TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Dwyer, Naturals Manhandle Drillers

Published on July 26, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR - Chris Dwyer dominated over eight strong innings to win his second consecutive start and Salvador Perez hit a grand slam during a seven-run third as the Naturals pounded the Tulsa Drillers 10-1 Tuesday night at Arvest Ballpark in the opener of a three-game series.

The onslaught began with a three-run first inning run against Drillers' starter Christian Friedrich (6-7). All three runs scored with two outs. With one out, Jeff Bianchi singled and Wil Myers walked. After Jamie Romak flied out, Nick Francis plated both runners with a double to the wall in left field. A run-scoring single from Anthony Seratelli made it 3-0.

Northwest Arkansas (17-14, 52-46) resumed the onslaught in the third. A base hit by Jeff Bianchi and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out. Seratelli brought home the first run with an infield hit that was deflected by Friedrich. Salvador Perez then cleared the bases with a grand slam home run, his ninth homer on the season, which gave the Naturals an eight-run cushion. Perez now has tallied 15 RBI's in his past four games played.

Ray Navarro made it consecutive homers and ended Friedrich's night. Sean Jarrett relieved for Tulsa (15-16, 48-53) and surrendered an unearned run on a sacrifice fly by Derrick Robinson that brought the Naturals' lead to 10-0.

But the story of the night was Dwyer (4-9), who set down the first nine in a row before surrendering the only run he'd allow in the game along with two of the three hits in the fourth inning. Tim Wheeler led off with a base hit and moved to third on a double from Tommy Field. Wheeler scored when shortstop Jeff Bianchi mishandled a grounder off the bat of Ben Paulsen.

Other than that, Dwyer was dominating in what easily was his best Double-A start. He went eight strong innings, allowing three runs and just one walk. He also fanned nine Tulsa batters and threw 61 strikes among his 96 pitches. Kelvin Herrera finished with a scoreless inning, working around one hit.

The middle game of the series pits the Naturals' Jake Odorizzi (2-0, 4.76) against Tulsa right-hander Rob Scahill (8-7, 4.31). Odorizzi pitched into the seventh inning in winning the opening game of the homestand, while Scahill has allowed six runs in each of his last two starts against the Naturals. Game time is 7 P.M, and the broadcast can be heard on ESPN 92.1 The Ticket. It can also be viewed on the internet on milb.tv (subscription required).

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 26, 2011


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