced. The result was a 4-1 win for the Drillers over the RoughRiders.

The only base runners against Durden came during the first two innings. He allowed a one-out double in the first to Matt Lawson and another in the second to catcher Elio Sarmiento.

The double by Sarmiento followed a walk to Marcus Lemon and put runners at second and third with one out. Sarmiento would represent the final base runner against Durden as he escaped the jam by retiring the next two hitters. The pair of outs began the stretch in which he retired 20 straight hitters.

He departed after the eighth inning, turning things over to Scott Rice. Rice survived a shaky ninth-inning to close out the win that took only 2 hours and 4 minutes to complete.

The Drillers provided Durden with the only offense he needed in a three-run third inning against Beavan that began with a leadoff single from Jason Van Kooten. Anthony Jackson moved Van Kooten to second with a sacrifice bunt, and Charlie Blackmon brought him home with a double down the left field line. After Scott Beerer flied out, Bronson Sardinha doubled home Blackmon. Daniel Mayora competed the inning with a run-scoring single that gave the Drillers a 3-0 lead.

Bronson Sardinha added a final run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to centerfield.

The Drillers will conclude their series with the RoughRiders on Monday night. Bruce Billings (4-3, 2.95 ERA) will take the mound for the Drillers and will face off against Frisco's Tanner Roark (5-2, 4.38 ERA). Billings has not allowed a run since May 3, a streak of 31 1/3 scoreless frames. He is only 6 1/3 innings from tying the all-time Tulsa scoreless streak of 37 2/3 innings set by Jim Blackburn in 1950.

First pitch in Monday's homestand finale for the Drillers is scheduled for 7:05PM at ONEOK Field.

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Texas League Stories from June 6, 2010


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