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Drillers Pound 15 Hits in 12-8 Win

July 14, 2018

The Tulsa Drillers bats have been very hot as of late and that trend continued Saturday night. The Drillers offense generated 15 total hits as Tulsa defeated Northwest Arkansas 12-8. Drew Jackson got the scoring started for the Drillers in the top of the second. On the third pitch of

The Tulsa Drillers bats have been very hot as of late and that trend continued Saturday night. The Drillers offense generated 15 total hits as Tulsa defeated Northwest Arkansas 12-8.
Drew Jackson got the scoring started for the Drillers in the top of the second. On the third pitch of the inning, he launched his 11th homer of the season to put Tulsa on top 1-0.
The Drillers added a couple more runs in the top of the fourth. After a walk led the inning off, D.J. Peters doubled to bring the second Drillers run home. Jackson followed by singling on the first pitch of the at bat, plating Peters and giving the Drillers a 3-0 lead.
Drillers starter Logan Bawcom cruised through the first three innings, but got into some trouble in the bottom of the third. After two straight singles to start the inning, Bawcom's throw got past the first baseman in a pickoff attempt and allowed the runners to advance to second and third. Elier Hernandez then singled to bring home the first Naturals run of the night. Bawcom then induced a double play ball, but traded the two outs for another Northwest Arkansas run as they cut the deficit to 3-2.
In the top of the sixth, the Drillers added more pressure to the Naturals. Peters singled and Jackson walked to put a pair of runners on. Naturals starter Foster Griffin then attempted a pickoff at second, but the ball sailed into centerfield allowing the runners to advance. Wes Darvill then delivered a clutch single that brought home two runs while advancing to second on the throw home. Tyler Goeddel followed with an RBI single, giving the Drillers a 6-2 lead.
Yadier Álvarez replaced Bawcom in the top of the sixth, and things did not go well for him in his first outing since being activated off the disabled list. A walk, single and another walk loaded the bases for the Naturals. Alvarez then delivered pitch that got past catcher Will Smith and allowed a run to score. After a ground out brought home another run, Alvarez walked his third batter of the inning and was removed from the game.
Devin Smeltzer replaced Alvarez and induced a grounder to third that was misplayed by Darvill, bringing home another Naturals run. The lefty then struck out Corey Toups to end the inning, but the Drillers lead was cut to 6-5.
The Drillers bats stayed hot through the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, Luke Raley walked and Peters brought him home with his second double of the game.
In the top of the eighth, Goeddel singled and Raley walked. Will Smith then brought everyone home after he crushed his 17th long-ball of the season, extending the Drillers lead to 10-5.
Smith's three-run homer would prove to be very beneficial after the Naturals added three more in the bottom of the eighth. Karch Kowalczyk was in to pitch for the Drillers and immediately got into trouble after allowing a pair of singles. Kelvin Gutierrez followed with a triple that plated a pair of runs. Kowalczyk then threw a wild pitch, and the Naturals deficit was cut to 10-8.
Tulsa went on to add another pair of runs in the top of the ninth. Jackson singled to start the inning, then promptly stole second. Darvill then singled to center and got past the centerfielder. Darvill raced all the way home on the play, giving the Drillers a 12-8 lead. This would be all that Tulsa would need as the Naturals were retired in order in the bottom half of the ninth.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Jacob Scavuzzo followed Smith's home run in the eighth inning with a single, extending his hitting-streak to a Drillers season-high 16 games.
Alvarez made his first appearance for the Drillers since May 5. Prior to returning to the Drillers on Saturday, he made two starts for the Arizona Dodgers in the Rookie League. Saturday was Alvarez's first appearance out of the bullpen for the Drillers, having started five games with Tulsa earlier in the season.
Smith now has hit six home runs in his last nine games and now has 17 on the season. He now has the second most in the Texas League, just below Peters who has 18.
Saturday's win was the Drillers 50th of the season. They are currently 3.5 games ahead of the Travelers in the second-half Texas League North standings.
Michael Boyle notched his first save of the season.
The Dodgers made a number of roster changes on Saturday. Bawcom, Alvarez and Michael Johnson were activated from the disabled list, and Tony Gonsolin was called up from Rancho Cucamonga. Corey Copping was promoted to Oklahoma City and Isaac Anderson was sent back to Rancho Cucamonga, while Keibert Ruiz and Yusniel Díaz were placed on the temporary inactive list so that they can take part in the Futures Game in Washington D.C. on Monday.
UP NEXT
The Drillers will head home to face the Arkansas Travelers to start a four-game series on Sunday night. First pitch at ONEOK Field is scheduled for 7:05 PM, and the probable starters will be:
ARK     Anthony Misiewicz (1-6, 4.76 ERA)
TUL TBA