TULSA - For the second consecutive night, the Tulsa Drillers played shaky defense and were shut down by Springfield Cardinals pitching in an 8-4 loss on Thursday night at ONEOK Field. Tulsa committed three errors which led to a pair of unearned runs, while Springfield starting pitcher Angel Rondon quieted
TULSA - For the second consecutive night, the Tulsa Drillers played shaky defense and were shut down by Springfield Cardinals pitching in an 8-4 loss on Thursday night at ONEOK Field. Tulsa committed three errors which led to a pair of unearned runs, while Springfield starting pitcher Angel Rondon quieted the Tulsa offense. The Cardinals won their second straight game in Tulsa after starting the season 0-7 at ONEOK Field.
The Cardinals got the scoring started right out of the gate. In the top of the first, Dylan Carlson singled and proceeded to steal second base. After Carlson advanced to third on a ground out, José Godoy brought him home on an RBI groundout to give the Cards an early lead.
Tulsa manufactured a run in the bottom of the first to tie things up at 1-1. Zach McKinstry set the table with a leadoff single, then tagged and advanced to second on a flyout. A couple batters later, Cristian Santana stayed hot and plated McKinstry with an RBI single.
Springfield went on to score in each of the next three innings. In the top of the second, Zach Kirtley and Rayder Ascanio each had run-scoring hits, and in the third, Kirtley struck again with a sacrifice fly. In the fifth, Michael Perri and Godoy each knocked in a run, swelling the Cards lead to 6-1.
Rondon capped the big offensive night for Springfield by knocking in a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, extending the lead to 8-1.
The Drillers rallied late to cut into the big deficit. With runners at second and third in the ninth, Logan Landon sent a double to the centerfield wall, scoring two. Errol Robinson followed with an RBI single to right to cut the Cardinals lead to 8-4.
With a chance to further trim the deficit, Cody Thomas hit a blast to deep right field. Cardinals right fielder Justin Toerner tracked the ball all the way to the short wall, leaped to make the catch, and fell into the bullpen, robbing a home run and ending the game.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Santana extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his two hits and is now 20-46 (.435) during his streak.
Despite the shaky defense, the Drillers turned a pair of unconventional double plays in the game. In the top of the fourth, Godoy hit a sharp grounder to Jared Walker at first base. Walker fielded the ball to his right, then ran to tag the base while almost colliding with Godoy. Perri rounded third and attempted to score, but Walker threw him out at home for a 3-2 double play.
An inning later, Toerner hit a shallow fly ball to Thomas in right as Yariel Gonzalez broke for second in an attempt to steal. Thomas made the basket catch and easily doubled up Gonzalez for a 9-3 double play.
Before the top of the seventh inning, Tulsa reliever Michael Boyle was ejected from the game. During his warmup pitches, the umpires came out to inspect Boyle's glove and apparently discovered pine tar. The glove was confiscated from Boyle and taken back to the locker room by the umpire crew. Boyle had pitched a scoreless sixth inning before the ejection.
Outfielder Landon was called upon to pitch an inning of relief. Landon walked a batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
UP NEXT: Tulsa at Northwest Arkansas, Thursday, July 10, 7:05 PM at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Arkansas. RHP Logan Bawcom (0-0, 5.52 ERA) vs. RHP Brady Singer (2-0, 6.28 ERA).
