Drillers Swept in Doubleheader at Amarillo
Amarillo, TX – The Tulsa Drillers and Amarillo Sod Poodles squared off in a doubleheader on Thursday night at HODGETOWN with Amarillo earning two wins over the Drillers. In the opening game, the Drillers attempted to battle through three errors and three unearned runs allowed with a late rally but
Amarillo, TX – The Tulsa Drillers and Amarillo Sod Poodles squared off in a doubleheader on Thursday night at HODGETOWN with Amarillo earning two wins over the Drillers.
In the opening game, the Drillers attempted to battle through three errors and three unearned runs allowed with a late rally but fell short in a 6-5 loss. In game two, Tulsa failed to hold a four-run lead, as Amarillo scored five runs in the final two innings to hand the Drillers a 5-4 loss.
With the pair of losses, Tulsa is 1-2 in the first three games of a six-game series with the Sod Poodles.
Both sides were scoring runs in the early innings of game one. Chris Newell opened the game with a leadoff double and scored on Damon Keith's single.
Amarillo responded in the bottom half of the first inning when two walks led to two runs scoring on Caleb Roberts' double. A third run scored a batter later on a fielding error from Sean McLain.
Tulsa used two singles and a sacrifice fly to score its second run in the second inning.
Tommy Troy singled in the fifth inning to drive in Amarillo's fourth run and a throwing error by Tulsa right fielder Ezequiel Pagan allowed a second run to score to give the Sod Poodles a 5-2 lead.
Damon Keith kept Tulsa within two runs on his sixth-inning solo home run.
A second throwing error by Pagan on Jack Hurley's double in the sixth allowed the Sod Poodles to increase their lead to 6-3.
The Drillers attempted to rally in the final inning. After a walk and a single began the seventh inning, Taylor Young doubled to score a run. On the same play, Pagan, the trail runner, was easily thrown out at home plate. The out at the plate proved costly as a double from McLain drove in the fifth and what should have been the tying run before two strikeouts ended the game.
Both starting pitchers were firmly in control to begin game two. Through the first four innings, the Drillers were held without a hit by Amarillo pitcher Roman Angelo, and the Sod Poodles earned just one hit off Jerming Rosario.
Things quickly changed in the fifth inning when the Drillers took the lead on Pagan's two-run homer.
Entering the sixth inning, rain began falling in downtown Amarillo as Tulsa extended its lead. After the Drillers drew three walks to load the bases, a throwing error on a groundball to shortstop Jose Fernandez scored two more runs and gave Tulsa a 4-0 lead.
The rain began to lighten up in the bottom of the sixth when Amarillo's LuJames Groover cut the Drillers to one by hitting a three-run homer.
In the seventh, consecutive doubles allowed Amarillo to tie the game at 4-4. The inning continued with an infield single and a walk to load the bases. The winning run scored when first baseman John Rhodes fielded a hard-hit ground ball and threw home to catcher Yeiner Fernandez. The throw took Fernandez off the plate and Kristian Robinson raced to touch home before Fernandez could dive and touch home plate with his glove, giving Amarillo the sweep of the doubleheader.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The Drillers have now been swept in two of the three doubleheaders they have played this season.
*Jared Karros was charged with the game one loss in his fifth start to bring his record to 1-2. The UCLA product competed five innings and allowed five runs, with only three being earned, on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
*Rosario worked 5.1 innings in game two and was charged with two hits and no runs before he departed. He was charged with two runs on Groover's home run.
*A pair of streaks ended in game one. Jose Ramos failed to reach base, snapping his 20-game on-base streak. The streak was the longest active on-base streak in the Texas League. In addition, Rhodes' six-game hitting streak was also snapped with a 0-4 game.
*Kelvin Ramirez was charged with the game two loss.
*Keith's game one homer was his fourth of the season.
*Young stole two bases across the two games. He has now swiped nine bags for the season.
*Game one took only 1 hour and 57 minutes to complete, while the second game took 2 hours and 8 minutes.
*The Drillers announced two roster moves before the start of game one. Pitcher Jose Rodriguez was transferred to Oklahoma City. Yeiner Fernandez was activated from the Temporarily Inactive List, and pitcher Livan Reinoso was added from Great Lakes.
UP NEXT
Tulsa and Amarillo will continue their series with game four of the six-game series on Friday night at HODGETOWN. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the pitching matchup will be:
Tulsa – RHP Jacob Meador (0-3, 6.16 ERA)
Amarillo – RHP Jose Cabrera (2-1, 4.76 ERA)