Traveler Baseball Weekly Notebook
Published on July 31, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release
The Arkansas Travelers broke even on a six-game homestand last week, alternating wins and losses over four-game series with the Tulsa Drillers and then splitting two games with the Springfield Cardinals before the rubber game was postponed Thursday. The Travs continue division play Friday with four more games against Tulsa, the end of a stretch where Arkansas plays 12 of 18 games against the Drillers.
The Travelers played their best game by far of the homestand against the Cardinals on Tuesday, when lefthanded ace Trevor Reckling threw seven one-hit innings against Springfield, while the Arkansas offense got a first-inning grand slam by cleanup hitter Mark Trumbo and cruised to an 8-0 victory. Chris Gutierrez also homered in the game, while Cardinal starter Nick Additon struggled in his Double-A debut with nine walks and seven runs allowed in 3.2 innings. The Travs scored eight runs on just six hits.
Reckling was relieved by David Herndon, who set down the Cards in order in the eighth inning. Herndon has excelled in the set-up role with a 1.20 ERA in the eighth inning. Fernando Rodriguez worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to complete the Travs' one-hit shutout. Arkansas could not carry the momentum over to Wednesday, losing the game 9-0 and starting pitcher Mike Anton to a hamstring strain. It has been a tough July for the Traveler rotation, losing Jordan Walden (forearm) to injury and seeing the team ERA balloon to 5.42 for the month, after no worse than 3.90 in any of the previous three months.
The middle of the Arkansas batting order has picked up the production as of late, as Trumbo is batting .300 in his last ten games with three home runs and 13 RBIs. Hank Conger is 7-for-17 (.412) during his current five-game hitting streak. Gutierrez started hot and has stayed hot since signing with the Travs in early July, batting .310 with a .425 on-base percentage and four extra-base hits in 21 games. Arkansas will need to generate offense against Tulsa pitching to win in the upcoming series, as the Drillers have held the Travelers to a .225 batting average and 3.2 runs per game this year. Arkansas is 8-16 against its North Division rival. After four games at Tulsa, the Travs will go to Springfield for a three-game series before returning to North Little Rock to host the Northwest Naturals for four games.
The Travelers (11-21, 39-63) currently sit 9.5 games behind the first-place Naturals (21-12, 57-46) with 38 games left to play this season. Tulsa (20-13, 58-45), who has the best overall record in the Texas League, is a game back of Northwest Arkansas while the first-half division winner, Springfield (14-18, 52-50), has struggled since the All-Star break.
Texas League Stories from July 31, 2009
- Cards Rally for 5-3 Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Former Hook Stymies Corpus Christi - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Defensive Miscues Cost Naturals - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Travs Run Away From Tulsa Early - Arkansas Travelers
- 9-Run First Rocks Drillers - Tulsa Drillers
- Series Preview: Struggling Cards depleted by recent moves - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Lots of promotions set stage for Naturals homestand - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Traveler Baseball Weekly Notebook - Arkansas Travelers
- Wipke to Salt Lake, Anton Placed on DL, Walker, Torres Called Up - Arkansas Travelers
- Back On Track - Midland RockHounds
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