TL Tulsa Drillers

Travelers Defeat Drillers to Closeout Road Trip

Published on August 28, 2022 under Texas League (TL)
Tulsa Drillers News Release


NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - Strong base running and pitching helped the Arkansas Travelers defeat the Tulsa Drillers 7-2 Sunday afternoon at Dickey-Stephans Park. The defeat left the Drillers with just two wins on their 12-game road trip.

The Travelers stole three of their five bases in the second inning and needed only one hit to score four runs.

The Drillers cut the score in half with runs in the third and fourth innings by Justin Yurchak and Abiatal Avelino, but they were shut out for the remainder of the game, while the Travelers added three more runs to pad their lead.

The Travelers capitalized on crucial mistakes by the Drillers in that second inning to score their first four runs. They collected three walks, three stolen bases, and a hit-by-pitch.

The Drillers plated their first run in the third inning after a double from Ryan Ward sent home Avelino, who reached base earlier in the inning on a fielding error by the Travelers.

Lael Lockhart relieved Kyle Hurt in the bottom of the third inning, taking the mound for the Drillers for the tenth time this season. He began impressively as he retired the first nine batters he faced and allowed only a single run on two hits in four innings pitched.

In the fourth inning, the Drillers cut the Arkansas lead in half with their second run on a sacrifice fly by Kody Hoese that plated Yurchak.

The Travelers added a run in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh to extend their lead to 7-2.

After Avelino and Jeren Kendall were walked and Ward was hit-by-pitch in the eighth inning, the Drillers were threatening with the bases loaded and no outs. However, after the Travelers went to the bullpen for help, all three Tulsa runners were stranded after a pop-up and back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.

TEXAS LEAGUE STANDINGS * TEXAS LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:

*Yurchak extended his hitting streak to eight games and has now hit safely in 19 of his last 21 appearances for the Drillers. He has also reached base in 12 straight games.

*Yurchak, Ward, Buddy Reed and Ryan January were the only Drillers to earn hits in the game, getting one each

*Hurt's loss today makes his record 5-5 (.500) for the season. He pitched two complete innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on one hit, and had four walks, a strikeout, and a wild pitch. Double-A runners have successfully stolen nine bases on Hurt after he gave up three in today's outing.

*Lockhart finished the day allowing one earned run on a pair of hits, two strikeouts, and a balk in four innings. He sat down the first nine batters he faced.

*Tulsa allowed five stolen bases in the game.

*The Drillers were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base, while the Travelers were 4-for-12 and left only five runners on base.

*Tulsa finished their two-week road trip with a 2-10 record.

UP NEXT:

The Drillers return home to ONEOK Field on Tuesday to face the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in their next-to-last home stand of the season. Starting time for game one of the six-game series is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the pitching matchup has not yet been determined.

Check out the Tulsa Drillers Statistics

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Texas League Stories from August 28, 2022


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