Drillers Snap Skid in 7-3 Saturday Win
TULSA, OK – On his 26th birthday, Tulsa Drillers first baseman Justin Yurchak had a game to remember. Yurchak earned three hits and was responsible for three of the Drillers runs in a 7-3 win over the Springfield Cardinals on Saturday night at ONEOK Field. The win snapped Tulsa's three-game
TULSA, OK – On his 26th birthday, Tulsa Drillers first baseman Justin Yurchak had a game to remember. Yurchak earned three hits and was responsible for three of the Drillers runs in a 7-3 win over the Springfield Cardinals on Saturday night at ONEOK Field. The win snapped Tulsa's three-game skid and clinched the club's fifth straight winning season, all under the leadership of Manager Scott Hennessey.
The Drillers night began with a big first inning. The first five at-bats by the Drillers worked to produce four runs. Yurchak and Andy Pages reached base on singles, and Ryan Ward plated Yurchak on an RBI ground-rule double. Brandon Lewis then plated Pages on a groundout to shortstop. Abiatal Avelino plated the final two runs with a home run into the Budweiser Terrace to give the Drillers a 4-0 lead.
Emmet Sheehan commanded the game from the mound in his three innings of work. Sheehan allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four Springfield hitters.
Alec Gamboa entered from the bullpen to begin the fourth inning and held the Cardinals scoreless for the next two innings before Springfield earned its first run of the game. Nick Dunn drove in Masyn Winn from second base with a double to make the score 4-1.
Yurchak added the Drillers fifth run on the night in the seventh inning by belting his eighth home run of the season.
The Redbirds brought the score to 5-3 by plating two runs in the eighth inning on three consecutive hits on a single from Winn, an RBI double from Jordan Walker and an RBI single from Dunn.
The Drillers added two final runs in the bottom of the eighth on Kenneth Betancourt's RBI single and a throwing error from Winn.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Yurchak finished 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. He has reached safely in the last 31 of 39 games for a .313 average during that span. It was the fifth game this season that Yurchak earned three or more hits.
*Avelino also finished with three hits and led the team by driving in two runs.
*Tulsa is now 61-1 when leading, entering the last inning.
*Gamboa earned his 11th win this season as he worked 4.0 innings, allowing two hits and one run.
*Jose Hernandez pitched the ninth inning and had a scoreless outing for the second time in as many nights, recording two of the three outs via strikeout.
*The Drillers two home runs on Saturday raised the team total to 196 for the season.
*The Drillers wore special Captain America jerseys for Marvel Superhero™ Night at ONEOK Field.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Cardinals will meet on Sunday night in the final game of the 2022 regular season. Starting time at ONEOK Field is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and the pitching matchup is slated to be:
Springfield – LHP Domingo Robles (4-5, 6.50 ERA)
Tulsa - TBA