Pitching Dominates as Drillers Split Doubleheader
Published on May 18, 2016 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
The Tulsa Drillers and Springfield Cardinals played a twin bill Wednesday at Hammons Field as the two clubs made up for their series opener that was rained out Monday night. The two seven-inning contests ended up being remarkably similar as the Drillers claimed the first game of the day by a score of 3-0, while the Cardinals took the nightcap by the same score of 3-0.
Both games moved along at a brisk pace as the first game took 1 hour and 43 minutes, while the second game lasted a nearly identical 1 hour and 40 minutes.
With the split, the Drillers fell to 17-21 on the season. The first-place Cardinals improved to 22-17.
The first game of the doubleheader set the tone for the rest of the evening as pitching would dominate the storyline.
Game 1
Tulsa starter Chase De Jong and Springfield starter Trey Nielsen began the matinee contest by matching each other pitch for pitch. Both starting pitchers faced the minimum over the first four innings with Nielsen's only blemish being a walk to Brandon Trinkwon in the bottom of the third.
But after Trinkwon moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, Nielsen erased the threat by getting a line drive double play off the bat of Drew Maggi. The line drive went straight to Springfield second baseman Bruce Caldwell who snagged the ball en route to second base to double Trinkwon off the bag for an inning-ending double play.
Things remained quiet until the fifth inning when the Drillers finally broke through against Nielsen.
Alex Verdugo began the top half of the frame with a line drive single to left for Tulsa's first hit of the day. With Paul Hoenecke at the plate two batters later, Verdugo moved into scoring position when Nielsen uncorked a wild pitch. Hoenecke made him pay as he grounded a base hit through the right side to score Verdugo and put the Drillers in front 1-0.
The Cardinals threatened in the bottom half of the inning, putting their first two men on base of the game thanks to a walk and a base hit. But De Jong neutralized the rally by retiring C.J. McElroy on a groundout to end the frame and preserve the Tulsa lead.
Following a quick sixth inning that produced no scoring chances, Springfield brought in Ronnie Shaban to start the seventh inning. That move thrilled the Tulsa batters as Verdugo and Cody Bellinger gave the Drillers some breathing room with back-to-back solo shots.
It was the sixth homer of the year for Verdugo and the second for Bellinger, as the blasts put Tulsa on top 3-0. It was also the second time this season that the Drillers have launched back-to-back homers.
The runs were certainly appreciated, but De Jong made sure they would not be needed as he finished off his best performance as a Driller. After allowing the first two men of the inning to reach via a single and a walk, De Jong buckled down with the tying run at the plate by retiring the next three batters to secure the Tulsa win.
De Jong turned in the first complete game by a Drillers pitcher this season as he tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits, while striking out seven Cardinals to earn his third victory of the year.
Game 2
In the second game of the doubleheader, strong pitching once again led the way as Tim Shibuya and Kurt Heyer turned in outstanding spot starts for their respective clubs.
Shibuya ended up taking the tough luck loss for the Drillers in the nightcap, despite turning in a shining performance. After coming out of the bullpen in each of his four appearances to begin the season, Shibuya hurled a season-high five innings of one-run ball, while throwing 48 of his 63 pitches for strikes.
His lone lapse of the game came in the first inning as Springfield ensured it would not be shut out for the second straight game. Back-to-back, one-out doubles by Alex Mejia and Paul DeJong gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Springfield was able to hold the lead thanks to Heyer's perfect performance as the former starter did not allow a single Tulsa baserunner during his five frames of work.
The Drillers had their best chance of the evening in the sixth inning, facing reliever Chris Perry who had come on in relief of Heyer. Lars Anderson led off the inning with a double into the right field corner and moved to third on a wild pitch to put the potential tying run just 90 feet away.
But Perry stranded him right there as the reliever managed to wiggle his way out of the jam. After retiring Tyler Ogle and Devan Ahart for the first two outs of the frame, Perry issued a two-out walk to Trinkwon. That would actually prove to be his escape as Trinkwon was thrown out at second several pitches later when he tried to advance on a ball in the dirt to end the inning and keep Springfield in the lead 1-0.
The Cardinals then followed the Drillers example from the first game as they added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning off reliever Seth Frankoff to extend their lead to 3-0.
That would be enough for the home club as the Drillers would not be able to push any runs across in the final inning of the twin bill against closer Josh Lucas.
Notes of Interest: Big leaguer Alex Guerrero played left field for Tulsa in the first game of the doubleheader as he continued a rehab assignment for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The outfielder went 0-3 in his first game with Tulsa after spending a week in Rancho Cucamonga.
Manager Ryan Garko returned to the dugout for Tulsa after missing the last two games attending to a personal matter.
The Drillers and Cardinals will conclude their four-game set Thursday night. Getting the start in the series finale for Tulsa will be RHP Scott Barlow (2-1, 2.21 ERA) while Springfield will send out RHP Andrew Morales (3-2, 2.76 ERA.) First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM in Springfield.
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