Frisco Blanks Drillers in Series Opener
July 23, 2024 - Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
FRISCO, TX - Base hits were tough to come by for the Tulsa Drillers Tuesday night in the opening game of a six-game series in Frisco against the RoughRiders. The Drillers were limited to just five hits, four of them singles, and were shut out for the eighth time this season in a 5-0 loss at Riders Field.
The defeat, combined with Springfield's win over Corpus Christi, dropped the Drillers 1.5 games behind the first-place Cardinals. Tulsa and Springfield are scheduled to meet next week at ONEOK Field.
Tuesday's series opener was scoreless through the first two innings before the RoughRiders were handed a two-run lead in the bottom of the third without needing a hit. Tulsa starting pitcher Kendall Williams retired the first seven Frisco batters in the game before control issues struck. After getting a ground out to open the third, Williams walked three straight hitters. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch plated the first run of the game and a sacrifice fly brought home another.
The only other damage against Williams came on a solo homer from Cooper Johnson leading of the fifth inning.
The RoughRiders added a pair of insurance runs against reliever Ronan Kopp in the top of the eighth when Max Acosta and Josh Hatcher hit back-to-back home runs, upping the score to 5-0.
Jose Ramos accounted for 40 percent of the Drillers five hits, finishing 2-4.
The win for the RoughRiders improved their record to 57-34, the best mark in the Texas League.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The score was not the only bad news for the Drillers. Catcher Dalton Rushing, who recently returned to the lineup after missing nearly two weeks with a broken toe, had to leave the game in the third inning after getting hit by foul tip.
*Williams worked the first five innings, giving up three runs, and was charged with the loss to drop his season record to 4-9. He now has a 3.32 ERA in his four wins and an 11.15 ERA in his nine losses.
*Christian Suarez and Michael Hobbs each worked a scoreless inning in relief of Williams.
*After allowing the consecutive homers to open the bottom of the eighth, Kopp ended the inning by striking out the next three hitters.
*After four games of their current road trip, the Drillers have been held to a combined 4 runs and 15 hits. Their lone win on the trip was a 2-0 victory over Northwest Arkansas.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and RoughRiders will play the second game of their six-game series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday evening. The pitching matchup at Riders Field is expected to be:
Tulsa - RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (4-5, 5.31 ERA)
Frisco - RHP Dane Acker (3-4, 3.88 ERA)
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