Offensive Outburst Keys Tulsa Victory
Published on May 2, 2012 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
After dropping a game to the Arkansas Travelers on Tuesday night with just four total hits, the Drillers offense was due for a bounce back effort. The Tulsa hitters responded in a big way with an 8-7 win on Wednesday afternoon at North Little Rock's Dickey-Stephens Park. Six Drillers had two hits as they scored their most runs in a game since April 13 when they plated nine in a win over San Antonio.
Josh Rutledge opened the run parade with his third lead-off homerun of the season and his fourth overall. Rutledge is almost halfway to his total of nine home runs that he hit all of last season in Modesto.
Tulsa struck again in the top of the fourth inning after Kent Matthes got things rolling with a one-out single. A balk by Travs starting pitcher and former Driller Greg Smith advanced Matthes to second base with two outs. Hot-hitting Mike Zuanich made the balk hurt when he doubled to left and brought in Matthes. This provoked Arkansas pitching coach Trevor Wilson to argue the earlier balk call with 1st base umpire Justin Sassaman, leading to Wilson's ejection from the game.
Back-to-back hits from Jose Gonzalez and Angelys Nina brought in two more runs to increase the Drillers lead to 4-0 after the top of the fourth.
Initially, those four runs looked like they might be enough for Tulsa starter Joe Gardner who breezed through the first three innings with six strikeouts. However, the wheels fell off in the bottom of the fourth for the right-hander.
The Travs rally began with a single by Renny Osuna. Osuna came around to score on a Matt Long double to centerfield in the very next at-bat to ruin the shutout.
Casey Haerther followed with a single that extended his Texas League best hitting streak to 14 games. The next batter hit a slow roller to Nolan Arenado at third who elected to throw home and try to put out Long at the plate, but a great hook slide allowed him to score and cut the Drillers lead to 4-2.
After an Adam Heether line out, Darwin Perez drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Gardner worked a full count to Alberto Rosario and then plunked him with the payoff pitch to bring in the third Arkansas run. The hit batsman ended Gardner's day as reliever Cory Riordan stepped in to try to limit further damage.
Riordan was able to retire the first batter that he faced, but it still produced the tying run, as Rian Kiniry sent a sacrifice fly out to Zuanich in left field that scored the fourth run of the inning.
Jean Sigura capped the big inning when he put the Travelers in front by singling in a fifth run.
Arkansas extended its lead in the fifth with a solo home run off the bat of Roberto Lopez, making the score 6-4.
The Drillers have shown the ability to come from behind to win games all season, and they started another comeback by erasing the two-run deficit with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.
Zuanich belted his second homer in three games to lead off the inning for the Drillers. Nina walked and Mike Mitchell singled to give Tulsa a pair of base runners with two outs. Arenado came to the plate and came through in the clutch by delivering an RBI single to center. Mitchell was thrown out at the plate attempting to take the lead after Nina tied the score.
The score remained tied up until the top of the eighth when Zuanich again started a rally. The outfielder drew a walk from reliever Matt Oye to give the Drillers a base runner. Gonzalez took advantage of the opportunity to be a hero and doubled to center, scoring Zuanich from first. Just as he had accounted for the first Tulsa run, Rutledge doubled to bring home the last Drillers run and increased the lead to 8-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth.
The Travs threatened in both the eighth and ninth innings off of relievers Josh Sullivan and Will Harris. Sullivan surrendered a run in the eighth after throwing a wild pitch with two men on base.
The lead was one run when Harris took over for a rare save opportunity. He too allowed two base runners but managed to produce a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and preserve the victory.
The win marked the ninth time this season that the Drillers have battled back for a comeback victory. Coty Woods earned his 2nd win of the season with a scoreless inning of relief. He is now 2-0 and has not allowed a run in twelve innings of work.
Tulsa will try to start another winning streak on Thursday night in North Little Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM and will feature Edwar Cabrera (3-1, 1.64 ERA) for the Drillers and A.J. Schugel (0-3, 4.10 ERA) for the Travelers.
Texas League Stories from May 2, 2012
- Drillers Win See Saw Wednesday Affair - Arkansas Travelers
- Offensive Outburst Keys Tulsa Victory - Tulsa Drillers
- Cardinals Outduel Naturals - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Cardinals Edge Naturals 2-1 - Springfield Cardinals
- Grimm Wins Fifth Game, 'Riders Sneak By San Antonio 2-1 - Frisco RoughRiders
- Frisco Tops San Antonio 2-1 - San Antonio Missions
- Drillers Win Streak Ends with Last Night's Loss - Tulsa Drillers
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