Drillers Extend Winning Streak to Eight Games

Little Rock, AR - The Tulsa Drillers arrived in Little Rock riding a seven-game winning streak, and sitting on top of the Texas League North Division, two games clear of Springfield. They would look to make it eight straight on Thursday night against the Arkansas Travelers in the first game of a ten-game road trip. They did just that as they won the opener 8-3 and added to their season-high win streak.
The win puts them at 27-14 in the second half which is tops in the Texas League. The victory brings their overall record to 60-51.
The Drillers quickly got the scoring started in the top of the first. Drew Jackson led the game off by getting hit by a pitch, and then Errol Robinson quickly singled to put runners at the corners. Robinson would steal second, and Matt Beaty hit an RBI single to put Tulsa on the board. With runners at the corners, the next in line for Tulsa was Kyle Garlick who hit a sac fly that gave the Drillers a 2-0 lead.
Tulsa would go on to add a run in the top of the fourth. Johan Mieses delivered by crushing his 11^th home run of the year to give the Drillers a 3-0 lead. The long ball was Mieses' first hit since being called back up from Rancho Cucamonga.
Tulsa starter David Hale cruised through the first three innings, only allowing one hit. The bottom of the fourth would be a different story, as he allowed Chuck Taylor to single to start the inning. Hale got the next batter by way of a ground out, and then gave up a single to Seth Mejias-Brean to put runners at the corners.
After getting a strikeout, Marcus Littlewood was the batter. Mejias-Brean stole second, and then Hale threw a wild pitch to allow Taylor to score. After that, Littlewood hit a two-run homer to tie things up at 3-3.
It did not take long for the Drillers to take the lead back. In the top of the fifth, Robinson led the inning off with his second triple of the season, and Garlick walked. Jacob Scavuzzo then stepped in and smacked a three-run homer, his 15^th of the year, to put Tulsa back on top 6-3.
After the rocky fourth inning, Hale went on to pitch two more clean innings for the Drillers. On the night he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, while striking out five and walking two.
In the top of the seventh, the Drillers went on to add on to their lead. After Robinson and Beaty singled to start the inning, Garlick hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to give Tulsa a 7-3 lead.
Luis Ysla replaced Hale in the bottom of the seventh in his first game with the Drillers since being traded from the Red Sox organization. His debut went well as he shut down Arkansas for two innings, giving up only one hit and striking out a batter.
The Drillers extended their lead in the top of the ninth. Jackson led the inning off with a walk, and then promptly stole second. Robinson then flew out, allowing Jackson to advance to third. Beaty then hit his second RBI single of the night to give the Drillers a 8-3 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Tim Shibuya replaced Ysla looking to shut the door on the Travelers. He made quick work of all three Arkansas batters he faced by allowing a lineout, and striking out the final two batters to seal the 8-3 victory for Tulsa.
The Drillers will look to make it nine in a row as they face the Arkansas Travelers in the second game of the four-game set on Friday night. Yadier Álvarez (0-0, 3.12 ERA) will take the mound for Tulsa and will face Lindsey Caughel (8-9, 4.35 ERA) for Arkansas. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM in Little Rock.