Pitching Leads to Doubleheader Split for Drillers and Travs
North Little Rock, AR – A doubleheader Friday night between the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers featured a pair of outstanding pitching performances, one from each team. The impressive outings produced a split of the two games with Arkansas winning the opener 5-1 before the Drillers bounced back to
North Little Rock, AR – A doubleheader Friday night between the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers featured a pair of outstanding pitching performances, one from each team. The impressive outings produced a split of the two games with Arkansas winning the opener 5-1 before the Drillers bounced back to take the second game 5-0.
The result in the finale snapped a season high four-game losing streak for Tulsa and ended a seven-game winning streak for Arkansas.
The two teams are battling for the top spot in the North Division standings of the Texas League. With the split, the Drillers remained atop the standings, one game in front of the Travelers.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Drillers had the difficult task of facing Arkansas lefthander Kade Anderson. Anderson is rated as the third-best pitching prospect in all of Minor League Baseball, and he entered the game with a 0.37 ERA.
For three innings, Tulsa starter Wyatt Crowell matched Anderson before the Travelers broke up the scoreless battle with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Crowell opened the inning with a strikeout before five straight Arkansas batters reached safely with four hits and a walk. An RBI triple from Charlie Pagliarini and a two-run double from Blake Rambusch were the big blows.
The Drillers were able to plate a run against Anderson, and it came courtesy of Frank Rodriguez. The catcher hit his second home run of the year with two outs in the top of the sixth, just the second run that Anderson has surrendered this season.
The Drillers took a quick lead in the nightcap. In the top of the second, Griffin Lockwood-Powell led off with a double and came home with the game’s first run when Chris Newell followed with a base hit.
It stayed 1-0 until the fifth inning when the Drillers padded their lead with four more runs. The inning began with Kole Myers leading off with his first home run of the season.
After the homer, a walk and an error set up consecutive run-scoring singles from Elijah Hainline and Zyhir Hope. With two outs, Newell capped the big inning with another RBI single that upped Tulsa’s lead to 5-0.
Pitcher Payton Martin made his sixth start of the year for the Drillers, and it was one of his best. The right-hander allowed three hits, all singles, and two walks while striking out a season high six batters in four shutout innings.
Martin fell one inning short of qualifying for the win, setting up reliever Christian Suarez for the victory. Suarez surrendered two hits in two scoreless innings to keep the Drillers in front.
Nick Robertson completed the shutout with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, striking out two.
It was the third shutout of the season for the Drillers.
GAME NOTES
*With his first game homer, Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to five straight games, and he has hit safely in all five games he has played in this season.
*The Drillers had just two hits in the opener, and both came against Anderson, who worked 5.2 innings. In addition to the home run from Rodriguez, Joe Vetrano singled in the third, but he was erased on a double play. Despite the impressive outing, Anderson’s ERA nearly doubled to 0.60.
*Tulsa total ten hits in the second game with Newell accounting for three of them. The outfielder also drove in two of the runs.
*Cam Day relieved Crowell in game one and registered two outs to run his scoreless streak to six straight games and 7.2 innings.
*Suarez ran his scoreless streak to four straight games and 7.1 innings with his performance in game two.
*It was the ninth appearance of the season for Robertson, and he continued his dominant run. Robertson is yet to give up a run 14.0 total innings pitched this year.
*Lockwood-Powell was 1-4 in game two, and he has now hit safely in six of his last nine games. He has 3 home runs and 8 RBI in the stretch.
*In two starts this month, Martin has allowed just two runs in nine combined innings. It was the second time this year that he has worked four scoreless innings in a start.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will continue their series in North Little Rock on Saturday night with the fifth of six games against the Travelers. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
TUL- LHP Adam Serwinowski (2-2, 10.71 ERA)
ARK- RHP Ryan Sloan (0-1, 7.13 ERA)