Beck and Drillers Bounce Back to Beat Amarillo
AMARILLO, TX – Twenty-four hours can make a big difference for a baseball team and that was certainly the case for the Tulsa Drillers Wednesday night in Amarillo. After being held to two runs and a season low three hits in a loss Tuesday night, the Drillers’ offense erupted on
AMARILLO, TX – Twenty-four hours can make a big difference for a baseball team and that was certainly the case for the Tulsa Drillers Wednesday night in Amarillo. After being held to two runs and a season low three hits in a loss Tuesday night, the Drillers’ offense erupted on Wednesday for 12 runs on 16 hits in a 12-1 victory over the Amarillo Sod Poodles at HODGETOWN.
Austin Beck was responsible for a large part of the offense, homering twice and knocking in seven runs. Beck, had four hits in the game and fell just a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Taylor Young added three hits, and every Tulsa starter contributed at least one hit in the victory.
Beck got his and the Drillers big night started early with a three-run homer in the top of the first inning.
It remained 3-0 until the fifth inning when Tulsa added five more runs. Dalton Rushing singled home the first run, and Beck doubled home the second. Brendon Davis, Diego Cartaya and Yeiner Fernandez all had run-scoring singles later in the inning.
Only a balk kept Beck from having bigger night. In the sixth inning, the first three Tulsa batters reached base safely to bring Beck to the plate with the bases loaded. However, a balk was called, allowing Alex Freeland to score before Beck belted his second homer of the night making it a three-run homer instead of a grand slam, upping the Drillers lead to 12-0.
Justin Wrobleski took advantage of the offensive support to record his team-leading fourth win of the season. The former OSU lefthander allowed just two hits in six shutout innings. He walked one and struck out two, needing just 72 pitches to complete the six frames.
With the win, the Drillers moved to within five games of first-place Arkansas in the Texas League's North Division.
INSIDE THE GAME
*The seven RBI were a career high for Beck. They were also a season high for a Tulsa hitter. If not for the balk, Beck would have likely had his third grand slam of the season.
*Wrobleski has made 11 starts this season and has walked more than one batter in just one of them. He now has allowed 11 total walks in 56.2 innings pitched. Wrobleski has a 1.16 ERA in his last four outings.
*Yon Castro followed Wrobleski to the mound and kept the shutout in place by retiring all six batters he faced, three on strikes.
*The Drillers got within one out of recording their third shutout of the season, but a two-out double in the bottom of the ninth from A.J. Vuckovich plated Amarillo’s only run.
*The 16 hits for Tulsa were one short of matching its season high.
*The Drillers announced a roster move prior to the game. Outfielder Lolo Sanchez was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Damon Keith was activated from the Injured List to fill his spot.
UP NEXT:
The Drillers will play the third game of their six-game series with the Sod Poodles on Thursday night. First pitch at HODGETOWN is slated for 7:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are expected to be:
TUL – RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (1-4, 7.02 ERA)
AMA – RHP Yilber Diaz (3-4, 3.10 ERA)