Drillers get their Second Win with their Second Shutout
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers picked up their second win of the season Tuesday night, and their first this season at ONEOK Field. A strong outing from Tulsa pitchers was backed by two-hit games from both Chris Newell and John Rhodes, leading to a 3-0 win for the Drillers
Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Drillers picked up their second win of the season Tuesday night, and their first this season at ONEOK Field. A strong outing from Tulsa pitchers was backed by two-hit games from both Chris Newell and John Rhodes, leading to a 3-0 win for the Drillers over the Wichita Wind Surge.
The win was not without incident as Tulsa starting pitcher Kent Heubeck was ejected from the game after the top of the fourth inning. Following a lengthy inspection, umpires ejected Heubeck for suspicion of a foreign substance.
Tuesday’s win improved the Drillers season record to 2-8 and both victories have come via shutouts.
Pitching dominated the game from the beginning as starters Heubeck and Ricky Castro were both impressive through the early innings.
The Drillers were eventually able to open the game’s scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth, taking advantage of two Wichita errors. With two outs, Taylor Young singled and advanced into scoring position on relief pitcher John Klein’s errant pickoff throw. Young scored from second with the game’s first run when John Rhodes grounded a single into left field.
Tulsa doubled its lead to 2-0 when center fielder Ben Ross let Damon Keith’s fly ball skip off his glove after a long run into right-center. Rhodes scored from first on that miscue.
In the seventh, Newell again singled and scored the third run of the game on Rhodes’ second hit of the night.
Following Heubeck’s ejection, the Tulsa bullpen kept the Wind Surge scoreless. Kelvin Bautista worked a scoreless fifth inning, and Lucas Wepf and Christian Suarez completed the shutout with two scoreless innings each.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The two hits from Rhodes extended his hitting streak to six straight games. He is hitting .350 (7-20) during the streak and has hit safely in eight of the nine games he has played this season.
*Newell extended his own hitting streak to five straight games. Like Rhodes, he is 7-20 during his streak.
*Suarez allowed a pair of two-out singles in the ninth inning before retiring ninth-place hitter Jorel Ortega on a game-ending fly out. The lefthander has yet to allow a run this season, a span of four games and 7.2 innings. Suarez collected his first save of the year and the fourth of his professional career.
*Bautista was credited with the victory, his first ever at the Double-A level.
*Before his ejection, Heubeck worked four shutout innings, giving up just one hit and three walks while striking out eight. The eight strikeouts were a season high for a Tulsa pitcher.
*It was the first meeting this season between the two teams and the Drillers take a 1-0 lead in the Propeller Series with the victory. The winner of the season series is presented with the Coors Light Propeller Trophy.
UP NEXT
The two teams will continue their series Wednesday morning at ONEOK Field. Starting time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and the pitching matchup is expected to be:
Wichita – RHP Chase Chaney (0-0, 7.71 ERA)
Tulsa – RHP Chris Campos (0-0, 6.75 ERA)