Tulsa Ends Road Trip with Series Win
August 5, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
After a tough start to their road trip in Arkansas, the Drillers came into Wednesday's game looking for a positive outcome to head home on. They got their wish as Jeremy Kehrt fired seven strong innings while the Tulsa offense provided plenty of run support in a 6-2 victory over the Springfield Cardinals.
With the win, Tulsa claimed the series by winning the final two games of the three-game set. Although the Drillers have split several road series over the last month, it was the first road series win for the club since they swept a four-game set from the Cardinals back on June 24. The Drillers have seemed to enjoy visiting Hammons Field as the win pushed their 2015 record to 10-5 when playing at the Springfield ballpark.
Peter Lavin wasted little time putting the Drillers on top as he blasted a solo home run with one out in the first inning to give Tulsa a quick lead. The homer was Lavin's 9th of the year.
The Drillers added to their advantage the very next inning. Brian Burgamy led off the second with a single before advancing to second on a wild pitch from Springfield starter Arturo Reyes. He would quickly come around to score when Brandon Trinkwon grounded a single into center field off the glove of the diving Cardinal shortstop Breyvic Valera. Trinkwon would eventually score himself on a groundout from Yadir Drake to put Tulsa on top by a score of 3-0.
Springfield got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning. With runners on second and third with one out, David Washington brought Bruce Caldwell home with a sac fly to right to bring the Cardinals to within 3-1. But Kehrt did not let the second runner score as he retired Valera to hold Springfield at bay.
That was the last run the Cardinals would score off Kehrt as the Tulsa starter turned in one of his best outings of the year. One of four Texas League All-Stars selected off the Drillers back in June, Kehrt looked the part Wednesday night. Kehrt pitched seven strong innings, scattering five hits while only allowing the lone run on six strikeouts.
His counterpart for Springfield, Reyes, had a solid outing himself. The right-hander tossed 6.2 innings as he gave up three runs, two earned. But thanks to Kehrt's dominant performance, it would not be enough to avoid the loss.
Just like Tuesday night, the Tulsa offense put the game away late, this time with a run in the eighth and two in the ninth. And once again, Robbie Garvey had an impact coming off the bench.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have made it known that they want to develop a pinch-running specialist. Garvey was selected for the task out of a group of five Dodger farmhands and has been promoted to the Drillers for that exclusive purpose.
Burgamy led off the eighth with a base hit before giving way to Garvey. But before Garvey could even try for a stolen base attempt, Trinkwon hit a grounder to second base. Due to Garvey's speed, the Springfield second baseman settled for the out at first, giving the Drillers a man in scoring position. That proved beneficial for Tulsa when Cuban prospect Erisbel Arruebarrena roped a clutch two-out double down the third base line to score Garvey.
Lars Anderson padded the Driller lead in the ninth with a 2-RBI single to make the score 6-1.
The Cardinals scored a final run in the ninth inning courtesy of a solo homer off the bat of Caldwell to bring the score to its final tally of 6-2.
Relievers Juan Jaime and Ralston Cash pitched the final two innings for the Drillers while Tulsa catcher Kyle Farmer also extended his personal hitting streak to 10 games with a base hit in the third.
The Drillers return home Thursday to begin a four-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Making his first appearance for Tulsa since being placed on the disabled list on July 16 will be Jose De Leon (2-4, 4.15 ERA.) He will be opposed by Christian Binford (4-5, 4.74 ERA) for Northwest Arkansas. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05PM.
Texas League Stories from August 5, 2015
- Tulsa Tops Cardinals, 6-2, on Wednesday Night - Springfield Cardinals
- Travs Commit Four Errors in 6-2 Loss - Arkansas Travelers
- San Antonio Swept at Home for First Time Since 2010 - San Antonio Missions
- Hooks Sweep Missions - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Tulsa Ends Road Trip with Series Win - Tulsa Drillers
- Riders Late Charge Falls Short in Series Finale - Frisco RoughRiders
- Homers Power Naturals Past Travs in Series Finale - Northwest Arkansas Naturals
- Riders August 6-9 Homestand Jam-Packed with Promotions - Frisco RoughRiders
- Drillers Return to Tulsa August 6-9 - Tulsa Drillers
- Hooks Roll for Win No. 70 - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Drillers Even Series with Tuesday Night Win - Springfield Cardinals
- Frankenstein 8, Babe Ruth 5 - Midland RockHounds
- Drillers Clobber Springfield in 9-4 Win - Tulsa Drillers
- Hernandez 4-For-4 as Travs Remain Red Hot - Arkansas Travelers
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.
