George and Martin Lead Tulsa to Fifth Straight Win

Wichita, KS – The Tulsa Drillers extended their winning streak to five straight games on Thursday night, thanks in large part to standout performances from outfielder Kendall George and starting pitcher Payton Martin. The Drillers defeated the Wichita Wind Surge 6-4 at Equity Bank Park and George and Martin played leading roles.

George finished the night with four hits, three stolen bases and three runs scored. Martin took full advantage of the support by allowing just one run in 5.1 impressive innings to pick up his first-ever win at the Double-A level.

The big game from George continued a big start to the season for the speedy outfielder. His four hits extended his hitting streak to nine straight games while his three runs makes 11 straight runs in which he has scored at least on run.

For the season, George has now scored 48 runs in just 39 games played. In addition, he has hit safely in 33 of those 39 games.

BOXSCORE

Just as he did the previous game, George helped the Drillers take an initial lead with a run in the top of the first inning. He opened the game with a leadoff single and advanced a base with a steal of second. He was still at second with two outs when Mike Sirota doubled to bring him home with the game’s first run.

Tulsa used a similar script to increase its lead to 2-0 in the top of the third inning. With one out, George again singled and again stole second base. This time it was Elijah Hainline who picked up the RBI, delivering a two-out single that plated George.

On the mound, Martin opened the game with three scoreless innings before the Wind Surge ended his shutout bid with a run in the bottom of the fourth.

It proved to be the key inning of the game. The first four batters of the inning reached safely as Martin walked the first three batters before Poncho Ruiz singled to bring home Wichita’s first run.

With the run in and the bases still loaded with no outs, Martin settled himself and got a pop up, a strikeout and a ground out to end the threat with just one run scoring and the Drillers still holding the lead at 2-1.

Tulsa quickly got the run back, plus one more, in the top of the fifth inning. For the third time in the game, George started the rally with a one-out single. Two pitches later, he advanced to third on a double from Josue De Paula. Hainline followed and picked up his second and third RBI of the night with a two-run double off the left field wall, upping the Drillers lead to 4-1.

They tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Jake Gelof doubled with one out, and Chris Newell drew a walk. Sean McLain singled home Gelof, and De Paula plated Newell with a sacrifice fly that increased the lead to 6-1.

From there, the Wind Surge made things uncomfortable for Tulsa. Kyle DeBarge’s sixth home run of the season off reliever Myles Caba in the seventh made it 6-2.

They pulled closer in the bottom of the eighth. Maddux Bruns came on for Caba and walked the inning’s leadoff batter before striking out the second one. A single and a fly out had runners and first and second with two outs and Maddux Houghton plated them both with a triple.

With the lead in jeopardy, interim manager Austin Chubb called on Nick Robertson from the Tulsa bullpen, and he struck out Harry Genth on three pitches to end the threat.

Robertson stayed on for the bottom of the ninth and set the Wind Surge down in order to preserve the win. It was the right-hander’s first save of the year.

GAME NOTES

*Tulsa is one victory away from matching its longest winning streak of the season. The Drillers won six straight games from April 8-14.

*During the winning streak, the team is batting a combined .311 with 7 home runs, 38 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. They lead the Texas League in all four categories over the previous five games.

*Robertson’s outing kept him near-perfect on the season. He is yet to allow a run this year in 13 games and 19.1 innings pitched. Robertson also has a 4-0 won-loss record.

*Martin was charged with one run on three hits in his 5.1 innings. He struck out five with his one blemish being six walks allowed. In four starts in the month of May, Martin has a 1.86 ERA covering 19.1 innings.

*George now leads the Texas League in four offensive categories. He tops all TL batters with a .346 average, 25 stolen bases, 55 hits and 48 runs scored.

*Sirota, who just joined the Drillers on Tuesday, is ranked as the 42nd best prospect in all of Minor League Baseball by MLB Pipeline. He has hit safely in all three games he has played with Tulsa, going a combined 6-14 with three doubles and three runs driven in. Sirota came to the Dodgers system in the trade that sent former Drillers infielder Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds.

*Wind Surge frustrations from the series boiled over in the top of the eighth inning when Newell drew a walk, taking ball four on a full count. Wichita manager Nico Giarratano argued the ball-strike call and was ejected by home plate umpire Tatum Littleton.

*Chubb was in his role as interim manager for a third straight game as manager Eric Wedge is temporarily away from the club on the road trip.

UP NEXT

The Drillers will continue their series with the Wind Surge on Friday night in Wichita. First pitch is again set for 6:35 p.m. at Equity Bank Park and the starting pitchers are slated to be:

Tulsa – LHP Adam Serwinowski (1-2, 9.10 ERA)
Wichita – RHP Sam Armstrong (1-3, 4.91 ERA)