Tulsa Splits Doubleheader in Arkansas on Poignant Night
Playing a scheduled doubleheader Friday night to make up their game that was rained out last week in Little Rock, the Tulsa Drillers and Arkansas Travelers began a long night of baseball with a blowout 9-1 Tulsa win in game one before Arkansas recovered to win a tight 4-2 contest in the nightcap at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Drillers came into the day with a Texas League-best 8-2 record when playing in a twin-bill this season, and they looked the part in the opening game as the squad clicked on all cylinders to lead to the big win to start the night.
But the Travelers bounced back in the nightcap, while surviving a late Drillers comeback attempt, as they pulled out a split of the doubleheader with their 4-2 triumph in the second game.
GAME 1
Starting pitcher Chase De Jong and the Drillers offense dominated the Travelers in the opening game of the doubleheader.
De Jong came into the game leading the Texas League in ERA (2.68) and wins (9) and did nothing but improve those numbers with his performance. But first, his offense did some heavy lifting at the plate.
The Drillers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an Alex Verdugo RBI double that scored Cody Bellinger from second and they never looked back.
Following a scoreless second inning, the Drillers scored twice in the third and four times in the fourth to go along with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to account for their nine runs in the contest.
Willie Calhoun led the Drillers at the plate as he finished the first game 3-5 with a home run and 3 RBI. His 3 RBIs gave him a Texas League-leading 65 RBI this season while his 21st homer of the year helped him inch closer for the top spot on the Texas League home run leader board.
Kyle Garlick also went 3-5 while Tim Locastro, Jacob Scavuzzo and Vin DiFazio all finished with multi-hit performances as well. Overall, Tulsa's lineup amassed 15 hits in the opening game.
Although the offense was on fire at the plate, it could be argued that De Jong was even better on the mound as the Tulsa ace did not allow a hit through the first six innings. The only man to reach base against De Jong during that span was Travelers catcher Wade Wass who got on base twice via walks.
De Jong was bidding to become the first Drillers pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Andy Pratt hurled a no-no against the Arkansas Travelers in the first game of a doubleheader back on April 13, 2001.
Facing three-hole batter Andrew Daniel to lead off the seventh, De Jong induced a broken-bat grounder to shortstop. Locastro was playing deep and had to race in to field the slow-roller and fire to first base. But on a bang-bang play at first, Daniel was ruled safe for the first hit of the game for the Travelers.
Two batters later, Alex Yarbrough ended the shutout bid as he cranked an RBI double to right field to make the score 9-1. But De Jong was able to stop the damage there as he retired the final two batters of the scheduled 7-inning ballgame to secure the win.
Despite seeing the no-hit and shutout bid slip away, De Jong still picked up his Texas League-leading 10th victory of the year with his strong performance. Arkansas starter Tyler Anderson saw his record drop to 4-7 with the loss as he allowed 7 runs over his 4 innings of work.
From start to finish, the opening game took 2 hour and 17 minutes to complete.
GAME 2
The Drillers probably would have liked to carry some of their runs from the first game over to the nightcap of the doubleheader as they were kept off the scoreboard through the first five innings of the second contest.
Both teams were forced to send out spot starters to begin the game as southpaw relievers Jordan Schafer and Jose Molina took the hill for Tulsa and Arkansas respectively.
Schafer turned in a workmanlike performance in his first professional start on the bump as he allowed two runs over three innings of work.
But Molina, who was making his first start since 2011, mowed down the Drillers batters as he scattered three hits over his five innings pitched. His dominance kept Tulsa from scoring and sent the game to the sixth inning with Arkansas leading 2-0.
Arkansas brought in another lefty to pitch the sixth inning in Tyler DeLoach, but the strategy would not pay off. Locastro led off the frame with a single off the stingy lefty before Bellinger blasted his 12th homer of the year to tie the game up at 2-2. But the game would not remain knotted for long.
After Daniel Corcino had tossed a scoreless fourth inning for the Drillers to keep the game close, he was followed by Jeff Malm, who was making his Double-A debut with Tulsa after recently being called up from Rancho Cucamonga.
The left-handed reliever worked around a one-out walk in the fifth to deliver a scoreless inning, but would not be as fortunate in the bottom of the sixth.
A two-out walk to Caleb Adams started the rally for Arkansas as the Travelers capitalized on the free pass from Malm. A single by Tim Arikawa and a wild pitch from Malm then put runners at second and third. Nine-hole hitter Anthony Phillips made Tulsa pay as he lined a single into center, scoring both Adams and Arikawa to put the Travelers back in front 4-2.
The Drillers hoped to mount a rally in the final scheduled inning of the night, but were shut down by hard-throwing reliever Keynan Middleton. The Arkansas closer slammed the door shut by setting down the Drillers in order in the seventh, ending any hopes of a doubleheader sweep.
Although he blew the save opportunity in the sixth, DeLoach was credited with the win for Arkansas while Malm was saddled with the loss. Middleton earned his third save of the year for his efforts in the seventh.
The second game lasted 1 hour and 59 minutes.
The Drillers and Travelers will continue their series Saturday night. Getting the start for Tulsa will be RHP Lisalverto Bonilla (1-1, 2.59 ERA) while RHP Troy Scribner (7-3, 3.76 ERA) will head to the mound for Arkansas. First pitch is scheduled to take place at 7:10 PM.
NOTE: July 22nd marked nine years ago to the day that former Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh was struck in the head and neck area by a foul line drive at Dickey-Stephens Park that would ultimately claim his life. It is because of that tragic accident that all on-field coaches throughout each level of professional baseball wear a helmet today.
During the time between games Friday evening, the Arkansas Travelers took time to pay their respects by playing a tribute video for Coolbaugh. The Drillers will also be honoring the former coach and his family with a memorial night during their homestand next week.