Matthes Powers Drillers Victory
Published on April 28, 2012 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Kent Matthes entered Saturday night's game without a hit in his last 20 at-bats, but the Tulsa right fielder broke out of his slump in a big way. Matthes hit a pair of home runs to lead the Drillers to a 3-2 victory over Springfield before a second straight sellout crowd at ONEOK Field.
It was more than enough offensive production for starting pitcher Edwar Cabrera who turned in his usual solid performance.
The win was the 16th for the Drillers, matching the franchise's all-time victory total for the month of April that was originally set by the 1989 club. That team finished April with a 16-8 mark and was led by future major league stars Sammy Sosa, Juan Gonzalez and Dean Palmer. The Drillers have two more games remaining this month to establish a new victory total.
Matthes, who was named the California League MVP last season after hitting 23 home runs, picked a good time to break out of his slump as the Drillers were held to only five hits in Saturday's game. He entered the contest with a .182 average and two home runs.
He said his big night had some similarities to a breakout last season.
"My parents got here today," Matthes said. "A similar thing happened last year when they visited, and I went on a long hitting streak."
The first home run from Matthes put the Drillers in front in the bottom of the second inning. Kiel Roling led off the inning by grounding a single into left field. The right fielder followed with a sharp liner that just cleared the fence in left field to give Tulsa a 2-0 lead.
"It was a changeup that was down and in," he said. "I didn't know if it was high enough to get over, so I just took off."
Matthes struck again in the fourth with a towering fly ball that landed at the top of the terrace section in left field.
"It was a breaking ball," he said. "I thought it had enough to get out."
Both home runs came off lefthander John Gast who is considered one of the top pitching prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals system. The big game was a good reward for Matthes who hit only .203 in April last season before exploding for his MVP season.
"I have been working really hard, and I am just trying to have quality at-bats," he said. "I hope this game breaks me out of my funk."
Cabrera held the 3-0 lead that Matthes produced through the game's first seven innings, but the Redbirds finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs off reliever Mike Marbry in the top of the eighth. Marbry escaped further damage by striking out Rainel Rosario with runners at first and third to end the inning.
In the ninth, Niko Vasquez singled with two outs off Coty Woods, but the Tulsa right-hander retired pinch-hitter Greg Garcia on a called third strike to end the game. Woods is now perfect in four save opportunities this season.
Cabrera allowed only two hits and no walks in seven shutout innings while striking out seven. The outing improved his record to 3-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.64. For the season, Cabrera has now struck out 29 batters and walked only 3 in 33 innings pitched.
The Drillers and Cardinals will play the third game of their series Sunday afternoon at ONEOK Field. Dan Houston (2-2, 4.13 ERA) will make the start for Tulsa against Trevor Rosenthal (1-2, 3.54 ERA) of Springfield. Game time is scheduled for 2:05PM.
Texas League Stories from April 28, 2012
- Travs Continue Slide on the Road - Arkansas Travelers
- Matthes Powers Drillers Victory - Tulsa Drillers
- Naturals Win Sixth Straight to Even Record - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Cardinals' Comeback Falls Short, Lose 3-2 - Springfield Cardinals
- Game Notes, April 28 at Frisco - Corpus Christi Hooks
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