Rally Falls Short After Garneau's Blast
A larger-than-usual Wednesday night crowd of 4,695 (our thanks to the United Way) may not have been rewarded with a home team victory, but there was no lack of drama down the stretch in Tulsa's 5-4 win Wednesday night at Citibank Ballpark.
The Drillers broke a 2-2 tie on Dustin Garneau's three-run home run in the seventh, then held off a RockHounds rally in the ninth, one which had two storylines going simultaneously.
Storyline 1: D'Arby Myers entered the night with the longest hit streak in the 2013 Texas League season … 22 games … but when he flew out to open the eighth inning, putting him at 0-for-4 for the game, the streak appeared to be over.
Storyline 2: The 'Hounds loaded the bases with no outs against Tulsa closer Cole White to open the ninth. Darwin Perez then grounded into a double play, cutting the deficit to 5-3. and Max Muncy scored from third on a wild pitch to make it a 5-4 game. With the bases empty and two out, Conner Crumbliss was at the plate and D'Arby was now on deck. Crumbliss drew a walk (see "Kibbles & Bits," below), giving Myers one more chance to extend the streak.
D'Arby immediately fell behind, 0-2, then fouled a pitch off and took ball one. On the 1-2 pitch, he rifled a single to right field, extending the league's longest hit streak AND keeping the 'Hounds in the game. Josh Whitaker popped out to end the game (although a little gust of West Texas wind made the play more than interesting), but the game's finish was worth the price of admission.
Kibbles & Bits
- D'Arby Myers (1-for-5) ran his hit streak to 23 games, as described above, in dramatic fashion. He is now 35-for-94 (.372) in the 23-gamer, which is six games longer than the previous season high in the Texas League.
- Dusty Coleman had a single and a double and is now 8-for-17 (three doubles) in his last four games.
- Conner Crumbliss went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk, and has now reached base in 31-of-his-last-33 games. Despite playing in (basically) a half-season with the 'Hounds (74 games), Conner is fifth in the league in walks (56) and third in on-base percentage (.402).
- The RockHounds committed two errors, one of those leading to the game's only unearned run. They also had a pair of lead-off doubles and a one-out triple, but did not convert on any of the chances. One of those was thanks to a brilliant play by Tulsa third baseman Joey Wong, who made a diving catch on Vinnie Catricala's line drive down the third base line. He not only robbed Vinnie of an extra base hit and an RBI, Wong got to the bag at third ahead of Coleman for an unassisted double play.
- Just as the 'Hounds have been rough on Tulsa's Tim Gustafson (0-2, with a 13.75 ERA against the RockHounds and a 3.66 ERA against the rest of the league), the Drillers have been equally hard on Pedro Vidal. In his first five appearances, the reliever had a 1.46 ERA. In his last two, both against the Drillers, he has allowed nine earned runs in five-and-two-thirds innings … a 14.29 earned run average.
Rocky Town
- The RockHounds are home through Sunday, hosting Tulsa Thursday (7:00), followed by a weekend set with versus the Springfield Cardinals.
- The home stand includes "Thirsty Thursday" (August 15) … Adult Jersey Night (Friday the 16th) and one of two remaining fireworks shows in the 2013 season … Saturday night (the 17th).
WP: Christian Bergman (8-7, 3.27)
LP: Pedro Vidal (0-4, 5.50)
SV: Cole White (16, 3.70)
HR: RockHounds - Conner Crumbliss (9) Solo in the 3rd (off Christian Bergman)
Tulsa - Dustin Garneau (11) A 3-run HR in the 7th (off Pedro Vidal)
Next Game
vs. Tulsa Drillers (Colorado Rockies' AA Affiliate)
Thursday, August 15 - 7:00 p.m. (Radio at 6:55 p.m.)
Citibank Ballpark
Probable Starters
Tulsa: (LH) Tyler Matzek (8-7, 3.43)
RockHounds: (RH) Zach Neal (7-10, 4.28)