TL1 Tulsa Drillers

Kowar and Naturals Blank Drillers

Published on August 3, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


TULSA - The first two games of the series between the Tulsa Drillers and Northwest Arkansas Naturals featured spectacular pitching performances by Tulsa pitchers that kept the Naturals bats at bay. On Saturday night, the Naturals turned things around on the Drillers, blanking Tulsa 8-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 7,926 at ONEOK Field.

Northwest Arkansas sent the Kansas City Royals fifth-best minor league prospect to the mound in Jackson Kowar, and he lived up to the hype. Jackson limited the Drillers to just four singles and struck out six over eight scoreless innings.

After Michael Boyle pitched a scoreless first inning in the role of an opener, Justin De Fratus entered the game in the second to assume pitching duties for the bulk of the game. De Fratus was very good in his first three innings, striking out three and allowing only one base runner.

Things quickly changed in a five-run top of the fifth for Northwest Arkansas. After Emmanuel Rivera doubled to start the inning, Taylor Featherston hit a catchable fly ball to right field. Carlos Rincon failed to break on the ball while Omar Estevez raced out from second base in an attempt to make the play, but came up short. On the very next pitch, Anderson Miller hit a long home run to right field and onto Elgin Avenue to put the Naturals in front 3-0.

The inning continued, and after De Fratus recorded a strikeout, a single and a double put runners at second and third for the Naturals. Kevin Merrell followed a single to right field that snuck under the glove of Rincon, and getting past the right fielder. Both runs scored as a result to give Northwest Arkansas a 5-0 lead.

Yordy Cabrera replaced De Fratus in the eighth and tossed a scoreless frame before getting into trouble in the ninth. Cabrera issued a double, hit a batter and allowed a run-scoring single to Dairon Blanco, stretching the Naturals lead to 6-0, and spelling the end of Cabrera's night.

Logan Salow was called upon to get the final outs the game, but uncorked a wild pitch and issued a walk right out of the gate. Khalil Lee then capped the big night for Northwest Arkansas, giving the Naturals an 8-0 lead with a two-RBI single.

The Drillers were set down in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

WHAT YOU MISSED

*Jedd Gyorko got the start at third base for the Drillers as a part of his rehabilitation assignment from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gyorko is currently on the Dodgers 60-Day IL recovering from wrist surgery and a lower back strain. The utility infielder was acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 31, and has spent seven seasons in the major leagues. Gyorko was 1-2 with a single on Saturday night.

*The Drillers announced a series of roster moves prior to Saturday's game. Infielder Zach McKinstry and pitcher Rob Zastryzny were each promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, infielder Chris Parmelee was activated off the injured list and pitcher Luis Vazquez returned to Tulsa from OKC. McKinstry played in 135 games with the Drillers from 2017-19 and was apart of the championship-winning team last season.

*Rain in downtown Tulsa caused the game to be delayed 33 minutes.

*Saturday was the tenth sellout crowd of the season for the Drillers at ONEOK Field.

UP NEXT: Northwest Arkansas at Tulsa, Sunday, August 4, 7:05 PM at ONEOK Field. RHP Brady Singer (3-2, 4.17 ERA) vs. RHP JoJo Gray (1-2, 1.56 ERA).

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Texas League Stories from August 3, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central