Big Night Capped By Another Comeback Win

Stop us if you have heard this one before. Thursday night, the Tulsa Drillers spotted their opponent an early lead, only to stage a late rally to claim a dramatic win. For the third night in a row, that was the script for the Drillers. 

This version saw the Northwest Arkansas Naturals jump out to a 3-0 lead before Tulsa rallied to tie the game. Jacob Scavuzzo took over from there. The Drillers designated hitter delivered a solo homer with one-out in the bottom of the ninth to give Tulsa a 4-3 victory.

It was the second straight walk-off win for the Drillers. Twenty-four hours earlier, Kyle Garlick dropped the Springfield Cardinals in the bottom of the tenth inning with a massive two-run homer that travelled an estimated 462 feet.   

It was his sixth homer of the season and capped a big 2-4 night for Scavuzzo who came into the game with only 1 hit in his last 25 at-bats. The walk-off blast was almost not necessary as he just missed hitting a home run in the fourth inning when he flied out to the left-center field wall.

The three straight come-from-behind wins have come at the beginning of the Texas League's second-half season, giving the Drillers a perfect 3-0 start.

Even before the walk-off win, it was a special night for the Drillers franchise as Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was honored during an on-field ceremony before the game. Rodriguez was in attendance as the team retired the number 8 jersey that he wore in 1991 as a 19-year-old catcher with the Drillers. 

His number 8 will go on permanent display at ONEOK Field, along with the other three numbers retired by the Drillers, on the fence beyond the right field wall.

After the retirement ceremony, Rodriguez posed for photographs with fans on the stadium concourse. The 1999 American League MVP was a 14-time All-Star and a 13-time Gold Glove winner during his major league career. He is expected to be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee when he becomes eligible next year which would make him the first Drillers player to receive induction.

Rodriguez would have enjoyed being behind the plate in Thursday's game as starting pitchers Lisalverto Bonilla and Matt Strahm posted zeroes through the first three innings before Northwest Arkansas centerfielder Bubba Starling broke up the shutout in the top of the fourth. Starling deposited an offering from Bonilla deep into the Budweiser Terrace beyond the left field fence for his fifth home run of the season.

Cam Gallagher followed the homer with a base hit, ending the night for Bonilla who was making his first start of the season. Logan Moon then greeted reliever Gus Schlosser with a double that put runners at second and third. After a ground out, Corey Toups delivered a big, two-out single that brought both Gallagher and Moon home to give the Naturals a 3-0 lead.

The Drillers got on the board in the fifth inning. Alex Verdugo led off with a base hit and moved to third on a one-out, ground-rule double by Cody Bellinger. A sacrifice fly by Shawn Zarraga plated Verdugo to make it 3-1.

Tulsa pulled even in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to Bellinger. Strahm retired the first two batters of the inning before Garlick, last night's hero, doubled. Bellinger followed with a drive into the right field bullpen for his eighth home run of the season that tied the game at 3-3.

Bonilla was making his Drillers debut with the start. He missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but was 3-0 in five appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2014. This season, the right-hander was 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in 18 relief appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City. 

Bonilla worked 3.1 innings against the Naturals and was charged with two runs on six hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out three.

Relievers Gus Schlosser, Scott Griggs and Ralston Cash made sure the comeback performance was possible with a near-perfect performance over the final innings. The trio combined to retire 16 of the final 17 Naturals' hitters. The only base runner came in the seventh inning when Carlos Garcia reached on an error.  

Cash, who retired all six batters he faced, picked up the win to improve his record to 5-2.

The Drillers will look to extend their winning streak Friday night with the second game of their four-game series with Northwest Arkansas. Tim Shibuya (0-3, 3.03 ERA) will pitch for the Drillers against Eric Skoglund (3-5, 3.84 ERA) of the Naturals. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05PM in downtown Tulsa.