Drillers Drop Opener in Midland for Fourth Straight Loss
Midland, TX – The Tulsa Drillers recent struggles continued Tuesday night in Midland, Texas in the first game of a six-game series against the RockHounds. The Drillers fell behind in the first inning before rallying to tie the game, but a three-run sixth from the Hounds handed Tulsa a 5-2
Midland, TX – The Tulsa Drillers recent struggles continued Tuesday night in Midland, Texas in the first game of a six-game series against the RockHounds. The Drillers fell behind in the first inning before rallying to tie the game, but a three-run sixth from the Hounds handed Tulsa a 5-2 defeat at Momentum Bank Park.
It was the fourth straight defeat for the Drillers, just one loss from matching their season-high skid of five straight games that took place in May.
Tulsa starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski labored through the bottom of the first inning with the RockHounds scoring a pair of runs to take an early lead. With one out, Devin Taylor doubled and Euribiel Angeles followed with a run-scoring single. Brennan Milone and Nate Nankil made it four straight hits with consecutive singles that plated Angeles and gave Midland a 2-0 lead.
The Drillers tied the score with a run in the second and another in the sixth. Three straight walks in the top of the second loaded the bases and set up an RBI single from Logan Wagner.
Walks also helped Tulsa to tie the game in the sixth. After two free passes, Elijah Hainline grounded a base hit into centerfield that scored Griffin Lockwood-Powell.
The Drillers had a chance to make it a bigger inning as Chris Newell followed Hainline with another single that loaded the bases with one out. Wagner struck out before Jose Izarra flied out to deep right field to end the inning with the score tied at 2-2.
The RockHounds promptly responded in the bottom of the sixth with some help from the Drillers. Two walks from Serwinowski put runners at first and second with one out. Nate Nankil hit a ground ball near the second base bag that looked like an inning-ending double play, but the ball deflected off the glove of Izarra and rolled into shallow centerfield. Angeles, the runner at second base, tried to score on the play, but he was thrown out at the plate for the second out, keeping the score tied.
Ali Camarillo delivered the clutch, two-out hit when he dropped a single into right field that scored Brennan Milone with the tiebreaking run. Carson Hobbs came on for Serwinowski and walked the first batter he faced before Jared Sprague-Lott lined a single into centerfield that scored two more runs and gave the RockHounds a 5-2 lead.
It would be the final runs of the night. The Drillers put runners on base in each of the final three innings, but they could pull no closer.
GAME NOTES
*After the tough first inning, Serwinowski recovered and blanked the Hounds over the next four innings. That streak ended with the three runs in the sixth. The lefthander was charged with five runs on six hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Serwinowski picked up three strikeouts, moving him into elite company in the Drillers record book. He has a total of 140 strikeouts on the season, the fourth most in the 49 seasons of the Drillers franchise. He now only trails Rick Helling (188 in 1993), Colby Lewis (162 in 2001) and Jeff Francis (147 in 2004). All three of those hurlers pitched in the major leagues and pitched in a World Series.
*Batting in the leadoff spot, Kole Myers finished 1-5 with a triple to extend his hitting streak to seven straight games. He is hitting .429 in the streak.
*Gelof finished 2-3 with two walks and has hit safely in nine of his last ten games.
*The Drillers stranded 12 runners on base and were just 3-15 with runners in scoring position. They are a hitting just .135 (5-37) with runners in scoring position in the four-game losing streak.
*Infielder Taylor Young sat out his second straight game.
*Hobbs allowed four hits but officially finished with 1 1/3 scoreless relief innings.
*Jacob Kmatz worked one shutout inning and has now blanked the opposition in six of the seven games that he has pitched in with Tulsa.
*The Drillers announced a roster move on Tuesday as pitcher Nick Putnam was returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers Arizona Complex. Putnam did not appear in a game while with the Drillers. His roster spot has not been officially filled.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will play the second game of their six-game series with the RockHounds on Wednesday night. Starting time is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and the pitching matchup is slated to be:
Tulsa – RHP Aidan Foeller (1-1, 1.56 ERA)
Midland – RHP Nathan Dettmer (2-2, 5.19 ERA)