Drillers Take First Place with Win over Wind Surge
A ½ game only separated the Tulsa Drillers and the Wichita Wind Surge before Thursday night’s contest at ONEOK Field. Bobby Miller earned his third win of the season as he led the Drillers with a strong night on the mound as Tulsa scored just enough run support to hold
A ½ game only separated the Tulsa Drillers and the Wichita Wind Surge before Thursday night’s contest at ONEOK Field. Bobby Miller earned his third win of the season as he led the Drillers with a strong night on the mound as Tulsa scored just enough run support to hold off Wichita in a 5-4 final. The win gave the Drillers sole possession of first place in the Texas League North.
The win also increased the Drillers lead in the Coors Light Propeller Series to 8-4.
Four of Tulsa’s runs came in the fourth inning as Abiatal Avelino began the inning with a single, and a throwing error moved him to second base. Justin Yurchak followed with a walk, and Chris Betts put Tulsa’s first run on the board with a single. One batter later, Devin Mann hit a three-run homer into the Budweiser Terrace to give Tulsa a 4-0 lead.
Matt Wallner gave Wichita a run in the fourth inning with a solo home run to right-center field.
Andy Pages provided the Drillers a fifth run in the fifth inning with his 11th home run of the season to bring the score to 5-1.
The Wind Surge managed to earn one more run off Miller in the sixth. With one out, DaShawn Keirsey singled to right, then swiped two bases to reach third base. Anthony Prato brought Keirsey to the plate on a 4-3 ground out.
With two outs in the sixth, Jose Hernandez entered the game, and on the second pitch he threw, Leobaldo Cabrera hit a solo home run to center to bring the score to 5-3.
Jose Martinez worked a scoreless eighth inning before manager Scott Hennessey called on Nick Robertson in the ninth.
Wichita did not go down easy in its final at-bat as the first two hitters of the inning reached on walks. Wallner then flew out to deep center that moved the lead runner to third. A wild pitch scored the runner to bring the score to 5-4. Robertson then struck out the final two hitters of the game to earn the win and his third save of the season.
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS:
*Miller threw a season-high 94 pitches on Thursday night and tied his season-high for strikeouts with 7.
*Pages has now hit six home runs in June after only hitting five homers in the first two months of the season. He also increased his on-base streak to 16 games.
*The Drillers lead the Texas League North despite having a -1 run differential for the season.
*Before the game, the Drillers announced that reliever Aaron Ochsenbein was transferred to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Australian native Cameron Gibbens, who pitched for the Drillers in 2021, was added to the Tulsa roster to fill the spot.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers and Wind Surge will continue their series on Friday, June 17 at ONEOK Field with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The pitching matchups is scheduled to be:
Wichita – RHP Blayne Enlow (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Tulsa – RHP Clayton Beeter (0-2, 5.04 ERA)