Drillers Get Record-Setting Win, Move Back Into First
The Tulsa Drillers opened their final homestand of the season in a big way Tuesday night at ONEOK Field. The Drillers defeated Northwest Arkansas 9-3 for their 14th straight home victory, matching the all-time Tulsa professional baseball record for most consecutive home wins. More importantly, the victory moved Tulsa back
The Tulsa Drillers opened their final homestand of the season in a big way Tuesday night at ONEOK Field. The Drillers defeated Northwest Arkansas 9-3 for their 14th straight home victory, matching the all-time Tulsa professional baseball record for most consecutive home wins. More importantly, the victory moved Tulsa back into a first-place tie with Springfield atop the North Division standings of the Texas League.
The Drillers climbed into the first-place tie thanks to 5-1 Arkansas victory over the Cardinals. Tulsa and Springfield have identical 40-24 second-half records with only six games remaining in the season. The two teams will close the regular season with a three-game series at ONEOK Field.
Tulsa has not lost a game at home since July 19. The 14 straight wins matches the record set by the Tulsa Oilers in 1968, a squad managed by Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and considered by many to be one of the greatest teams in Minor League Baseball history. The streak keeps new Drillers manager Scott Hennessey undefeated at home.
The offensive production began early in Tuesday's game with the two teams trading runs through the early innings. Tulsa opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as Errol Robinson led off by hitting the first pitch from Emilio Ogando for a ground-rule double. Yusniel Díaz followed with another two-base hit to score Robinson with the game's first run.
The Naturals answered in the top of the second. Ryan O'Hearn led off with a base hit against Tulsa starter Andrew Sopko. He scored on a two-out single by Parker Morin to tie the game at 1-1.
The Drillers went back in front in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of Sean O'Connell. The catcher, who just came off the disabled list earlier in the day, belted just the second home run of his professional career to make it 2-1.
Tulsa made it three straight scoring innings with another run in the third. Blake Gailen walked with one out and moved to second on a ground out. Erick Mejia delivered the big, two-out hit when he lined a pitch from Ogando into left field, plating Gailen to give Tulsa a two-run lead.
The offensive output from the Drillers continued in the fourth inning. Texas League Hitter of the Year Matt Beaty doubled home Robinson and Diaz. Kyle Garlick followed with his 15th home run of the season to increase the lead to 7-1.
Tulsa's streak of scoring innings ended in the fifth, but the offensive output continued in the sixth. With two outs, a pair of throwing errors from the Naturals led to two runs crossing the plate, giving the Drillers a 9-1.
The Naturals added two runs of their own in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Diaz led a 14-hit attack for the Drillers, finishing 4-5 with a pair of doubles. Mejia contributed three hits and Garlick two.
It was plenty of support for Sopko. The right-hander allowed one run in five innings to get his third straight win and improve his record to 5-6.
Tulsa will look to run its win streak to 15 straight games in Wednesday's second game of a four-game series. The pitching matchup will feature Mitchell White (0-1, 3.13 ERA) for the Drillers against Corey Ray (6-11, 5.20 ERA) of the Naturals. Starting time is slated for 7:05 p.m. at ONEOK Field.