Riders Spoil De Leon's Debut Before Record Crowd
Published on June 5, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Highly touted pitching prospect Jose De Leon made an impressive ONEOK Field debut for the Tulsa Drillers Friday night, but he still was tagged for a loss. De Leon surrendered only four hits, but two of them left the park, helping the Frisco RoughRiders defeat De Leon and the Drillers 4-1. A ONEOK Field record crowd of 8,748 watched the action, the largest attendance to ever view a Drillers game at the downtown stadium.
De Leon was making his third start for Tulsa, but his first at home. The 22-year-old right-hander opened the season in Single A, going 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA. In his first two starts in Double A, he was 0-1 despite compiling a 2.77 ERA.
In Friday's outing, one of De Leon's two mistakes came in the very first inning. With two outs and the bases empty, Nick Williams singled. Designated hitter Nomar Mazara followed with his fourth home run of the season to give the Riders a quick 2-0 lead.
De Leon followed with five scoreless frames before another long ball in the seventh inning. Drew Robinson blasted a drive down the right field line that landed on Elgin Avenue. The solo homer was Robinson's 10th of the year and gave the RoughRiders a three-run cushion.
The lead increased to 4-0 in the eighth when Jake Skole singled off Juan Gonzalez and eventually scored on a balk. It was the first run that the reliever had surrendered with the Drillers this season.
Frisco lefthander Andrew Faulker blanked the Drillers on only three hits through the first seven innings.
Tulsa's lone run came in the bottom of the eighth. Jarek Cunningham drew a leadoff walk from reliever Will Lamb and moved to third on a double by Brandon Dixon. Cunningham came home on a sacrifice fly from catcher Ali Solis.
Josh McElwee worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the victory for the Riders.
De Leon worked seven innings, matching his longest outing of the season. He surrendered only four hits and was charged with three runs. He walked two batters and struck out six.
In his second professional game, Hector Olivera was 0-3 with three strikeouts for the Drillers.
The loss was the sixth straight for Tulsa, a season high.
The Drillers and RoughRiders will meet again Saturday night at ONEOK Field. Big league veteran Eric Stults will make his Tulsa debut on the mound for the Drillers. Stults began the season in the starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves and recently signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Frisco will counter with Jake Thompson (5-3, 4.10 ERA). First pitch is slated for 7:05PM.
Texas League Stories from June 5, 2015
- Offense Delivers Again as Missions Take Series - San Antonio Missions
- Hazelbaker and Cardinals Drill RockHounds, 6-2 - Springfield Cardinals
- Riders Spoil De Leon's Debut Before Record Crowd - Tulsa Drillers
- Missions stun Naturals on Jones' walk-off in ninth - San Antonio Missions
- Travelers Take Series Opener - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Early Offense Not Enough as Missions Rally Late in 8-7 Loss - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Mazara, Robinson Go Yard as Riders Roll - Frisco RoughRiders
- RoughRiders' Recent Community Initiatives Achieve Tremendous Success - Frisco RoughRiders
- Arkansas Travelers Game to be Televised on American Sports Network Locally - Arkansas Travelers
- Just Doing a Little Sweeping at Midnight - Midland RockHounds
- Drillers Lose in Extra Innings in Olivera's Debut - Tulsa Drillers
- Missions' Bats Stay Hot in Win over Travs - Arkansas Travelers
- Evans Blast Downs Hooks - Corpus Christi Hooks
- RoughRiders Avoid Sweep with Hard-Fought 8-7 Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Adams' Big Night Powers Riders to Victory - Frisco RoughRiders
- San Antonio Takes Series as Offense Stays Hot - San Antonio Missions
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.
